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Ed Garvey’S Legacy, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Ed Garvey died this week at age 76. For many younger NFL fans his name will mean little. Once called “The Karl Marx of the Shower Stall,” Garvey was one of the most significant figures in the history of the National Football League in the 1970s and early ‘80s. Garvey was appointed legal counsel to the National Football League Players Association in 1970 and became Executive Director in 1971, a position he held until 1983. Along with John Mackey and others he led the players in there decades long struggle with the Commissioner and the owners. Although he did not …