John Rauch Passed Last Week

I apologize for not doing a better job of covering / discussing his passing. Mr. Rauch was a towering legend at the University of Georgia. His athletic accomplishments in Athens and in the NFL reflected positively on his family, his teams and his university.

Consider for a minute the giants of football who's careers he impacted. From the AP story

Rauch became a four-year starting quarterback [for Georgia] from 1945-48 and was the first player in college football history to start four consecutive bowl games. He set the NCAA record with 4,044 career yards passing while leading Georgia to a 36-8-1 record and two Southeastern Conference championships.

Rauch was the second pick in the 1949 NFL draft, but the Detroit Lions traded Rauch to the New York Bulldogs for running back Doak Walker, the No. 3 pick from Southern Methodist. Rauch played four years before becoming an assistant coach at four schools, including Georgia from 1955-58.

Al Davis hired Rauch as an assistant coach in 1963. Rauch's promotion to head coach came three years later.

Rauch, who had John Madden and Bill Walsh as assistant coaches, led the Raiders to a 13-1 record in 1967 and a berth in the Super Bowl, where they lost to Green Bay. Rauch was named AFC coach of the year.

He led the Raiders to a 12-2 record in 1968 but tensions with Davis were the apparent reason he left to coach the Bills in 1969, O.J. Simpson's rookie season.

There were some massive names in those paragraphs. He will be missed.

See Also:

-- Rauch Passes - ABH
-- AP Story on his death - Charles Odum
-- Former Raiders Coach Dies - San Francisco Chronicle
-- Raiders First Super Bowl Coach Dies at 80 - SJ Mercury News
-- John Rauch - Wikipedia
-- John Rauch Dies at 80 - DawgSports.com
-- Johnny Rauch Passes Away - DawgsOnline
-- Official Statement from the Oakland Raiders

PWD

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