#60

 

TED HENDRICKS

It ended with one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history. The Los Angeles Raiders had been a solid team in 1983, winning the AFC West with a 12–4 record. They beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks to earn a spot against the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII.

Not only were the Redskins the defending Super Bowl champions, they had rolled to a 14–2 record and had overwhelmed the Los Angeles Rams in divisional playoff round before holding off the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC championship.

While nearly everyone thought the Redskins would roll to a second straight title—the parade route had been planned and publicized—the Raiders whipped them from start to finish and came away with a 38–9 victory. At the end of the game, the cameras focused on Super Bowl MVP Marcus Allen and one of his teammates—Ted Hendricks.

Hendricks had been playing in the NFL since 1969, dominating the linebacker position with his size, quickness, and instincts. He had decided to call it a career at the end of the 1983 season and the upset win over the Redskins was the last game of his career.

Hendricks spent the bulk of his career with the Oakland Raiders. He had enjoyed an outstanding opening act in Baltimore and was traded to the Green Bay Packers for the 1974 season. He then moved to Oakland as a free agent in 1975 and he stayed with the Raiders until the end of his career.

Hendricks made a unique impression for every franchise he played for. He was a key part of the Baltimore Colts’ Super Bowl V championship team in 1970 and then had one of his best seasons ever in 1971 when he had 5 interceptions and first showed the knack for blocking kicks that would be one of his signature moves throughout his career. He blocked a punt in a game against the Cleveland Browns and then later blocked an extra point against the New York Jets that was the difference in a 14–13 Baltimore win.

Hendricks had the unique gifts to be a great kick blocker. He was 6-foot-7 and had very long arms. Since he was so skinny—he played the bulk of his career at less than 220 pounds—he did not look like a typical football player. As a result, the nickname of “The Mad Stork” that had been given to him when he was a three-time All-American at the University of Miami stuck with him in the NFL.

Scouts had been impressed with Hendricks during his college career. There were concerns that he was too thin to play in the NFL but they had seen him tackle O. J. Simpson in a game against USC and they were impressed that Simpson had not gotten away from him. The Colts moved him from defensive end to linebacker to take advantage of his tackling ability.

Hendricks knew he was going to be successful in the NFL even if he did not carry the ideal weight. “Maybe I wasn’t the prototype,” Hendricks explained, “but once I got the experience of playing, I knew I could play in the big league. I have more leverage and though I may be giving up some speed, I can make up for it with my range. One of the problems in the NFL was that coaches were too programmed. They didn’t think I could play linebacker at 214 [pounds] because no one else was playing the position at 214. Well, that is really quite silly. If you’re good, you’re good.”

The Colts traded Hendricks to the Packers, and in his one season in Green Bay, Hendricks had five interceptions, blocked seven kicks, and scored a safety. Nevertheless, the Packers allowed Hendricks to leave after one season because he signed a free-agent contract with the Raiders. The Packers received two first-round draft choices from the Raiders as compensation, but it turned out to be a small price for one of the best linebackers in the history of the game.

Oakland head coach John Madden wasn’t immediately taken with Hendricks, and he didn’t get much of a chance to play regularly with the Raiders in 1975. “Well, we got him in some game situation and some special situations,” Madden explained. “But let’s face it, we made a mistake. He needed to be in there and that was that.”

Madden and the other Raiders coaches had been fooled because Hendricks had been primarily a freelance player. He would read the play from his outside-linebacker position and react. Seemingly out of position, he almost never missed an opportunity to make a play.

In his 15-year career Hendricks blocked 25 field goals or extra points, an unofficial league record by a wide margin. He recovered 16 opponent fumbles and intercepted 26 passes, which he returned for 332 yards. He scored a record-tying four safeties, and recorded touchdowns on an interception, fumble return, and blocked punt.

“I like to think of myself as a complete football player,” Hendricks said. “I was not a specialist. I could rush the passer and I could cover receivers. I made plays against the run and I liked playing on special teams. I don’t how many linebackers today would do that. But that’s how we played then and I think I did my job.”

He was a four-time All-Pro and an eight-time Pro Bowler. He was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1990, proof that Hendricks had done his job quite well.