Max McGee

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William Max McGee (July 16, 1932  – October 20, 2007) was a professional football wide receiver who played for the Green Bay Packers from 1954-67. He also served as the team's punter during a few years of his career. McGee is known for his performance during the first Super Bowl game. Prior to his NFL career, he played college football at Tulane. He was selected by the Packers in the fifth round of the 1954 NFL Draft. He played his high school football in White Oak, Texas. Max was the first player in High School football history ever to rush for over 3,000 yards in a single season. He rushed for 3,048 his senior year as a White Oak Roughneck in 1949; it would take another 20 years before a High School player would throw the ball for over 3,000 yards in a single season. [[1]] McGee died October 20, 2007 as a result from falling off a roof.

[edit] NFL career

In his rookie season, McGee led the NFL in punting yards while also catching 36 passes for 614 yards and nine touchdowns. He missed the next two seasons to serve as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, but returned to become the Packers' leading receiver from 1958-62. McGee was one of the few bright spots on the 1958 Packers team, which finished the season with a league worst 1-10-1 record. During that season, he led the NFL in yards per catch average(23.2), punting yards (2,716) and net yards average(36.0).

After Vince Lombardi took over as the team's head coach in 1959, McGee helped the team to 6 NFL championship appearances, 5 NFL championship wins, and two Super Bowl wins during the remaining years of his career. He also was a Pro Bowl selection during the 1961 season.

In his final two seasons, injuries and age had considerably reduced his production and playing time. Ironically, these two seasons would be the ones for which his career is best remembered. In the 1966 season, McGee caught only four passes for 91 yards and a touchdown as the Packers recorded a 12-2 record and advanced to Super Bowl I against the Kansas City Chiefs. Because McGee didn't expect to play in the game, he violated his team's curfew policy and spent the night before the Super Bowl out on the town. The next morning, he told starting receiver Boyd Dowler, "I hope you don't get hurt. I'm not in very good shape." [2]

However, Dowler went down with a separated shoulder on the Packers' second drive of the game, and McGee, who had to borrow a teammate's helmet because he had not brought his own out of the locker room, was put into the game. A few plays later, McGee made a one-handed reception of a pass from Bart Starr, took off past Chiefs defender Fred Williamson and ran 37 yards to score the first touchdown in Super Bowl history. By the end of the game, McGee had recorded seven receptions for 138 yards and two touchdowns, assisting Green Bay to a 35-10 victory.

The following year, he recorded a 35-yard reception in the third quarter of Super Bowl II that set up a touchdown in the Packers 33-14 win over the Oakland Raiders. McGee retired shortly after the game. He finished his 12-season career with 345 receptions for 6,346 yards and 12 carries for 121 yards. He also scored 51 touchdowns (50 receiving and 1 fumble recovery). On special teams, he punted 256 times for 10,647 yards, an average of 41.6 yards per punt, and returned 4 kickoffs for 69 yards.

[edit] Post NFL Career

After retiring from football, he became a major partner in developing the popular Chi-Chi's chain of Mexican restaurants with restaurateur Marno McDermott.

Max McGee's ties to the Packers continued from 1979-98 when he served as the color commentator for radio broadcasts of Packers football games. McGee was extremely popular as a color commentator and was named Wisconsin "Sportscaster of the Year" an unprecedented ten times over his career — in 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1989. [3]

McGee founded the Max McGee National Research Center for Juvenile Diabetes in 1999 at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. He raised money for diabetes research.

On October 20, 2007, McGee died as a result of a fall from the roof of his home in Deephaven, Minnesota while removing leaves from the roof with a leaf blower.^[1]

[edit] References

• Database football.com - career stats - Max McGee
• About the Max McGee Research Center For Juvenile Diabetes

[edit] External links

• Max McGee's football cards
• [4]