USAT: Jets Wire audio clip

USAT: Jets Wire

Jan 14, 2022

Joe Namath, one of Don Maynard’s closest teammates during their time with the Jets, paid tribute to the late wide receiver on the 52nd anniversary of their Super Bowl III win. Maynard, who died at the age of 86 on Jan. 10, played eight seasons with Namath from 1965-1972. The quarterback-receiver duo went to three Pro Bowls from 1965-1969 and won Super Bowl III. Namath recounted how Maynard changed the course of the Jets franchise and Namath’s own career. Maynard caught six receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns in the AFL Championship game over the Raiders, helping the Jets to the big game. He famously didn’t register a catch in the Super Bowl upset over the Colts. Still, Namath acknowledged Maynard’s role in making the day possible: 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. In fact it was only possible because of Don’s sensational catches in the AFC championship game. Ironically, as people like to point out, he didn’t catch a pass the whole Super Bowl. 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. 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. That word almost sums [Maynard] up…invaluable. 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. Maynard finished his 13-year Jets career with 627 receptions for 11,732 yards and 88 receiving touchdowns, all first in the Jets’ all-time record books. He also owns four of the team’s top-six single-season receiving yard performances, including the second-, third-, fourth- and sixth-most. List The Jets' 9 biggest needs this offseason Email Sign up Like this article? Sign up for the Jets Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning An error has occured Please re-enter your email address. Thanks for signing up! You'll now receive the top Jets Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

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