NFL, MLB Greats and Winter Olympic Stars Tee it Up for 6th Annual Gene Upshaw Memorial Golf CLassic
Submitted by paula on Sun, 04/20/2014 - 7:40pm
Gene Upshaw’s legacy has reached far beyond his stellar NFL playing career and his years as the leader of the NFL Players Association. It has touched a community in Truckee/North Lake Tahoe where a state of the art cancer center bears his name.
NFL Hall of Famers, former Major League Baseball players and other sports celebrities, including Olympic freestyle skiing gold medalist Jonny Moseley will gather July 13-14 to pay tribute to the former Oakland Raider and raise funds for cancer programs and traumatic brain injury research during the 6th annual Gene Upshaw Memorial Golf Classic at the Golf Club at Gray’s Crossing in Truckee, Calif.
NFL Hall of Famers Marcus Allen and Mike Haynes as well as MLB star and Cy Young winner Vida Blue along with snow sports celebrities like big mountain snowboarder and environmental advocate Jeremy Jones and downhill ski racer Daron Rahlves will be playing in the celebrity tournament that is the signature fundraiser for the Gene Upshaw Memorial Fund at the Tahoe Forest Health System Foundation.
The fund benefits the Gene Upshaw Memorial Tahoe Forest Cancer Center and the Tahoe Institute for Rural Health Research. Since the inaugural in 2009, the event has raised nearly $700,000 for pancreatic cancer research, quality medical treatment and care for cancer patients and their families, sustainability and advancement of medical technology, and funding for research in areas such as traumatic brain injury. Support care programs at the Cancer Center are considered among the finest in the country along with the latest in technology and treatment options, including access to clinical trials through its affiliation with the UC Davis Cancer Care Network.
Upshaw died in August 2008 of pancreatic cancer at the age of 63. He was a founding member of the Golf Club at Gray's Crossing.
The event features one sports celebrity and four guests on each team playing a Shamble format. Social gatherings include receptions and a VIP pairings party with a decidedly Bay Area infused sports memorabilia auction at The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe.
Celebrity commitments to-date include the aforementioned NFL Hall of Famers along with former Raiders head coach Tom Flores and former NFL players Tim Brown, Raymond Chester, Herm Edwards, Steve Bono, Ricky Watters and Clinton Portis, plus former San Francisco Giants first baseman J.T. Snow, among the field of 25 to 30 celebrities.
Practice rounds begin Sunday, July 13, followed by a private VIP pairings party. Tournament play begins Monday, July 14, with a 9 a.m. shotgun start followed by an afternoon awards banquet.
Registration, sponsorship opportunities, volunteer inquiries and a full list of participating celebrities can be viewed at http://www.gu63.org/. Sponsors receive playing spots in the tournament and the opportunity to meet and spend time with players from the Oakland Raiders Super Bowl winning teams of the 1970s and 80s, five-star lodging, VIP tickets to the private pairings party, gift bags, and recognition on all program materials and releases.
Presenting and eagle sponsors will have their corporate names engraved in the Circle of Life located in the main lobby of the Gene Upshaw Memorial Tahoe Forest Cancer Center. Sponsors of this year’s event include the National Football League Foundation; The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe; Tahoe Mountain Club; Professional Athletes Foundation; Aon Hewitt; NEPC; Northstar California; Oakland Raiders and Dorfman Pacific.
A limited number of sponsorships are still available. Each provides celebrity accessibility, company exposure and client entertainment options as well as important funding for cancer research. To see what fits your specific needs, please contact the Tahoe Forest Health System Foundation.
Gene Upshaw served as executive director of the National Football League Players Association from June 1983 to August 2008, after a successful 16-year career as a player with the Oakland Raiders. During that time, Upshaw worked diligently to enhance, protect and defend the individual rights of professional football players throughout the National Football League. Upshaw also served as chairman of National Football League Players Incorporated.
A perennial All-Pro offensive guard for the Oakland Raiders, Upshaw was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987, his first year of eligibility. He played in 217 league games and appeared in six Pro Bowls.
He was named Lineman of the Year in the AFC in 1973 and 1974. In 1977, he was voted top lineman in the NFL, and received runner-up for that honor in 1980. Upshaw is the only player in NFL history to play in three Super Bowls in three different decades.
Upshaw was a team captain while also serving as an NFLPA player representative and officer for 13 years. He served as alternate representative or player representative for the Raiders from 1970 to 1976 and was a member of the executive committee from 1976 through 1980 when he was elected president of the NFLPA, a post he held until 1983.
In 1980, Gene was a recipient of the prestigious Byron "Whizzer" White Humanitarian Award for outstanding contribution to "team, community and country." In 1982, he was honored with the A. Phillip Randolph Award for significant accomplishments as one of the outstanding black leaders in America. In 1993, Upshaw was listed by the Sporting News as 13th in the top 100 most powerful people in sports.
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