Jack Tatum, 61, a defensive back for the Oakland Raiders whose bone-jarring tackles earned him the nickname "the Assassin," died of a heart attack on July 27 at a hospital in Oakland, Calif. A three-time All Pro player with the Raiders during his 10-year career, he is considered to be one of the top defensive backs of all time. Tatum's most notorious tackle occurred in a preseason game in 1978, when he leveled wide receiver Darryl Stingley of the New England Patriots. Stingley was leaping to catch a pass when Tatum drilled him, breaking two vertebrae in Stingley's back. Stingley remained paralyzed until his death in 2007. Tatum never apologized. He was 61.
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—Nsenga K. Burton