George Atkinson (safety)

American football player (born 1947)

George Henry Atkinson II He played college football at Morris Brown and was drafted by the Raiders in the seventh round (190th overall) of the 1968 NFL/AFL draft.

Atkinson started his career in 1968 with the Raiders as a cornerback / kick returner. Facing the Buffalo Bills on September 15, he scored the first touchdown of the game on a punt return for 86 yards. He returned five total punts during the game for 205 yards, an NFL Record at the time. (along with one kick for 25 yards) in the win. On offense for the season, he returned 36 punts for 490 yards and two touchdowns (all AFL highs) while returning 32 kicks for 802 yards. On defense, he picked four passes off for 66 yards and a touchdown. He would do returns on and off for the next seven years to go with his defense, although never as much as before; he returned 112 punts and 44 kicks combined in the years after 1968 for one total touchdown and 2,323 yards. He made the Pro Bowl that year along with the following season. In that one, he had two interceptions along with one for a touchdown. He would average around three interceptions in every season he played, having as many as 4 (1971, 1972, 1974–1975) and as little as 2 (1969, 1977). In 1974 he had 3 interceptions against Cleveland, a Raiders record at the time. He ranks fifth on the Raiders all time interception list with 30. In a regular season game in 1976 vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Raiders' arch rival, Atkinson hit an unsuspecting Lynn Swann in the back of the head with a forearm smash, even though the ball had not been thrown to Swann. The hit rendered Swann unconscious with a concussion. and George III died of unannounced causes (following a suicide attempt shortly after Josh's death) on December 2, 2019. George's death was later also ruled a suicide. Atkinson's former significant other, Michelle Martin, the mother of George III and Josh, had severe mental illness as well and was institutionalized during the twins' childhood. She died October 24, 2018, shortly before Josh died, from complications of Crohn's disease.