Former Green Bay Packer great Max McGee, age 75, died this past Saturday evening in a tragic fall from his roof as he was cleaning off the autumn leaves. Max McGee is a legend, as he will always be remembered as the football player who scored the very first Super Bowl touchdown on January 15, 1967. It was a 36-yard pass from Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr. Max made a tremendous one-handed catch on the play. NFL Films has shown the play thousands of times.

The stories about Max are also of legendary status. Known as a "social" gentleman, Max was out all night before the Super Bowl, thinking he would not play even one down, as he was winding down his illustrious career. Early into the first quarter, the starting wide receiver separated his shoulder. Coach Vince Lombardi screamed, "McGee, get your %^& in there!!!" Having forgotten his own helmet in the locker room, Max borrowed a teammate's and went on to catch seven passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns: the game of his life. He should have been named the MVP of the game, but back then, those awards went to quarterbacks. Max McGee forever cemented in the hearts of pro football fans, one of the gutsiest and greatest performances in NFL history. Max McGee went on to a very successful business career as a principal partner launching the Mexican restaurant chain Chi Chi's. Max was also the radio voice of the Green Bay Packers from 1979-1998.

That part of Max is all well-documented and known. What I want to share, as his next-door neighbor, is the stuff of real legend -- the private Max McGee, the extremely generous Max McGee.