William Richard "Red" Mack (June 19, 1937 – April 8, 2021) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver and halfback in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

, the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

, and the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

. As a Green Bay Packer he played in Super Bowl I, January 15, 1967, and made two tackles. He attended Hampton High School in

Allison Park, Pennsylvania Allison Park is a census-designated place in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a suburb of Pittsburgh and is located within Hampton, McCandless, Shaler, Indiana and West Deer townships. It had a population of 21,552 at the ...

just outside of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, where he was a star at football. He would go on to play

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

. Mack was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 10th round (131st overall) of the

1961 NFL Draft The 1961 National Football League draft took place at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia on December 27–28, 1960. The league would later hold an expansion draft for the Minnesota Vikings expansion franchise. This draft was also the first regula ...

. He was also drafted by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

in the 23rd round (179th overall) of

1961 American Football League Draft Because another league was in competition for the class of 1961 college stars, the American Football League draft for 1961 graduates was held in 1960, with a six-round telephone draft on November 21 and 22, that saw the Buffalo Bills select Auburn ...

. He joined the Green Bay Packers in 1966 but was dropped from the team in 1967. Mack's best NFL season came in 1963, when he caught 25 passes for 618 yards as a Steeler. After football, Mack worked for

Bendix Corporation Bendix Corporation is an American manufacturing and engineering company which, during various times in its existence, made automotive brake shoes and systems, vacuum tubes, aircraft brakes, aeronautical hydraulics and electric power systems, av ...

for 35 years, living in South Bend, Indiana, a mile from Notre Dame Stadium.

Health and death

Mack had two knee replacements and two hip replacements, a shoulder replaced. He died at his home in South Bend, Indiana, on April 8, 2021.

References

1937 births 2021 deaths People from Oconto, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin American football wide receivers American football halfbacks Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Philadelphia Eagles players Atlanta Falcons players Green Bay Packers players Bendix Corporation people {{runningback-1930s-stub