The Las Vegas-Oakland-Los Angeles Raiders have always been a passing team, wanting to throw the ball down the field with quarterbacks Kenny Stabler, Daryle Lamonica, Jim Plunkett, Tom Flores, Derek Carr, Rich Gannon, Marc Wilson, Jeff Hostetler, George Blanda, Cotton Davidson, and others.
In addition to the receivers they needed to make the offense go, the Raiders also needed a multi-talented fullback, a guy who could pass block because he was the quarterback’s last line of defense, who could run sharp pass patterns and catch the ball out of the backfield in case everyone else was covered, who could run the ball when the other team overplayed the pass, and to be a lead blocker for the other running backs.
The best fullback the Raiders have ever had who could do all of those things well was Mark van Eeghen.
The Raiders selected the 6-3 ,233-pound Van Eeghen in the third round (No. 75 overall) out of Colgate in the 1974 National Football League Draft. When he came to Oakland, he was tutored by starting fullback Marv Hubbard, also from Colgate, and learned his lessons well.
“Marv took me under his wing a taught me the things I needed to know, even though he knew that I might eventually take his job,” Van Eeghen recalled. “Maybe it was because we were both from Colgate, but he was very good to me.”
Van Eeghen did take the starting job full-time in 1976 and helped the Raiders reach Super Bowl XI that season by leading the team in rushing with 1,112 yards on 233 carries and three touchdowns, in addition to catching 17 passes for 133 yards.
However, in the Super Bowl, the Raiders altered their running game. Van Eeghen became the lead blocker for halfback Clarence Davis, who rushed for a game-high 137 yards on 16 carries, and short-yardage specialist Pete Banaszak ran for two touchdowns as Van Eeghen terrorized the Minnesota Vikings linebackers in a 32-14 victory before 103,424 fans at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif.
The Raiders recovered a fumble on their two-yard-line early in the game, and on first down, they sent Davis behind Van Eeghen over the left side where tackle Art Shell and guard Gene Upshaw, future Hall of Famers, cleared the way for a 35-yard run with Van Eeghen showing the way. That was only the beginning, as the Raiders amassed a then-Super Bowl record 429 total yards, including 266 on the ground.
“Van Eeghen’s blocking was a key to us dominating that game the way we did,” quarterback Kenny Stabler said. “He’s a great runner and he got his yards, too, but he cleared the way for Clarence and Rooster (Banaszak) to do what they did. Mark is just a great all-around fullback.”
Said Van Eeghen, who also rushed for 73 yards on 18 carries in the game: “I remember standing on the 50-yard line late in the game, thinking I didn't want to leave the field. I knew that once I left, the glory of our victory would wear off some.”
Van Eeghen got a chance to do it all again four years later when the Raiders trounced the Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10, in Super Bowl XV, as he led them with 75 yards rushing on 18 carries and protected Plunkett, who passed for 261 yards and three touchdowns at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
In eight seasons with the Raiders, Van Eeghen rushed for 5,907 yards, second in franchise history behind Marcus Allen, rushing for 35 touchdowns and catching 162 passes for 1,467 yards and three more scores. Add his blocking ability; he was the perfect fullback for the Silver and Black.
While Van Eeghen left the Raiders in 1982 to spend the last two seasons of his NFL career near home with the New England Patriots, he said: “I’m a Raider, through and through.”
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