George Atkinson

George "Butch" Henry Atkinson (born January 4, 1947 in Savannah, Georgia) is a former professional American football player. He played football collegiately at Morris Brown, where he was a defensive back and a kick returner and professionally in the American Football League and National Football League for the Oakland Raiders from 1968 to 1977. He was a member of the Raiders' Super Bowl XI championship team.

Atkinson set the Raiders' single-game record for punt return yardage in 1968, with 205 yards against Buffalo. He ranks fifth on the Raiders all-time interception list with 30.

In a regular-season game in 1976 vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Raiders' arch-rival, Atkinson hit an unsuspecting Lynn Swann in the back of the head with a forearm smash, even though the ball had not been thrown to Swann. The hit rendered Swann unconscious with a concussion. Atkinson had also hit Swann in a similar manner in the previous season's AFC Championship game, which also gave Swann a concussion. After the second incident, Steeler's coach Chuck Noll referred to Atkinson as part of the "criminal element" in football. Atkinson subsequently filed a $2 million defamation lawsuit against Noll and the Steelers, which Atkinson lost.

Atkinson currently works as a Raiders broadcaster, doing the pre-game and post-game shows. He also hosts a television program called Behind the Shield. Since 2008, Atkinson has been a major spokesperson for "The Clothing Broker", a warehouse-style clothing store in Oakland, California.

See also

• Other American Football League players

File:George atkinson on the field.jpg