John Vella, an offensive lineman who started for the Super Bowl XI-winning Oakland Raiders, has passed away at the age of 74, the team announced on Wednesday.
“The Raiders Family mourns the passing of John Vella, a standout on the dominant Raider offensive lines of the 1970s and a starter on Oakland’s Super Bowl XI Championship team,” the Raiders said in a statement. “The prayers of the entire Raider Nation are with the Vella family at this time.”
Vella was selected by the Raiders in the second round in the 1972 Draft, coming off of an All-American season at USC in 1971. He played 84 games with 48 starts across eight seasons with the Raiders, including starting all 14 regular season games and three postseason games in the championship 1976 season. Vella played at both guard and tackle for the Raiders, playing one final season in Minnesota in 1980 before retiring.
After retiring from the NFL, Vella opened a sports memorabilia store in Alameda County, California that exclusively sold Raiders merchandise. This was the predecessor of the “Raider Image” stores that the team owns.
Our condolences are with the Vella family at this time.
