Tom Mitchell (American football)

{{short description|American football player (1944–2017)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Tom Mitchell

| image = Mitchell-Tom-1970.jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption =

| number = 82, 84

| position = Tight end
Wide receiver

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1944|8|22|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|7|16|1944|8|22}}

| death_place = Cape Coral, Florida, U.S.

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 2

| weight_lb = 215

| high_school = Plymouth-Whitemarsh
(Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania)

| college = Bucknell

| afldraftyear = 1966

| afldraftround = 6

| afldraftpick = 58

| pastteams =

• Oakland Raiders (1966)
• Baltimore Colts ({{NFL Year|1968|1973}})
• San Francisco 49ers ({{NFL Year|1974|1977}})

| highlights =

• Super Bowl champion (V)
• NFL champion (1968)
• 2× First-team Little All-American (1964, 1965)
• First-team All-East (1965)

| statlabel1 = Receptions

| statvalue1 = 239

| statlabel2 = Receiving yards

| statvalue2 = 3,181

| statlabel3 = Receiving touchdowns

| statvalue3 = 24

| pfr = MitcTo00

}}

Thomas Gordon Mitchell (August 22, 1944 – July 16, 2017) was an American college and professional football player.{{cite news|last1=Khan|first1=Saliqa A.|title=Former Baltimore Colt Dies|url=http://www.wbal.com/article/252205/2/former-baltimore-colt-tom-mitchell-dies|accessdate=July 17, 2017|work=WBAL NewsRadio 1090|date=July 17, 2017}}

A 6'2", {{convert|215|lb|abbr=on}}. tight end from Bucknell University and member of the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame, Mitchell played one season (1966) for the American Football League (AFL)'s Oakland Raiders, and ten seasons (1968–1977) in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts and the San Francisco 49ers. He was nicknamed "the Crocodile" and his pouring of a pitcher of beer on the head of author George Plimpton is recounted in the book Mad Ducks and Bears. He died of cancer at the age of 72 in 2017.{{cite news | last=Klingaman | first=Mike | title=Former Colts tight end Tom Mitchell dies at age 72 | work=The Baltimore Sun | url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bs-sp-tom-mitchell-obit-20170718-story.html | date=July 18, 2017 | accessdate=September 6, 2021}} He was father-in-law to former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and current Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano, and grandfather to Bucknell defensive lineman Joe Schiano.