 McGeec. 1961 | |||||||||||||||||
| No. 85 | |||||||||||||||||
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| Positions | End Punter | ||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1932-07-16)July 16, 1932 Saxon City,Nevada, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | October 20, 2007(2007-10-20) (aged 75) Deephaven, Minnesota, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||
| High school | White Oak(White Oak, Texas) | ||||||||||||||||
| College | Tulane | ||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1954: 5th round, 51st overall pick | ||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||
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William Max McGee (July 16, 1932 – October 20, 2007) was an American professionalfootball player who was anend andpunter for theGreen Bay Packers of theNational Football League (NFL) from 1954 to 1967. He is best known for his sevenreceptions for 138 yards and twotouchdowns, scoring the now historic initial touchdown, in thefirst Super Bowl.[1][2][3]
McGee playedhigh school football inWhite Oak, Texas, and was the very first player in American 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 player in 1949.[4][5]
McGee playedcollege football atTulane University inNew Orleans, where he was afullback and a toppunter.[6][7] At the time, Tulane was a member of theSoutheastern Conference.
McGee was selected in thefifth round (51st overall) of the1954 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers. He was the punter during the first few years of his career. In his rookie season in1954, McGee led the NFL in punting yards while catching 36 passes for 614 yards and ninetouchdowns. He missed the next two seasons (1955 and1956) while serving as apilot in theU.S. Air Force, then returned to become the Packers' leading receiver from1958 to1962. McGee was one of the few bright spots on the1958 team, which finished the season with a league-low 1–10–1 record, the worst in Packers history. During 1958, he led the NFL in yards per catch average (23.2), punting yards (2,716), and net yards average (36.0).
AfterVince Lombardi took over as head coach in January1959, McGee may be best known for his performance during the first Super Bowl game. He helped the team to six NFL championship appearances, five NFL championship wins, and twoSuper Bowl titles during the remaining years of his career. He was aPro Bowl selection during the1961 season.[8]
Despite reductions in playing time due to injuries and age, McGee's final two seasons were the ones for which his career is best remembered. In the1966 season, McGee caught only four passes for 91 yards and a touchdown as the Packers recorded a 12–2 record and advanced toSuper Bowl I against theKansas City Chiefs. McGee did not expect to play in the game, and he violated his team's curfew policy and spent the night before the Super Bowl out on the town (with his teammate and best friendPaul Hornung). The next morning, he told starting receiverBoyd Dowler, "I hope you don't get hurt. I'm not in very good shape," alluding to his hangover (however, Dave Hanner, an assistant coach with the team at the time, stated in 2002 that McGee did not in fact get out of his bed the night before the Super Bowl, as anybody trying to be out past curfew would've been fined and kicked off the team).[9][10] 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 fromBart Starr, took off past Chiefs defenderFred Williamson, and ran 37 yards to score the first touchdown in Super Bowl history. This was a repeat of his performance in the NFL championship game two weeks earlier, when he had also caught a touchdown pass after relieving an injured Dowler. By the end of the game, McGee had recorded seven receptions for 138 yards and two touchdowns, in a 35–10 Packers' victory.[11]
Thefollowing year, he recorded a 35-yard reception in the third quarter ofSuper Bowl II that set up a touchdown in the Packers' 33–14 win over theOakland Raiders. McGee retired shortly after the game and finished his 12-season career with 345 receptions for 6,346 yards and 12 carries for 121 yards. He scored 51 touchdowns (50 receiving and one fumble recovery). On special teams, he punted 256 times for 10,647 yards, an average of 41.6 yards per punt, and returned four kickoffs for 69 yards.
McGee entered into a restaurant partnership with Packers left guardFuzzy Thurston; they operated the Left Guard Charcoal Houses inAppleton,Fond du Lac,Madison,Green Bay, andEau Claire. They also operated the Left Guard Steak Houses inMenasha,Milwaukee, andMinneapolis–St. Paul, and the Left End Steak House inManitowoc. In addition, McGee co-founded the Mexican restaurant chainChi-Chi's.
After retiring from football, McGee became a major partner in developing the popular Chi-Chi's chain of Mexican restaurants with restaurateur Marno McDermott.
McGee was inducted into theGreen Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1975.[12] His ties to the Packers continued from 1979 to 1998 when he served as thecolor commentator for radio broadcasts of Packers' football games.[4] With droll wit and keen insights, McGee was extremely popular as a color commentator.[13]
McGee founded the Max McGee National Research Center for Juvenile Diabetes in 1999 at theChildren's Hospital of Wisconsin and raised a great deal of money fordiabetes research.[4]
McGee was diagnosed withcolon cancer at age 56 in April 1989, but it was caught early and he recovered after surgery.[14]
In 2007, at the age of 75, McGee died after a fall off the roof of his home inMinnetonka Beach, Minnesota, a suburb west ofMinneapolis.[2][3][15] His wife said he had been suffering from an early form ofAlzheimer's disease for the previous five years.[1][16][17]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theNFL championship | |
| Super Bowl champion | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1954 | GB | 12 | 12 | 36 | 614 | 17.1 | 82 | 9 |
| 1957 | GB | 12 | 9 | 17 | 273 | 16.1 | 49 | 1 |
| 1958 | GB | 12 | 12 | 37 | 655 | 17.7 | 80 | 7 |
| 1959 | GB | 12 | 12 | 30 | 695 | 23.2 | 81 | 5 |
| 1960 | GB | 12 | 12 | 38 | 787 | 20.7 | 57 | 4 |
| 1961 | GB | 13 | 13 | 51 | 883 | 17.3 | 53 | 7 |
| 1962 | GB | 14 | 14 | 49 | 820 | 16.7 | 64 | 3 |
| 1963 | GB | 14 | 14 | 39 | 749 | 19.2 | 64 | 6 |
| 1964 | GB | 13 | 12 | 31 | 592 | 19.1 | 55 | 6 |
| 1965 | GB | 12 | 1 | 10 | 154 | 15.4 | 37 | 1 |
| 1966 | GB | 12 | 0 | 4 | 91 | 22.8 | 39 | 1 |
| 1967 | GB | 10 | 0 | 3 | 33 | 11.0 | 13 | 0 |
| Career | 148 | 111 | 345 | 6,346 | 18.4 | 82 | 50 | |