Friday, November 15, 2013

Raiders' tight end Todd Christensen dies at 57 - San Francisco Chronicle

The Raiders lost one of their more memorable figures Wednesday with the passing of Todd Christensen.

The five-time Pro Bowl tight end and two-time Super Bowl champion for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders died Wednesday morning in a Utah hospital from complications during liver transplant surgery. Mr. Christensen was 57.

Mr. Christensen's son, Toby Christensen, said his father died at Intermountain Medical Center near his home in Alpine, Utah. The former BYU star had been waiting for 10 months for a donor liver.

Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie said he was "deeply saddened to hear the news about the passing of Mr. Christensen, his teammate with the Raiders in 1987 and '88.

"Todd was a special player and an exemplary teammate, and I cherished our time together as Raiders," McKenzie said. "The thoughts and prayers of the entire Raider family are with the Christensen family in this time of mourning."

Drafted by the Dallas Cowboys as a fullback in 1978, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Mr. Christensen emerged with the Raiders in 1982 and helped reshape the tight end position in the NFL, along with Kellen Winslow and Ozzie Newsome. He caught 42 passes for 510 yards and four scores that season. His 349 catches over the next four seasons set an NFL record.

"Todd was an excellent football player and was prolific in the passing game," former Raiders head coach Tom Flores said. "He was a hybrid tight end, an H-back before it became a football term. He started out as a special teamer and was named our special teams captain right away while playing behind Raymond Chester and Dave Casper. He then helped us win Super Bowls."

Flores said owner Al Davis loved Mr. Christensen's ability to catch the deep pass and spread the field.

Mr. Christensen caught 461 passes - most ever by a Raiders tight end - for 5,872 yards and 41 touchdowns in the regular season. In 1983, Mr. Christensen set a then-franchise record with 92 catches for 1,247 yards and 12 touchdowns during the Raiders' Super Bowl championship season of 1983.

He then broke his own team record in 1986 with an NFL-leading 95 receptions for 1,153 yards and eight touchdowns.

Off the field, Mr. Christensen is remembered as one of the game's more colorful characters, never afraid to speak his mind.

Nicknamed the "Renaissance Man," Mr. Christenen read his own poetry at a news conference for the AFC Championship game against Seattle in 1984.

His outspokenness and sense of style helped him, after an unsuccessful tryout with the Oakland A's at the age of 33, evolve into a memorable presence as an NFL analyst for NBC and as analyst for "American Gladiators."

"I remember Todd as always using big words and quoting famous authors and poets," Flores said. "He was comical at times because no one knew what he was talking about. I hadn't seen much of him lately but miss the fun, great times we all shared as a Raider family."

Mr. Christensen was a devout Mormon who didn't drink, and his family believes his liver problems started 25 years ago after a "botched" gall bladder operation, his son told the Associated Press.

Mr. Christensen is survived by his wife, Kathy, and four sons. The family was making plans for a funeral as early as Saturday at a Mormon church ward house in Alpine.

Vic Tafur is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: vtafur@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VicTafur

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