Head of the NFL Player’s Association and Hall of Fame guard Gene Upshaw died Thursday of pancreatic cancer.

Upshaw played his entire 15-year career with the Oakland Raiders and is widely considered one of the best guards of all time. During his time in Oakland he won two Super Bowls and was a seven-time Pro Bowler.

In 1983 Upshaw became the executive director of the NFLPA, guiding the union through some very tumultuous periods, including the implementation of free agency in the NFL in 1993 and the strike of 1987, which led to the replacement football.

During Upshaw’s tenure as head of the union the players have prospered so much that the NFL owners recently opted out of the most recent labor agreement, which was negotiated by Upshaw and then NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue in 2006.

His relationship with Tagliabue garnered Upshaw a significant amount of criticism, as many believed he could have been tougher in negotiations. He was also criticized by some for not focusing enough on the needs of former players, who were largely left out of the financial boom that came with free agency. Due to the rigorous and brutal nature of the sport, many former players have serious medical conditions that entail expensive treatments and therapy that are hard to pay for as they are not as financially endowed as today’s players. Many thought, most notably former Cowboy tight end and Bears‘ head coach Mike Ditka, that Upshaw should have fought to have these former players taken care of in retirement.

In large part, however, Upshaw will be remembered fondly by players and management alike, particularly current players, who will be paid $4.5 billion this season, 60% of the 32 teams’ total revenue, as stipulated in the 2006 labor agreement.

Eagles‘ veteran safety, and member of the NFLPA’s 10-member executive committee, Brian Dawkins, had this to say about the passing of Upshaw:

“It was a major shock to me. It’s a tremendous loss. You’re talking about a man who’s left behind an incredible legacy. From where we started at (as a union) way back in the day to where it is today, with what the league is bringing in dollarwise, and all the (player) benefits and different things he’s had a hand in, he’s left this organization in a very, very good place.”

When asked about Upshaw’s replacement, Dawkins stated that

“We’ll do our due diligence. We’ve begun already talking about that process (of finding an eventual successor) prior to this. We’ll continue along those lines that we’ve already been on and will identify those individuals, and hopefully we’ll come up with that one person who will be able to lead us and bring us even further than we are right now.”

Eagles’ President Joe Banner also had kind words to say about Upshaw.

“Gene never got the credit that he deserved. If you study the (sports) leagues, the position he had of creating a partnership (with the owners) and getting a meaningful majority of the gross revenues, and then focusing on building the (revenue) pot because it would raise the boat for all the players, was absolutely right.

“The other leagues have struggled with popularity and work stoppages and huge disparities between the top-paid guy and the bottom-paid guy. There are teams that can’t compete and teams that can in all of the other sports. The NFL has had an explosion in the value of franchises, an explosion in popularity. It’s been a total win for everybody. It’s hard to imagine there are many other people who would’ve been in Gene’s position and had the foresight to think of this as an option.

“The other thing you had to admire about him was he was unfazed by criticism. He believe in what he was doing. He was like, `I’ve thought about this. I believe in this.’ It’s not easy with the constituents he had and the media coverage to stay strong in the light of all the criticism that he got.”

Perhaps most telling of the kind of man that Upshaw was is shown in the kind words of his natural rival, Eagles’ owner Jeffrey Lurie.

“On behalf of the Philadelphia Eagles, I am very saddened and shocked to learn of Gene Upshaw’s passing this morning. Whether it was as a Hall of Fame offensive lineman with the Oakland Raiders or as executive director of the NFL Players Association, Gene was a tremendous leader and a wonderful person. Gene always believed the best way to build the popularity of our sport was to craft a dynamic partnership between the players and the owners that served the best interest of the fans. We, as well as the entire NFL family, will miss his presence dearly and our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Teri, and their three sons.”

In my humble opinion, I think the most significant aspect of Upshaw’s legacy will be that he presided over the meteoric rise in popularity of the National Football League. Banner said it best when he commented that other leagues have struggled with popularity and work stoppages while the NFL increases its dominance as the top professional sport in America. That was accomplished through a delicate balance crafted through negotiations by Upshaw and Tagliabue, and for that he shall be fondly remembered.

On behalf of everyone here at Hot Stove Philly, I send out my condolences to his family. Gene Upshaw was 63.