Wayne Hawkins obit

Raiders mourn the passing of Wayne Hawkins

 

He was not on the list.

The Raiders Family mourns the loss of Wayne Hawkins, an original Raider who played in 136 games over 10 seasons with the Silver and Black.

Hawkins is among a small group of players, along with Pro Football Hall of Famers and Raiders Legends Jim Otto and Tom Flores, who played in all 10 seasons of the American Football League. He played on the same team as George Blanda and Daryl Lamonica. A dominant guard out of the University of the Pacific, he was named to five-straight AFL All-Star Games from 1963-67 and was a member of the Raiders' AFL Championship team in 1967.

Hawkins was born in Jordan, Montana, on June 17, 1938. He attended Shasta High School in Redding, California. He then played college football at the University of the Pacific.

The Denver Broncos selected Hawkins in the 1960 American Football League (AFL) draft. He went on to become one of only twenty AFL players who played in the AFL for entirety of the league's 10-year run.

Hawkins started as right guard for the Raiders from the teams' inception in 1960 thru the 1969 AFL season. He played on the Raiders' taxi squad in 1970, and announced his retirement in 1971. He was later voted to the All-Time Raider team. He earned AFL All-Star honors for five straight years beginning in 1963, and was on the 1967 AFL Champion team that competed in Super Bowl II against the Green Bay Packers. He is a member of the American Football League Hall of Fame.

In Super Bowl II, Hawkins faced off against Jerry Kramer of the Green Bay Packers. Hawkins and Kramer are both from Jordan, Montana, and had the same doctor, while their mothers shared a friendship.

During the mid 1980s, Hawkins collaborated with fellow former Oakland teammates Bob Svihus and Dave Dalby to author the book, Raider: How Offensive Can You Be? A 25-year History of the Oakland Raiders, published by Peninsula Publishing in Monterey, California.

In the real estate investment business, Hawkins was an avid golfer who supported Caring for Kids, an organization which benefits the Monterey Bay Boys & Girls Clubs and the Children's Miracle Network. Each year, a group of retired professional football players, including many greats from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, compete in the Legends Golf Tournament held annually at The Spanish Bay Inn, Pebble Beach, and Spyglass Hill golf.

The thoughts of the entire Raider Nation are with the Hawkins family at this time.