John Mackey, Trailblazer.

• Author: Zirin, Dave
• Position: Edge of Sports - In memoriam

John Mackey, the Baltimore Colts Hall of Fame tight end, died this summer. Mackey was known for his quickness on the field and for famously catching a bouncing pass from Johnny Unitas in Super Bowl V.

But he was far more than just a trailblazing combination of size and speed. Mackey was the first president of the NFL Players Association. He led the first ever football players' strike, and successfully sued the NFL for the first ever rights of free agency.

His death came in the midst of the NFL lockout, and I spoke with several people about the relevance of his life and work. They all revered him.

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"John Mackey set the precedent on what presidents for the NFL Players Association should be like," says NFL Players Association President Kevin Mawae. "We really and truly believe that he put his career on the line. It's an honor and a privilege to follow him."

Mackey was known as "the smartest guy in the room." Tragically he was also the victim of front-temporal dementia, which plagued him over the last two decades of his life. Pushed by Mackey's family, the players union and the NFL created the 88 plan--named after Mackey's number--to help players living with dementia.

"Everyone is quite aware of the mental and physical toll Mackey's sacrifices took on his career and his family," says Domonique Foxworth of the Baltimore Ravens. "That point needs to be reiterated as much as possible."

Jeff Saturday of the Colts reminisces about Mackey's sporting greatness.

"There is a great deal of pride that I have watching the feats that he did on the field: running guys over, making great catches, the speed," Saturday says. "I have a good friend, Dallas Clark, who talks about Mackey redefining the position of tight end and how he stretched the middle of the field and made things so different for these guys who were more receiver-like than just these big bruising tight ends."

Saturday...