About Vic

Before the gold jackets… there was Vic Maitland.

Long before the Hall of Fame ceremonies, red carpets, or televised tributes, there was one man quietly laying the foundation for how the game would honor its own. While others made headlines, Vic built the infrastructure of legacy itself.

As the founding CEO of the NFL Alumni Association, Vic Maitland turned a humble idea into the most respected alumni organization in professional sports. He worked not for fame or fortune—but for $1 a year, driven by a deep belief that the men who built the league should never be forgotten.

He pioneered traditions that still live on today:

  • The Player of the Year Awards

  • The Order of the Leather Helmet

  • The NFL Alumni Golf Classic Series

  • The gold blazers gifted to incoming Hall of Famers

  • And the guiding mission: “Caring for Kids”

Under his leadership, the Alumni raised millions for youth charities, gained national recognition, and secured pension parity for the overlooked pre-1959 players—the very generation the league was built on.

Today, the NFL Alumni Association spans dozens of chapters across the country, continuing to serve both former players and youth communities—just as Vic envisioned.

He was honored by President Reagan, blessed by Pope John Paul II, and quietly contributed over $1 million in time, service, and resources to a cause greater than himself. Yet his name is rarely spoken.

This website exists to change that.

Because when you talk about the names that shaped football—Rooney, Lombardi, Halas, Manning—there’s one more you need to know: MAITLAND. 

Vic Maitland built something that still stands today.
He fought for the players the league forgot.
He created the systems, the traditions, and the honors that continue to define what football is—not just as a sport, but as a legacy.

This isn’t a tribute.
It’s a correction.

Because this is football history.
And his name deserves to be remembered—now and always.

 

 

A Letter From His Granddaughter

I grew up hearing the stories.

The photos, the old programs, the familiar names being tossed around like family. At the time, I didn’t fully understand the weight of what my grandfather, Vic Maitland, had built. I just knew he was important—that he carried himself with quiet strength and showed up for others with a kind of integrity that didn’t ask for recognition.

It wasn’t until I got older that I realized how much of football’s post-career ecosystem—the community, the traditions, the brotherhood—was rooted in him.
He was the founding CEO of the NFL Alumni Association. He created events and programs that still exist today. He gave over a decade of his life, worked for $1 a year, and never once asked for credit.

And somehow… his name was almost forgotten.

That didn’t sit right with me.

So I built this site not just to honor him—but to reintroduce him to the game he helped build. To give his name the rightful place it deserves beside the Rooneys, the Mannings, and the other architects of football as we know it.

This isn’t about nostalgia.
It’s about legacy.
And it’s about telling the truth—finally.

Thanks for being here.
Thanks for remembering him with us.

With love,
Jamie Maitland