Former Raiders offensive lineman John Vella dies at age 74

John Vella (Facebook)

According to Michael David Smith of NBC Sports on Wednesday, former National Football League offensive lineman John Vella of Cleveland, Ohio passed away at the age of 74. Vella played eight NFL seasons. He was with the Oakland Raiders from 1972 to 1977, and again in 1979. Vella then played one final NFL season with the Minnesota Vikings in 1980.

In 92 NFL games, Vella had three fumble recoveries. The first came in 1973 and the last two came in 1976.

Vella was part of the Raiders team that won the 1977 Super Bowl. At the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the Raiders defeated the Minnesota Vikings 32-14.

While in Oakland, Vella’s coach was Hall of Famer John Madden of Austin, Minnesota. Madden passed away in 2021 at the age of 85. 

Prior to playing in the National Football League, Vella went to Notre Dame. However, it was Notre Dame High School in Thousand Oaks, California, and not the famous football college, the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. After his high school football playing days, Vella played college football and college baseball at the University of Southern California. While with the Trojans baseball program, he won the 1970 College World Series at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. In the championship game, the Trojans defeated the Florida State Seminoles 2-1. The game was memorable because the Trojans won in 15 innings.

Vella was selected in the second round, 43rd overall by the Raiders in the 1972 NFL Draft. Vella was one of two offensive linemen chosen by the Raiders in the 1972 NFL Draft. The other was Kelvin Korver of Dallas, Texas, who went on to be a defensive tackle.