Tragedy Impacted Raiders Great Vann McElroy
Safety Vann McElroy was involved in many big games in his nine seasons with the Los Angeles Raiders and 13 years in the National Football League, including when he was the starting free safety when the Silver and Black routed the Washington Redskins, 38-9 in Super Bowl XVIII.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the most memorable moment of McElroy’s life.
You see, McElroy grew up in Uvalde, Texas, where his parents moved to from Alabama when he was young, and he went back there from Southern California with his wife, Gale, when his NFL career ended in 1992.
McElroy owns a business there representing professional players in contract negotiations. So he was in the small town on May 24 last year when a gunman shot and killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
“It’s bizarre, but I decided to go over and eat at Vasquez … and they have the greatest enchiladas on the planet,” McElroy recalled. “And I always drive by Robb when I’m going over there. As I was driving through, I began to notice the exits that would be going in and out of the school. There were starting to be lines of cars, and then I began to notice police cars and the lights flashing.
“And then behind me on both sides, you saw policemen, highway patrolmen; they all had their lights on, just flying in from every road you can imagine. I had no clue what was going on at the time. I’m just going: ‘Goodness gracious.’
“And then I asked a couple on the sidewalk what was going on, and they said: “There’s been a shooting.”
McElroy pulled over to the side of the road and furiously started to send texts, trying to make sure his family and friends were OK, including his 8-year-old grandson, William Vann McElroy III, a second-grader at Anthon Elementary School across town.
At first, he couldn’t get any answers because it was so soon after the shootings, and the lines were jammed.
“Anthon is just a little ways away from Robb; it’s not far at all,” McElroy says. “It could have just as easily been that school. … It was just a complete shock, everyone was just devastated, and I think everyone dealt with it in their own way.
“My oldest son, V.J., and his wife, Margo, they have three kids, and they were struggling. They were emotional at times, and they’ll still break down a little bit, obviously hurting for the parents they know who lost their children, but knowing they could be those parents.”
McElroy says that to understand what people in Uvalde are going through, you have to understand this is a town of only about 15,000 in South Texas, about 83 miles west of San Antonio. So everyone virtually knows everyone.
His parents moved to Uvalde when he was six months old. He attended Dalton Elementary before going to Morales Junior High and Uvalde High School, where he became a star, and later was a two-time All-American at Baylor.
“It was a complete shock, everyone was just devastated, and I think everyone is dealing with it in their own way,” McElroy said. “You find people don’t really want to do anything. You’re just kind of in such a fog, and such shock. That’s where everyone’s at mentally, trying to process this deal. And, still, I think, not believing it can actually happen here.”
McElroy didn’t have to deal with it alone. He received moral support from members of his Raiders family, with phone calls and other contacts from Tom Flores, Howie Long, Matt Millen, Terry Robiskie, and a number of people involved with the Silver and Black.
“It’s been overwhelming,” McElroy said.
However, when McElroy thinks of monumental times in his life, the Super Bowl won’t be the first thing that comes to mind.
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