Editing Gene Upshaw (section)

==Professional career==
After playing football in college at a number of offensive line positions, he settled at left offensive [[Guard (American football)|guard]] for the [[Oakland Raiders]] in the [[American Football League]] and the [[National Football League]] for 15 years. During that time, he played in three [[Super Bowl]]s; in the 1967, 1976, and 1980 seasons, making him the first player to reach the game in three different decades ([[Jerry Rice]] and [[Bill Romanowski]] would later accomplish the feat in 2002, while [[Tom Brady]] later accomplished the feat in 2020). He also played in three AFL Championship Games, seven [[American Football Conference]] title games, one [[American Football League All-Star games|AFL All-Star game]], and six NFL Pro Bowls.  He was selected by ''[[The Sporting News]]'' to the [[American Football League All-League Teams|1969 AFL All League]] team.

He was part of a particularly strong offensive line during the 1976 season, with interior linemates [[Dave Dalby]] at center and [[George Buehler]] at right guard. In the 1976 AFC championship game of the [[1976–77 NFL playoffs]], the Raiders beat the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]], rushing for 157 yards and passing for 88 yards. The Raiders then beat the [[Minnesota Vikings]] in [[Super Bowl XI]], rushing for a whopping 266 yards and passing for 180 yards, as Upshaw overwhelmed the opposing defensive tackle, [[Alan Page]], a Hall-of-Famer. In the 1980 AFC championship game of the [[1980–81 NFL playoffs]], the Raiders beat the [[San Diego Chargers]], rushing for 138 yards and passing for 261 yards. The Raiders then beat the [[Philadelphia Eagles]] in [[Super Bowl XV]], rushing for 117 yards and passing for 261 yards again, as Upshaw, Dalby, and right guard [[Mickey Marvin]] outmatched Eagle nose tackle [[Charlie Johnson (defensive tackle)|Charlie Johnson]] and inside linebackers [[Bill Bergey]] and [[Frank LeMaster]].

In 1999, he was ranked No. 62 on ''[[The Sporting News]]''' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

He was the older brother of [[Marvin Upshaw]], who was a defensive lineman with the [[Cleveland Browns]], [[Kansas City Chiefs]] and [[St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)|St. Louis Cardinals]].

Over the course of his sixteen seasons in the NFL, Upshaw witnessed—and, in many cases, participated in—many iconic NFL games and plays. These include the [[Heidi Game]], the [[Immaculate Reception]], [[The Sea of Hands]] Game, [[Ghost to the Post]], the [[Holy Roller (American football)|Holy Roller]] Game, and [[Red Right 88]]. He also reached three Super Bowls in three different decades ([[Super Bowl II|1967]], [[Super Bowl XI|1976]], and [[Super Bowl XV|1980]]); in total, Upshaw played in 24 playoff games with the Raiders.