Don Maynard, Hall of Fame wide receiver who won Super Bowl with Jets, dies at 86

[Eugene]

Source: CBS Sports

Don Maynard, Hall of Fame wide receiver who won Super Bowl with Jets, dies at 86

Maynard was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1987

By Tyler Sullivan
4 hrs ago
1 min read

Don Maynard, a Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver that was a member of the New York Jets team that won Super Bowl III, has died at the age of 86. The Hall announced Maynard's death on Monday afternoon, saying he was "a resilient man on and off the field – and someone that his teammates could always count on."

Maynard's first taste of the NFL came as a member of the Giants as a ninth-round pick in 1957. However, his tenure with the team didn't last long as he was released during training camp in 1959. He then spent time in the CFL before becoming the first player to sign with the AFL's New York Titans (eventually renamed to the Jets) in 1960.

From there, Maynard enjoyed a 13-year career and was a member of the team's Super Bowl III championship team. He is a member of the AFL All-Time Team and had his No. 13 retired, one of only five New York Jets to have that honor. Maynard was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987.

Maynard -- a go-to target for Joe Namath -- finished his career with 633 receptions and 11,834 yards, which were both all-time records at the time. At the time of his retirement in 1973, he was one of just five players to have more than 50 receptions and more than 1,000 yards in five different seasons. To this day, Maynard ranks 31st on the all-time receiving yards list, which is an impressive feat considering that the passing game has grown dramatically since he last played.

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Read more: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/don-maynard-hall-of-fame-wide-receiver-who-won-super-bowl-with-jets-dies-at-86/

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. Must be tough on Joe......

I'm so old, I remember what a great receiver he was for the hated Jets back then.

[underpants]

2. I guess it was Shea stadium - a crazy lack of space from the end zone corner to the stands

I’ve seen old films of Maynard catching bombs from Namath and slamming into what little padding there was.

[luvs2sing]

3. One of my first favorite players.

[underpants]

4. This is a great read. Sports Illustrated 1973. Known for thrift he built a car that ran off butane.

https://vault.si.com/vault/1973/07/23/oh-how-gently-flows-this-don


When asked, Don Maynard will tell you he has won every fight he has ever been in—"by one or two city blocks." This is one of the secrets of achieving long life and happiness and setting records in the National Football League: be cowardly, like a fox.

Maynard himself arrived at training camp in Peekskill, N.Y. in 1963 driving a turquoise, 8-year-old Ford coupe that he had fitted out to operate on butane instead of gasoline. One teammate called it the "El Paso Flame Thrower." Back home in El Paso the Flame Thrower, with 160,000 miles to its credit, still stands in the Maynard driveway. "Heck, you get the same mileage with butane as you get with regular gas, and it costs a whole lot less than gasoline does," Maynard says. "Besides, it doesn't pollute the environment, and your engine will last five times as long."

Some years back in a game against Buffalo both teams poured out on the field and started to brawl. Maynard, who was standing next to Mathis on the New York bench, talked him out of joining the fight. "Let's just stay here, Bird, and watch," he said. "We've got the best view in the house."

[BeyondGeography]

5. Maynard was naturally cool

You just knew it, watching him on the field, even at my ripe old age of ten back in ‘69. That article confirms it.

Thanks for the link.