John Vella, an offensive liner of the Super Bowl who played for the Oakland Raiders and Minnesota Vikings in the NFL, has died. He was 74 years old.
The Raiders announced the death of Vella in a statement on Wednesday.
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“The Raiders family cries the death of John Vella, a prominent in the dominant offensive lines of Raider of the 1970s and a headline in the Super Bowl XI championship team of the Super Bowl of Oakland,” reads the statement. “Vella originally joined the Raiders as a second round draft selection in 1972 of USC, where he obtained the consensus of Honors All-American as Tackle in 1971.
John Vella, an offensive liner of the Super Bowl who played for the Oakland Raiders and Minnesota Vikings in the NFL, has died. (Michael Zagaris/Getty images)
“A versatile artist and a fierce competitor, Vella played La Guardia and Tackle, watching action in 84 games with 48 openings in eight seasons with Silver and Black. He finished his career with Minnesota in 1980. The prayers of the entire Raider nation are with the Vella family at this time.”
NFL fans cried the death of Vella in X.
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The Raiders de Vella defeated the New England patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1976 AFC playoffs before the team dominated the Minnesota Vikings in the Super Bowl XI, 32-14.
He played on the same offensive line as Art Shell and Gene Upshaw. Each one had the task of stopping the pass runners who were trying to reach Ken Stabler. The open receptors Fred Bilatnikoff and Cliff Branch were the main objectives in those Raiders teams.
The Raiders de Vella defeated the New England patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1976 AFC playoffs before the team dominated the Minnesota Vikings in the Super Bowl XI, 32-14. (Images Robert Hanashiro-Imagn)
After their days of play ended, he returned to the Oakland area to start a business. John Vella’s Raider wardrobe sold memories and team of the Raiders.
