By Scott Winter
Las Vegas Raiders Report
On April 6 in Las Vegas, friends, family and strangers all gathered to celebrate the extraordinary life of Las Vegas native, and forever Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders quarterback David Humm.
Humm’s memorial was a celebration of life at the South Point Arena. The Raiders theme The Autumn Wind kicked off the memorial that had family and friends speaking fondly and warmly of the former Raiders quarterback.
David Humm epitomized the Raiders in that song all the way down to the “bristling black mustache.” Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis was just one of many current and former Raider employees to pay their respects. “David was the original Las Vegas Raider,” Davis said.
Humm was a hometown hero and perhaps the biggest and most sought-after high school football recruit in the history of the city. Humm would lead Bishop Gorman High to a state championship in 1970. He was heavily recruited for college, but eventually settled on the University of Nebraska. Coach Tom Osborne said at the memorial that Humm told him it was because the Huskers had the best cheerleaders.
At Nebraska Humm led the Huskers to three bowl wins, the Orange, Cotton, and Sugar Bowl. “Back then we didn’t throw 60 to 70 times a game, 25 to 30 times was a good game, and Hummer was the best quarterback I ever coached,” Osborne said.
In 1975, Humm was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. It was a team he was beyond elated to be a part of.
“David thought that being drafted by the Raiders was the greatest thing in the world,” said Tom Humm, David’s brother.
During his time with the Raiders, Humm backed up Kenny Stabler and won a world championship and Super Bowl ring in 1976. He spent five years in his first stint with Oakland, and after a year in Buffalo and two more in Baltimore, he finished his career with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1984 with another Super Bowl ring.
More Than a Quarterback.
Humm was more than a quarterback. He was a brother, a father and a friend of everyone who knew him. He loved every minute of life itself and never complained or asked “why me” when diagnosed with MS more than 30 years ago. Very few people diagnosed with the disease are able to live over 30 years. Humm was an exception, and was driven to live by his love of life, family and friends.
His brother, Tom, thanked the Raiders, including Al and Mark Davis. Humm said Davis and the organization prolonged his brother’s life because of his love for the team and the game. The Raiders gave him focus, even setting up a remote in David’s house so he could cover the games on air.
It was David Humm’s love of his daughter, and the Raiders, that kept him going all these years.
David’s true love was his daughter, Courtney. Many who spoke fondly of Humm, including moments of humor and sadness, pointed out how important fatherhood was to him and how great of a dad he was to Courtney. to what a great father David was. Outside of Raiders football, Courtney was his main focus, and that, too, kept him going despite the degenerative disease.
His memorial ended the way David lead his life — with a tailgate.
“David wanted everyone to celebrate his life at a tailgate with a beer,” Tom Humm said.
So there, with beer, hot dogs and camaraderie, we celebrated the life of David Humm. A life well lived and a shining example of how your challenges in life – no matter how severe – don’t have to define you.
David Humm, Raider Nation thanks you and will miss you.
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