Wayne Allen Hawkins (June 17, 1938 – July 25, 2022) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for ten seasons in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL). He played for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

from its founding in 1960 until 1969, having earlier played

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 the Pacific. Drafted as an

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

in the AFL's first draft in 1960, he joined the Raiders through the allocation draft before the start of the first AFL season.

Early life and amateur career

Hawkins was born in

Fort Peck, Montana Fort Peck is a town in Valley County, Montana, United States. The population was 239 at the 2020 census. History The name Fort Peck is associated with Col. Campbell K. Peck, the partner of Elias H. Durfee in the Leavenworth, Kansas trading firm ...

, on June 17, 1938. He attended

Shasta High School Shasta High School is an American public high school located in Redding, California. With an enrollment of over 1600 students, it is the largest high school in Shasta County, California. It has been recognized as a California Distinguished Schoo ...

Redding, California Redding is the economic and cultural capital of the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California and the county seat of Shasta County. Redding lies along the Sacramento River, north of Sacramento, and south of California's northern border wi ...

. He enrolled at the University of the Pacific and played

for the

Pacific Tigers The Pacific Tigers represent the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, in intercollegiate athletics. The Tigers compete in NCAA Division I, and are currently in their second stint as members of the West Coast Conference (WCC). C ...

Professional career

The

selected Hawkins among their first selections in the

1960 AFL draft The 1960 American Football League draft was held on November 23–24, 1959, in Minneapolis, shortly after the organization of the league, and lasted 33 rounds. An additional draft of 20 rounds was held by the AFL on December 2. Teams were requ ...

. However, he was assigned to the

before the 1960 season. 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 The 1969 American Football League season was the tenth and final regular season of the AFL. To honor the AFL's tenth season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each Kansas City Chiefs player wore a patch on his jersey with the logo dur ...

. He played on the Raiders'

taxi squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

in 1970, and announced his retirement in 1971. He was later voted to the All-Time Raider team. He earned

AFL All-Star The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the leagu ...

honors for five straight years beginning in 1963, and was on the 1967 AFL Champion team that competed in

Super Bowl II The second AFL-NFL World Championship Game (known retroactively as Super Bowl II) was an American football game played on January 14, 1968, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. The National Football League (NFL)'s defending champion Green Bay P ...

against 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 ...

. He is a member of the American Football League Hall of Fame. In Super Bowl II, Hawkins faced off against

Jerry Kramer Gerald Louis Kramer (born January 23, 1936) is a former professional American football player, author and sports commentator, best remembered for his 11-year National Football League (NFL) career with the Green Bay Packers as an offensive linema ...

of the Green Bay Packers. Hawkins and Kramer are both from

Jordan, Montana Jordan is a town in and the county seat of Garfield County, Montana, United States. The population was 356 at the 2020 census. It is Garfield County's only incorporated community. History Jordan was settled in 1896. The founder, Arthur Jordan, ...

, and had the same doctor, while their mothers shared a friendship.

Later life

During the mid 1980s, Hawkins collaborated with fellow former Oakland teammates Bob Svihus and

Dave Dalby David Merle Dalby (October 19, 1950 – August 30, 2002) was an American football center; he played fourteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL), all with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. Early years Dalby was a star linemen at center ...

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 Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

. 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 Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals) (French: Réseau Enfants-Santé (RES)) is a nonprofit organization that raises funds for children's hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. Donations support the health of 10 million children each ...

. Each year, a group of retired professional football players, including many greats from the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

, compete in the ''Legends Golf Tournament'' held annually at The Spanish Bay Inn, Pebble Beach, and Spyglass Hill golf. On July 28, 2022, The Raiders announces Hawkins' death on July 25.

Early life and amateur career

Professional career

Later life

See also

References

Further reading