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Raiders Countdown to Kickoff: 63: Who wore it best, who's wearing it now

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By Levi Damien
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Another day down, and another legendary Raiders offensive lineman. Also another Raiders player whose number is also iconic. One that, if the Raiders retired numbers, would most certainly be in their ring of fame long ago.

Who wore it best: OG Gene Upshaw (1967-81)

Nicknamed "Highway 63″ for the wide lanes he paved from the left guard spot. He was the key component in guys like Marv Hubbard and Mark Van Eeghen surpassing 1000 yard seasons.. Upshaw was a seven time Pro Bowler, five time All Pro, two time Super Bowl champion, and first ballot Hall of Famer. He was a member of the 70s All decade team, member of the 75th anniversary All Time team, and named one of The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Football Players.They don't get much more legendary than Upshaw.

In his 15-year career, all with the Raiders, he blocked for all three of the Raiders greatest passers. His first year with the Raiders was the first year of ‘The Mad Bomber' Daryle Lamonica's Raiders career and the year the Raiders made it to Super Bowl II. Upshaw blocked for Ken Stabler's entire career with the Raiders and then was there when Jim Plunkett came along and took the team to their third Super Bowl and second Super Bowl win.

As a player, he was an active member of the NFL Players Association. He later became President of the NFLPA for many years until he passed away in 2009 of pancreatic cancer, as it happens, just days after his 63rd birthday.

Who's wearing it now: OG/C  Lamar Mady

Originally signed as an undrafted free agent out of Youngstown State in 2013. He has hung around on the team as a reserve guard/center. He appeared in 7 games as a rookie with no starts and spent most of last season on the team's practice squad. He is valuable to the Raiders as the primary backup to starting center Rodney Hudson. Mady is currently the only other player on the Raiders roster who has any game experience at center, having played there some in college. For that reason, he has a pretty decent shot of sticking around again. Whether that means making the regular season roster or another stint on the practice squad depends on a lot of factors. But he's certainly been making the most of his opportunity with the team.

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