George Sauer had a huge day in the biggest game in New York Jets history, and then surprisingly walked away from football a few years later. Sauer, a wide receiver on the Jets' only Super Bowl championship team, has died. He was 69. The team and Moreland Funeral Home in Westerville confirmed Saturday that he died Tuesday after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease. Sauer played a key role in the Jets' 16-7 win over the Baltimore Colts in the 1969 Super Bowl. He caught eight passes from Joe Namath that day in one of the greatest upsets in pro football history. He played for the Jets in the AFL and then the NFL from 1965-70, but left the game after the 1970 season still in his prime because, he said at the time, he was unhappy with the way the game treated players. Sauer briefly returned to football in 1974 with the New York Stars and Charlotte Hornets of the World Football League before retiring from playing for good. Sauer later was an assistant coach for the Carolina Chargers of the American Football Association in 1979. "We will always remember George Sauer for his role in the New York Jets' run that culminated with a historic victory in Super Bowl III as well as the strength of his convictions off the field," Jets owner Woody Johnson said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family as we say goodbye to someone whose unforgettable contributions will always be a part of this organization's history." Read more http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/sto...-york-jets-wide-receiver-george-sauer-dies-69
