NFL union chief Gene Upshaw dies of cancer at 63

(CNN) -- Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the NFL Players Association and a Hall of Fame guard with the Oakland Raiders, has died, the association said on its Web site Thursday.

Upshaw had pancreatic cancer, the football league said. He was 63.

"We are deeply saddened and shocked by the sudden and unexpected death of our leader, Gene Upshaw," the players' union said on its Web site.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Terri, and their three sons -- Eugene, Justin and Daniel. Gene learned he was sick just this past Sunday and he died with his family at his side."

Upshaw died Wednesday night at his home in Lake Tahoe, California, the union said, according to The Associated Press.

Upshaw had been involved with the union as a player before taking on the role of executive director 25 years ago.

He participated in negotiations of the 1977, 1982 and 1993 collective bargaining agreements between the players association and the league and was involved in extensions of the agreement in 1998, 2002 and 2006, the NFL said.

"Gene Upshaw did everything with great dignity, pride and conviction," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, according to the AP.

"He was the rare individual who earned his place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, both for his accomplishments on the field and for his leadership of the players off the field. He fought hard for the players and always kept his focus on what was best for the game. His leadership played a crucial role in taking the NFL and its players to new heights."

Upshaw led the players association through a 1987 strike and the emergence of free agency, which allows players under certain conditions to sell their services to the highest bidder.

Thomas George, senior columnist at NFL.com, wrote that Upshaw knew when to fight and when to reach out.

"He would hold a match in one hand and a hose in the other. He could flip back and forth with effectiveness," George wrote. "His passion for his players was real. His passion to lead was real."

Upshaw was the Raiders' first-round pick in the first combined AFL-NFL draft in 1967, according to a Pro Football Hall of Fame biography.

Upshaw played guard for the Raiders over 15 seasons, starting 207 straight regular season games until finally being forced out of action for one game in 1981, the Hall of Fame biography said. He then returned the next week to play 10 more games in what turned out to be his final season, it said.

As left guard, Upshaw played a major role in a Raiders offensive line that opened holes for the team's "lethal running attack of the 1970s," the bio said. Tackle Art Shell and center Jim Otto, also Hall of Fame members, were on that same line.

Upshaw played in 24 postseason games, including three AFL and seven AFC championship games and Super Bowls II, XI and XV.

"Counting the AFL championship in 1967 and victories in Super Bowls XI and XV, Upshaw became the only player ever to start on championship teams in both the AFL and NFL," the biography said.

Upshaw was named to play in seven Pro Bowls, the NFL's postseason all-star game.

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