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In this Jan. 23, 1984, file photo, Los Angeles Raiders' Matt Millen gestures as he celebrates with teammate Reggie Kinlaw following the Raiders' 38-9 win over the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII in Tampa. (AP Photo/File)
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ByVincent Bonsignore/Las Vegas Review-Journal
September 5, 2020 - 9:00 am
Updated September 5, 2020 - 10:40 am
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series acquainting fans with the Raiders’ illustrious 60-year history as the team moves to Las Vegas for the 2020 season.
There is no doubt Matt Millen played during one of the great runs in Raiders’ history. It was time when tremendous players manned positions across the field.
But it would be nothing short of blasphemous to dismiss the impact the hard-hitting middle linebacker from Penn State had, not only on the success the Raiders on the field but the effect he had on the rest of the team off it.
Consider this: Of the 11 playoff games Millen participated in as a linebacker, the Raiders were victorious eight times. That includes two Super Bowl victories.
Let’s also keep in mind Millen would go on to win Super Bowls with the Washington Football Club and the San Francisco 49ers upon leaving the Raiders. While he was deactivated for the Super Bowl game with Washington, he started 14 games that season.
Four Super Bowl championships. That is no coincidence. He also owns one of the great Super Bowl quotes of all time.
After Washington offensive lineman Russ Grimm told reporters before Super Super Bowl XVIII that “I’d run over my mother to win the Super Bowl.” the reporters relayed those comments to Millen. The Raiders star linebacker retorted: “I’d run over Russ Grimm’s mother, too.”
The Raiders waylaid Washington 38-9.
Millen, ever the great quote, was more a man of action than words. He was a strong leader and the anchor of a successful Raiders era that spanned Oakland and Los Angeles and produced countless great memories and games.
A second-round pick by the Raiders in 1980, Millen made the move from college defensive tackle to NFL middle linebacker. And for more than a decade, he was one of the best in the business.
With the Raiders, Millen appeared in 133 regular-season games while making 127 starts. He recorded 11 sacks, seven interceptions and forced four fumbles.
Interestingly, it was a stroke of luck he was drafted at all. A back injury in his final season at Penn State severely limited his last year. When it came time for the draft, Millen had to fly multiple times across the country to take individual physicals with NFL teams.
This was before the scouting combine, which has become a one-stop shopping set-up for medical information on players.
With that type of service not available, Millen flew from one part of America to the other visiting teams. Because of his injured back, he flunked all but one physical. That was the one given by the Raiders.
According to a story Millen told The Patriot News, when he showed up at the Oakland office of Raiders’physician Dr. Donald Fink, the doctor realized he didn’t have his key. Millen, seeing a large window above the door, convinced Dr. Fink he could climb through the window and open the door from the inside, which he accomplished.
A few minutes later, Dr. Fink asked Millen to reach down and touch his toes. As he struggled to do so, Dr. Fink asked him what was wrong.
As Millen recounted, he told the doctor: ‘What do you think? I just flew from the East Coast all the way out here, then I climbed through a window and now you ask me to touch my toes! What do you think I’m gonna touch?’
After a second or two, according to Millen, Dr. Fink said: ‘Yeah, I guess.’ And that was it! He never said another word about it.”
A few months later after the Raiders selected Millen, they flew him to Oakland. As he met with owner Al Davis and head coach Tom Flores, there was Dr. Fink. According to Millen, the doctor asked him: “Why didn’t you tell me you had a back issue?”
Millen answered: “You never asked.”
Fink, upset, replied: “You’d better never get hurt.”
Millen, as it turns out, never missed a game his entire career.
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore onTwitter.
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