Price: $30.00

George Atkinson Oakland Raiders Autographed Signed 8x10 Photo COA

~~Great looking 8x10 photo autographed by former Oakland Raiders defensive back...George Atkinson.

George played his high school football in Savannah, Georgia, went on to play his college football at Morris Brown before being drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the 1968 Rount 7.  During his career, George played for the Oakland Raiders 1968-77 and Denver Broncos 1979.  George played in 144 career games, intercepted 30 passes for 448 yards...2 TD's, returned 148 career punts for 1247 yards and 3 TD's, returned 76 kickoffs for 1893 yards, led the league in 1968 in punt returns (36), punt return yardage (490), punts returned for TD's (2) and kickoff return average (25.1), led the league in punt returns in 1973 (41) and was named to consecutive Pro Bowl teams (1969-70).   

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia...

George "Butch" Henry Atkinson Jr. (born January 4, 1947) is a former professional American football player. He played football collegiately at Morris Brown, where he was a safety and a kick returner and professionally in the American Football League and National Football League for the Oakland Raiders from 1968 to 1977.[1] He was a member of the Raiders' Super Bowl XI championship team.

As A Player

Atkinson set the Raiders' single-game record for punt return yardage in 1968, with 205 yards against Buffalo. He ranks fifth on the Raiders all-time interception list with 30.

In a regular-season game in 1976 vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Raiders' arch-rival, Atkinson hit an unsuspecting Lynn Swann in the back of the head with a forearm smash, even though the ball had not been thrown to Swann. The hit rendered Swann unconscious with a concussion.[1] Atkinson had also hit Swann in a similar manner in the previous season's AFC Championship game, which also gave Swann a concussion.[1] After the second incident, Steeler's coach Chuck Noll referred to Atkinson as part of the "criminal element" in football. Atkinson subsequently filed a $2 million defamation lawsuit against Noll and the Steelers, which Atkinson lost.[1]

Today

Atkinson currently works as a Raiders broadcaster, doing the pre-game and post-game shows. He also hosts a television program called Behind the Shield. Since 2008, Atkinson has been a major spokesperson for "The Clothing Broker", a warehouse-style clothing store in Oakland, California. He also appears regularly on NFL Network "Top 10" shows that involve the Raiders, providing insight and his slanted perspective on the many "controversial" calls made against the Oakland Raiders. Some examples are: 1) Perhaps the most controversial call - the Immaculate Reception - Atkinson points out that it was a dead ball because of the "double touch" rule, and because Raider's linebacker, Phil Villapiano, was "clipped". 2) Atkinson points out that the Tuck Rule had never been used until it was used against the Raiders in the 2001 AFC divisional playoff game and never used again (the Tuck Rule was abolished on March 20, 2013).

Personal

Atkinson has three children, Brittany who graduated from Temple University, Josh who went on to play football for Notre Dame and George Atkinson III who also played football at Notre Dame and is currently a member of the Oakland Raiders.

The word, "MCVIKES" will not appear on your photo.  This autographed photo was placed inside a plastic page, the label was placed on top of the plastic page and this photo was then scanned.  If you buy it, you will like it. 

Lifetime guarantee in regards to this autographed photo which also comes with a COA from Gearhart Enterprises, Inc. Member of the UACC. UACC Registered Dealer #RD189.