Sept 10 in Jet History: Jets Say Goodbye to a Legend
Sept 10, 2015 5:44:33 GMT -5
DDNYjets, Bing© in Buffalo Chairman, and 1 more like this
Post by Lithfan on Sept 10, 2015 5:44:33 GMT -5
Sept 10, 1973
The Jets traded future Hall of Fame WR Don Maynard to the Cardinals for a draft pick. With a stable of young promising wide receivers, including Rich Caster, Jerome Barkum and Eddie Bell, the Jets no longer had a spot on their roster for 36-year old Don Maynard. Weeb Ewbank had met with Maynard prior to the trade and asked him to retire as a Jet rather than move on to another team, but Maynard refused, wanting to play one more year.
“I have no hard feelings,” Maynard would say. “The Jets have been taking care of me and watching over me for a long time. They will always have a place in my heart, but now I have another bridge to cross.”
“There will always be a warm spot in New York for Don Maynard,” Coach Weeb Ewbank said. “We hated to let him go, but we have some fine young receivers around and could not afford to lose any of them at this stage of their development.”
He played in 2 games for the Cards and only had one reception before retiring during the 73 season.
At the time of his retirement, Maynard held nearly every major NFL receiving record. He had a total of 633 receptions for 11,834 yards, both records at the time of his retirement and he was 2nd with 88 TD receptions, 11 shy of Don Hutson who was the all time leader at the time.
Ironically, Maynard was originally drafted as a RB by the Giants, who cut him after the 1958 season, because they thought he had poor hands. After a season in the Canadian Football League, Maynard signed with the expansion Titans/Jets, whom he would remain with until the trade to St. Louis on this date in 1973.
The Jets traded future Hall of Fame WR Don Maynard to the Cardinals for a draft pick. With a stable of young promising wide receivers, including Rich Caster, Jerome Barkum and Eddie Bell, the Jets no longer had a spot on their roster for 36-year old Don Maynard. Weeb Ewbank had met with Maynard prior to the trade and asked him to retire as a Jet rather than move on to another team, but Maynard refused, wanting to play one more year.
“I have no hard feelings,” Maynard would say. “The Jets have been taking care of me and watching over me for a long time. They will always have a place in my heart, but now I have another bridge to cross.”
“There will always be a warm spot in New York for Don Maynard,” Coach Weeb Ewbank said. “We hated to let him go, but we have some fine young receivers around and could not afford to lose any of them at this stage of their development.”
He played in 2 games for the Cards and only had one reception before retiring during the 73 season.
At the time of his retirement, Maynard held nearly every major NFL receiving record. He had a total of 633 receptions for 11,834 yards, both records at the time of his retirement and he was 2nd with 88 TD receptions, 11 shy of Don Hutson who was the all time leader at the time.
Ironically, Maynard was originally drafted as a RB by the Giants, who cut him after the 1958 season, because they thought he had poor hands. After a season in the Canadian Football League, Maynard signed with the expansion Titans/Jets, whom he would remain with until the trade to St. Louis on this date in 1973.
