30 years ago this week Jack Del Rio mistakenly beat up a Chiefs legend

I’m sure many Raiders fans are thinking based on the headline that three decades ago Jack Del Rio was ahead of his time. In reality the third year NFL linebacker was a newly signed member of the Chiefs at that time and taking down a legendary Chiefs player was a case of mistaken identity.

The NFL was on strike that year. Del Rio was on the picket line outside Chiefs headquarters with his then Chiefs teammates ready to give replacement players all they could handle as they arrived at the facility.

This person wasn’t a replacement, though. This was former All Pro and 11-year Chiefs wide receiver Otis Taylor who had retired from football 12 years earlier.

Taylor was a scout for the Chiefs at the time and I guess he must have looked like he could still ball because Del Rio started wailing on him thinking he was a scab.

You can see some pics of the incident along with Del Rio’s righteous mullet in this report from Fox4 Kansas City.

The strike would last three games into the season. Del Rio would spend that and the following season in Kansas City before moving on to play for the Cowboys in 1989.

Taylor would sue Del Rio and they would eventually settle out of court.