2023 Obituaries

[Eagles One]

Glenn Bujnoch, former guard with the Cincinnati Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers death was announced on September 29th, at the age of 69:


https://www.wlwt.com/article/former-ben ... d/45381813


https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... jnGl20.htm

[Eagles One]

Russ Francis, former tight end with the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers died on October 1st, at the age of 70:


https://www.lakeplacidnews.com/news/loc ... dentified/


https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... anRu00.htm

[ChrisBabcock]

Russ Francis, former tight end with the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers died on October 1st, at the age of 70:


https://www.lakeplacidnews.com/news/loc ... dentified/


https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... anRu00.htm

Wow. I drive by that airport often during trips up to the Adirondacks.

[sheajets]

Awful. Strangely I was just watching that old NFL films clip where Francis talks about taking some Raider player on a flight in his private plane and then (jokingly) kicking the door open and threatening to boot him out.

[RRMarshall]

Awful. Strangely I was just watching that old NFL films clip where Francis talks about taking some Raider player on a flight in his private plane and then (jokingly) kicking the door open and threatening to boot him out.

Yes, that was in reference to the infamous 1976 Pats-Raiders AFC Playoff game which came to be known as the Roughing the Passer Game. What ticked Francis off was Raiders LB Phil Villapiano holding him on a crucial 3rd and 6 on the Pats' drive that preceded Stabler's GWing drive. And when I say holding I mean holding. He wrapped both arms around Francis, pinning his arms to his side. The ball hit him square between the 8 and 1 on his uniform and fell incomplete. No call. Pats missed a long FG attempt and you know the rest. On a flight to the Pro Bowl I believe Villanpiano ended up sitting next to Francis on the plane which set up that exchange. As Francis told it Villapiano turned white and didn't say a word to him the entire flight!

Francis just may have been the best athlete on those late 70s Patriots teams. Terrible tragedy. Howard Cosell didn't name him "All World" for nothing.

[SixtiesFan]

Awful. Strangely I was just watching that old NFL films clip where Francis talks about taking some Raider player on a flight in his private plane and then (jokingly) kicking the door open and threatening to boot him out.

Yes, that was in reference to the infamous 1976 Pats-Raiders AFC Playoff game which came to be known as the Roughing the Passer Game. What ticked Francis off was Raiders LB Phil Villapiano holding him on a crucial 3rd and 6 on the Pats' drive that preceded Stabler's GWing drive. And when I say holding I mean holding. He wrapped both arms around Francis, pinning his arms to his side. The ball hit him square between the 8 and 1 on his uniform and fell incomplete. No call. Pats missed a long FG attempt and you know the rest. On a flight to the Pro Bowl I believe Villanpiano ended up sitting next to Francis on the plane which set up that exchange. As Francis told it Villapiano turned white and didn't say a word to him the entire flight!

Francis just may have been the best athlete on those late 70s Patriots teams. Terrible tragedy. Howard Cosell didn't name him "All World" for nothing.

Another thing happened to Russ Francis in that game. While running on a pass play that went elsewhere, Raider strong safety George Atkinson threw an elbow breaking Francis' nose, which got more attention at the time.

In 1976, Don Meredith was Curt Gowdy's partner on NBC. When the replay was shown, Meredith said something like, "If Atkinson can't do the job the way you're supposed to, get off the field."

Francis, (I went back and checked accounts) missed one series. He later caught a TD pass on Atkinson, but the Raiders rallied to win. The next week Francis had a painful operation to fix the broken nose, which was broken in four places.

[Eagles One]

Kurt Schumacher, former guard with the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers died on September 29th, at the age of 70:


https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituar ... r-11480343


https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... huKu21.htm

[Gary Najman]

George Reed, Canadian football Hall of Fame RB for the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1963-1975, died on October 1. He was 83 years old.

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/ ... -1.6984212

https://cfhof.ca/members/george-reed/

[Eagles One]

Dick Butkus, Hall of Fame former linebacker with the Chicago Bears died on October 5th, at the age of 80:


https://www.tmz.com/2023/10/05/nfl-chic ... s-dead-80/

https://www.nfl.com/news/dick-butkus-ha ... -age-of-80


https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... tkDi00.htm

[Lee Elder]

Dick Butkus has passed away.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/report-dic ... 49369.html