Gene Upshaw, a Hall of Fame offensive lineman for the Oakland Raiders who led the National Football League Players Association through a strike and into an era of labor stability and soaring salaries, died only days after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the union announced yesterday. He was 63.

Upshaw died Wednesday night at his Lake Tahoe, Calif., home, according to a statement by players association.

"We are deeply saddened and shocked by the sudden and unexpected death of our leader, Gene Upshaw ..." the statement said. "Gene learned he was sick just this past Sunday and he died with his family at his side."

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement that Upshaw "did everything with great dignity, pride, and conviction. He was the rare individual who earned his place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame both for his accomplishments on the field and for his leadership of the players off the field."

Upshaw's death comes just months after NFL owners unanimously voted to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement. The move raised the specter of the first player strike since 1987.

Absent an agreement by 2010, a work stoppage could occur in 2011.

The union yesterday appointed general counsel Richard Berthelsen as acting executive director.

Eugene Thurman Upshaw Jr. was born Aug. 15, 1945, in Robstown, Texas. He joined the Raiders in 1967, drafted as a 6-foot-5, 255-pound rookie out of Texas A&I, now Texas A&M-Kingsville.

He was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1987, the same year he led union members on a strike that led owners to bring in replacement players. Upshaw subsequently defended the strike as necessary to prepare the groundwork for a lucrative, seven-year collective bargaining agreement signed in 1993 that included free agency and a salary cap.

"If you look at the history of the NFL you're going to find out that he was one of the most influential people that the league has known," John Madden, who coached the Raiders during much of Upshaw's playing career, said in a statement. "He did so much, not only for the players but also for the owners, the teams and the game of pro football."