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Former Packer McGee Dies In Fall From Roof

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The Associated Press

Published: October 22, 2007

MINNEAPOLIS - Max McGee, the unexpected hero of the first Super Bowl and a long-time challenge for Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, died Saturday after falling from the roof of his home, police confirmed. He was 75.

Police were called to the former Green Bay receiver's Deephaven home around 5:20 p.m., Sgt. Chris Whiteside said. Efforts to resuscitate McGee were unsuccessful.

McGee was blowing leaves off the roof when he fell, according to news reports. A phone message left at a number listed for an M. McGee wasn't immediately returned.

'I just lost my best friend,' former teammate Paul Hornung told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. 'His wife Denise was away from the house. She'd warned him not to get up there. He shouldn't have been up there. He knew better than that.'

Inserted into Packers' lineup when Boyd Dowler was sidelined by a shoulder injury, McGee went on to catch the first touchdown pass in Super Bowl history in Green Bay's 35-10 victory over Kansas City in January 1967. Still hung over from a night on the town, McGee caught seven passes for 138 yards and two TDs.

'Now he'll be the answer to one of the great trivia questions: Who scored the first touchdown in Super Bowl history?' Hornung said. 'Vince knew he could count on him. ... He was a great athlete. He could do anything with his hands.'

McGee was a running back at Tulane and the nation's top kick returner in 1953.

Selected by the Packers in the fifth round of the 1954 draft, McGee spent two years in the Air Force as a pilot following his rookie year before returning in 1957 to play 11 more seasons. He finished his career with 345 receptions for 6,346 yards and scored 51 touchdowns.

After retiring from football, he became a major partner in developing the popular Chi-Chi's chain of Mexican restaurants. In 1979, he became an announcer for the Packer Radio Network with Jim Irwin until retiring in 1998.

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