Jets legend Don Maynard, who was the first player to sign with the then-Titans in 1960 and a member of their Super Bowl III-winning team, died Monday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced.
No cause of death was released. The Hall of Famer was 86.
“He was a resilient man on and off the field — and someone that his teammates could always count on,” Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said in a statement.
Maynard is the Jets’ all-time leader in catches (627), receiving yards (11,732), receiving touchdowns (88) and games at receiver (172).
The Texas native played his 1958 rookie season with the Giants, who had drafted him in the ninth round but cut him a year later. He headed north and played a season in the Canadian Football League.
The fledgling New York Titans opened for their first season in 1960, and the name change came three years later. Maynard was their first signing in part because head coach Sammy Baugh had coached against him in college, and Maynard became an integral piece of the organization for 13 seasons.
The four-time Pro Bowler’s career took off once he was paired with Joe Namath in 1965, when Maynard led the league with 14 receiving touchdowns. His biggest moments came in 1968, though, during the Jets’ improbable run to the Super Bowl.
In the AFL Championship, Maynard caught six passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns to knock off the Raiders, including a connection that has gone down in Jets lore.
Down 23-20 in the fourth quarter from the Jets’ own 43, Namath audibled to send Maynard deep. Through Shea Stadium’s swirling winds, Namath heaved a bomb down the right side of the field. Maynard looked over his left shoulder, saw the ball streaming toward his right shoulder, and quickly redirected himself toward the sideline. He stuck out his arms and brought in the 52-yard pass.
“It was the greatest catch I ever made,” Maynard, who then caught the go-ahead touchdown, told NFL Films.
“He was the man our opponents worried about, the knockout punch. Lightning in a bottle,” Namath said in the Hall of Fame’s release. “Nitro just waiting to explode. I mean, he could fly. But with the grace of a great thoroughbred. The man could flat play. He galloped through the best of the very best football players of the world.”
Maynard strained his hamstring in the win over the Raiders and was limited for the Jets’ upset win over the Colts in the Super Bowl.
“Jets legend and NFL legend,” general manager Joe Douglas said Monday. “His accomplishments will live forever here.”
Maynard, who famously played without a chin strap and opted for a single-bar face mask, remained with the Jets until 1972, then retired after one year with the St. Louis Cardinals. He exited as the NFL’s all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1987.
“I don’t really look at it like I’m the greatest receiver,” he said at his enshrinement. “After you play a while, anybody can break certain records. Longevity is the key. The record I’m proudest of is being the first guy to get 10,000 yards in receptions. Others may do it, but I’m the first, and only one guy can be the first.”`
