Obits, Continued: Jets Great Don “Sunshine” Maynard Runs His Last Route—Passes (Instead of Receives) at 86

Don Maynard died 15 days before what would have been his 87th birthday. Imagine how long he would have lived, if not for apartheid.

[Previously: “Dwayne Hickman, Star of The Many Lives of Dobie Gillis, Dies at 87”;

“Norman Lear (99) Outlives—and Comments on Another Hollywood Celeb Death—Bob Saget (65)”; and

“Updates on the Death of Bob Saget.”]

By Grand Rapids Anonymous
Monday, January 10, 2022 at 3:53:00 P.M. EST

(the trib) Don Maynard, a Hall of Fame receiver who made his biggest impact catching passes from Joe Namath in the wide-open AFL, has died. He was 86.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame confirmed Maynard’s death on Monday through his family.

Maynard was the main target for Namath with the New York Jets, though a leg injury made him less effective in the team’s stunning upset of the NFL champion Baltimore Colts in the 1969 Super Bowl. That game established the credibility of the newer league, but Maynard had proven himself long before that.

After an unproductive one-year stint with the New York Giants in 1958, the slim, deceptively fast Texan headed to Hamilton of the CFL for 1959. Then the AFL was established, and he was the first player to sign with the New York Titans, who soon would become the Jets.

Even though the Titans/Jets went through a series of mediocre quarterbacks in their early years, Maynard made his mark, including two 1,000-yard receiving seasons. And when Namath showed up in 1965 with a record contract and huge headlines, one of the league’s top passing combinations was born.

Namath’s best skill was throwing the deep ball, matching Maynard’s main talent. As Broadway Joe’s primary target, Maynard had three seasons with at least 1,200 yards receiving in a four-year span. He caught 14 touchdown passes in Namath’s rookie season, and twice more had 10 TDs in a season.

When he retired in 1973 after one season with the St. Louis Cardinals, he was pro football’s career receiving leader with 633 catches for 11,834 yards and 88 touchdowns. In 1987, he was elected to the Hall of Fame.

“Our Pro Football Hall of Fame family mourns the passing of Don Maynard,” said Jim Porter, president of the hall. “He was a resilient man on and off the field — and someone that his teammates could always count on.”

Maynard sometimes humbly assessed his career, and other times pointed out how much his achievements meant to him.

“I don’t really look at it like I’m the greatest receiver,” he once said. “After you play a while anybody can break certain records. Longevity is the key. The record I’m proudest of is being the first guy to get 10,000 yards in receptions. Others may do it but I’m the first, and only one guy can be the first.”

Unlike Namath, Maynard, who never worn a chinstrap because it felt uncomfortable, wasn’t made for the spotlight. He preferred ranch life back home in Texas to the bright lights of Manhattan. But his game, based on speed — he claimed he was never caught from behind once he made a catch — and excellent hands made him stand out.

Not as much as Namath, of course, but Maynard made four AFL Pro Bowls and the AFL’s only All-Decade squad. Maynard’s defining performance was against Oakland in the 1968 AFL championship game at a frigid Shea Stadium.

Maynard spent much of the Super Bowl win that was guaranteed by Namath as a decoy because of a sore leg, and didn’t catch a pass. Early in the game, though, he ran a deep route and got open; the pass barely missed his hands. The Colts respected his speed the rest of the way, often with double teams on the hobbled Maynard while New York’s other wideout, George Sauer, had a big game.

“I knew right away in the Super Bowl that I wasn’t going to catch any balls,” he once told Football Digest. “All I had to do was run, and stride, and clear out, and have a good day in that respect.

“I had a sore hamstring, but I stayed out the last game of the season against Miami. I lost the yardage receiving title by 15 yards to Lance Alworth. But I tell people, ‘I traded 15 yards for the yardage title for $15,000 in the Super Bowl.’”

GRA: I was too young to watch that one, but read a book on that Super Bowl by a NY sportswriter—a great book—in the mid ‘70s.

--GRA

N.S.: I saw that game; my cousin Phillip Gellis came over for dinner, and we watched the game together (in Nana's apartment, I believe). I recall only a long run by Colts running back Tom Matte, but do I remember it from watching it, or later accounts?

The 11-3 Jets were very fortunate. Although they had a tremendous team, with standouts on offense, and very able, though not as flashy players on defense, their defensive unit played with great cohesion.

On offense, they had, beyond Namath, as feature back, burly fullback Matt Snell, halfback Emerson Boozer, the aforementioned Maynard and Sauer, as well as Pro Bowl Center John Schmitt. On defense, they had players like linebacker Gerry Philbin and DB Johnny Samples, the only names that come to mind, offhand.

But the 13-1 Colts had the better team. They had flanker Jimmy Orr, and the then dominant tight end, John Mackey, who could do it all. (At the time, except for Mike Ditka, tight ends were typically just hulking blockers with stone hands.)

The key to the Jets going all the way that season, in addition to many players having a great season and staying healthy, was Namath’s teammates’ success at getting Broadway Joe to become more of a team player. The other key was in the overwhelming favorite Colts not taking them seriously. Colts head coach Don Shula said he couldn’t get his players to focus during practice the week of the big game, and during their pregame meal they were already talking among themselves about what they were going to do with their $15,00 winners’ cuts.

All of this is recounted in the excellent book by Bob Lederer, Beyond Broadway Joe: The Super Bowl Team that Changed Football, which I thank my friend and partner-in-crime, David in TN, for giving me as a gift. Lederer movingly profiled all of the Jets’ major players, as well as their coaches and principal owner Sonny Werblin.