2:44 PM
The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced that Don Maynard, who was the sport's all-time leading receiver when he retired, died Monday at the age of 86.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame confirmed Maynard's death on Monday.
Maynard played in the American and National Football Leagues for 15 seasons and only one season in the Canadian Football League. He averaged 18.7 yards-per-catch and had 88 touchdown catches in his career.
Maynard was one of only three players to have more than 50 reception and 1,000 receiving yards in five different seasons.
He was a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Donald Rogers Maynard was born in Crosbyton, Texas. The family moved a lot because his father was a cotton-gin manager. Maynard attended high schools in Texas and New Mexico.
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Maynard said in a 2003 interview with The Coffin Corner that he never played football again until he was a senior in high school. I was ineligible for football as a sophomore and junior. For a year, you had to live somewhere. I ran and played basketball.
After graduating from high school, Maynard went to Rice University but then transferred to Texas Western, now known as the University of Texas at El Paso.
Maynard had 2,283 all-purpose yards as a halfback and kick returner after redshirting his sophomore season. He played defense.
Maynard was drafted by the New York Giants in the ninth round of the 1957 league's draft. Maynard was in school when he became a pro.
The Texan came to New York with long sideburns and cowboy boots. He asked for the same number as he had in college and received it.
Maynard didn't like how the chin strap felt during his career. He put cheek pads in his helmet so he wouldn't have to use the strap.
The greatest game ever played was the New York Giants' 23-17 overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts in the Superbowl. Maynard played in the Canadian Football League with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Maynard was the first player signed by the New York Jets of the newly formed AFL and was moved to the flanker position. He had 72 catches for 1,265 yards.
Maynard was the leader of the AFL with 14 touchdown catches in 1965, and the Jets signed future Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath.
Maynard told Jackson Michael that Joe was a great listener in his book The Game Before the Money: Voices of the Men Who Built the NFL. I told him that I would help him be a better quarterback and that I would help him be a great receiver because we were going to talk on every play before the workouts started.
No coach in the game has ever taught a quarterback to read the defender. Whatever he does, do the opposite.
Maynard had a franchise-record 1,434 receiving yards and was voted the team's most valuable player.
The Jets won their first division title with an 11-3 record and faced the Oakland Raiders in the AFL championship game, where Maynard had his greatest moment as a pro.
Maynard scored on a 14-yard reception in the first quarter. The Raiders took a 23-20 lead in the fourth quarter. On the second play of the drive, first and 10 from their own 43, the two quarterbacks hooked up for the biggest pass play in the history of the franchise.
Maynard told Joe that he had things set up well and that he had a long one if he needed it. "So, Joe told us in the huddle, 'Hey we're going to go for it, so make sure, no holding by you linemen, we're going after it'."
In the swirling winds of the stadium, Namath dropped back and threw a deep pass to Maynard.
Maynard said that they had the terminology of catching it over your left shoulder. The wind caught Joe's pass and took it around to 11 and 12. I went all the way around and caught it at two o'clock, but it went out of bounds on the 6-yard line.
The Jets won the game 27-23 and will play in Super Bowl III. The Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts in the Super Bowl.
Maynard was a four-time All-Star and was named to the All-Time AFL Team in 1969. He was placed in the Ring of Honor by the Jets in 2010.
Maynard said on his way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame that he doesn't look at it like he's the greatest receiver. "After you play a long time, anyone can break records." The key is longevity. I'm proudest of being the first guy to get 10,000 yards in reception. I'm the only one who can be the first one.
Maynard was a member of the UTEP Athletics Hall of Fame.
Maynard ran his own consulting firm after he retired from playing.
Maynard was married to Marilyn while in college. They have two children, a daughter and a son.
The Associated Press contributed to the report.
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