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NFLPA head Gene Upshaw dies at 63

(AP Photo/FILE)

NEW YORK (AP) Gene Upshaw, a towering lineman on the football field who went on to win untold millions of dollars for NFL players as their union leader, has died at age 63.

Upshaw had a Hall of Fame career as a guard for the Oakland Raiders - a team that won two of the three Super Bowls it reached during his 15 years in a black and silver jersey. But his work as executive director of the NFL Players Association over a quarter-century was even more important. It changed the business side of the league.

Upshaw died Wednesday night at his home near California's Lake Tahoe, of pancreatic cancer, the NFL Players Association said Thursday. His wife Terri and sons Eugene Jr., Justin and Daniel were by his side. NFLPA president and Tennessee Titans center Kevin Mawae said Upshaw only learned Sunday that he had the disease, after he fell ill and his wife took him to the hospital.

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