Joe Namath has written a touching remembrance of Don Maynard, the former Jets wide receiver who died at 86 this week.
“This day, January 12th, 1969 was one of the greatest days of my life … our lives … and none of us could’ve done it without each other,” Namath wrote on Twitter. “In fact it was only possible because of Don’s sensational catches in the AFC championship game.”
In the game Namath is referring to, the AFL championship game against the Raiders that the Jets won 27-23, Maynard had six catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
“Ironically, as people like to point out, he didn’t catch a pass the whole Super Bowl,” Namath continued. “But that’s because Coach [Don] Shula and Baltimore’s defense respected Don so much and knew he was the lightning strike of our team so they had him in double coverage every play, which opened up the whole offense for us.
Joe Namath and Don Maynard share a laugh in 2004.Ralph Waclawicz
Don Maynard (left), Joe Namath and Jim Turner during their time with the Jets.Bettmann Archive“The strength of the defense always rotated to Don’s side. His influence on the Super Bowl was hidden from the casual fan, so to speak, but to those of us that understood, he was invaluable.”
The Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts 16-7 in Super Bowl III, backing up Namath’s famous guarantee.
“That word almost sums [Maynard] up … invaluable,” Namath wrote. “He was a wonderful teacher to me about life and football. He’s one of the finest men I have been fortunate enough to spend this lifetime with and I don’t have a single bad memory of him.
“We all come and go. We move to the next level where our spirit roams free and I just have this image of him galloping down a heavenly field like a thoroughbred. Rest in Peace Don, until we meet again.”
