Monday, December 24, 2012

J-Speaks: The Passing of Great on the Gridiron and The Silver and Small Screen

There are very few people who can say that they were great in two different jobs in their life. This gentleman from Gary, IN was one of them. He first came to notoriety on the gridiron where he was an amazing player at the University of Iowa and then played for 12 seasons in the NFL and he then followed it up with an amazing career on the big and small screen. Unfortunately in his later years of life, he suffered several health problems that came from playing the game that he loved and made him special. This past Wednesday this man who went from being one of the most feared defensive lineman on the gridiron, to an outlaw with a heart of gold on the big screen, to a touching father on the small screen and had his story come to a conclusion.

On the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 10, former Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras, who also played George Papadapolis on the television sitcom “Webster” and Mongo in the Western comedy “Blazing Saddles,” passed away at his home in Los Angeles, CA from complications from kidney failure. The 77-year-old passed on surrounded by his family according to his attorney Craig Mitnick.

Karras is survived by his wife of 32 years Susan Clark, who also played his wife on “Webster.” They first met while filming the made-for-television biopic Babe for CBS. They had a daughter together. He was also married to Joan Jurgensen for 17 years and they had five children together. They divorced in 1975.

According to the Oct. 11 edition of Newsday, Clark had said that Karras began showing signs of dementia over 12 years ago. She also said that his quality of life deteriorated because of many injuries to his head that he sustained during his playing career. It had gotten so bad that he could no longer do everyday things like drive a car. Karras could not even remember some of his favorite Italian and Greek dishes that he would cook on a regular basis.

Back in April, Karras became the lead plaintiff in a suit filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, PA. He was one of 3,500 retired NFL players that accused the league that gave them the chance of a lifetime not doing a better job of protecting them from head injuries.

“Alex Karras was an outstanding player during a time when the NFL emerged as America’s favorite sport,” the NFL said in a statement.

“He will always be remembered as one of the most colorful characters in NFL history.”

Karras was born on July 15, 1935. He is the son of Dr. George Karras, a Greek immigrant who graduated from the University of Chicago and got his medical degree in Canada. In Canada is where he met and married a Canadian woman Emmeline Wilson. George opened a medical practice in Gary, IN, but passed away when Alex was 13 years old.

At that time is when Alex began his football journey where he went from playing in the parking lot near his childhood home to becoming a four-time Indiana all-state selection at Gary Emerson High School.

His brothers Lou, who became a future member of the Washington Redskins and Ted who later played for the Chicago Bears and Lions had played at Purdue, but he transferred to Indiana.

When it came time to select where he wanted to go to college, several coaches from the Iowa to Karras to Spencer, IA away from rival recruits and convinced him to sign with the Hawkeyes.

While he struggled in the beginning of his college career in both the classroom and on the field, he hit his stride when he befriended a Greek theater owner as well as his teammates Cal Jones and Bob Cummings.

One signature moment of his college career came in his junior season of 1956 when he sealed a 6-0 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes when he sacked the quarterback on the final play of the game. The victory clinched the Big Ten title for Iowa and its first ever Rose Bowl berth, in which they went on to defeat the Oregon State Beavers 35-19.

In the team’s final game of that season was against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, which they defeated 48-8 and Karras called the game his biggest college win, saying, “The Karrases have always had a rivalry with Notre Dame. The school was just 60 miles down the road from our home and we wanted to beat ‘me at anything.”

In his senior season, Karras was the most dominant lineman in the nation, winning the 1957 Outland Trophy and was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.

To put this in perspective, the only lineman ever to win the Heisman was Notre Dame defensive end Leon Hart, who accomplished that great feet in 1949.

After a great career at Iowa, he would enter the 1958 NFL Draft and was selected with the 10th overall pick by the Detroit Lions.

In his 12 seasons in the NFL, Karras made the Pro Bowl on four occasions and was a three-time All-Pro selection. He also received recognition from the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he was selected to the All-Decade Team of the 1960s. The Lions during that time period as a team were over .500 six times, but they made the playoffs only once. That was in 1970 when they went 10-4, which was Karras’ final season. Aside from 1970, the Lions two other great seasons were in 1962 when they went 11-3, allowing just 177 points that season, which is an average of 12.6 ppg. In the 1969 the Lions went 9-4-1, surrendering just 188 points that season, an average of 13.4 points per contest. In 1970, the Lions surrendered 202 points that season, a 14.4 per game average.

In all three seasons, the Lions ranked second in the NFL thanks a great deal to the stellar defensive line of Karras and his sidekick Roger Brown.

That great defensive in the divisional playoff game in 1970 against the Dallas Cowboys, the Lions did not allow a touchdown they lost 5-0. It was Karras’ only appearance in the playoffs and it was the final game of his NFL career He retired at age 35.

His time in the NFL was not smooth sailing though as he had a number of run-ins. One of them included being suspended for the entire 1963 season by then Commissioner Pete Rozelle because of his involvement in a gambling probe. Karras insisted that he only put wages on cigarettes or cigars for friends.

While he made a name for himself on the gridiron in both college and the pros, Karras gained the hearts of Americans as an actor on the silver and small screen.

In 1968, he played himself in the film adaptation of George Plimpton’s nonfiction sports book “Paper Lion.”

He really made a name for himself to the world at large in Mel Brooks’ “Blazing Saddles (1974),” where he Mongo, a night the brightest bowl in the China shop, but physically strong outlaw who slugged a horse.

He is best known in the movie for the very classic line, “Mongo only pawn in game of life.”

In that same year, American Broadcasting Company (ABC) brought him in to replace Fred Williamson as a commentator for “Monday Night Football.”

He worked his role in the booth for three years before leaving after the 1976 season. He is best remembered for his comment in his first game when he joked that bald Oakland Raiders’ lineman Otis Sistrunk, who never went to college was from “the University of Mars.”

When Karras returned to acting he was able to secure roles that include playing Sheriff Wallace in “Porky’s” and as western settler Hans Brumbaugh in ‘Centennial.”

In 1982 he played James Gardner’s closeted gay bodyguard in the Blake Edwards’ movie “Victor Victoria.”

In 1984 he played Hank Sully, the right-hand-man of villain of James Woods character Jake Wise in the film “Against All Odds.”

Karras also appeared on “M*A*S*H” in the episode ‘Springtime,” “The Odd Couple” and he had a brief run on “Match Game 75.”

Karras rose to greatness in the 1980s on the hit show “Webster,” where he played the adoptive father George Papadapolis to Emmanuel Lewis character “Webster.”

He and his wife Susan Clark not only starred on the show, they were also producers of the show through their Georgian Bay Entertainment production company.

“I have a very heavy heart this morning and I did not know why. I understand now,” Clark said back in October. “Rest in peace, my friend.”

There are very few people in this world that can say that they made a great name for themselves in sports and as an actor. Alex Karras can say he was able to do both. He was tough on the gridiron and he was sensational in front of the camera. He is also one of many examples of how the game that brought him to greatness ended up leading to the end of his life years later. It is because of his passing why the NFL and football in general is under a serious microscope and why the game that has become the best in the nation has made changes to protect players better.

Information, statistics and quotations are courtesy of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Karras and Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012 Newsday article in the Obituaries section “Detroit football great and sitcom dad Alex Karras, 77” by Larry Lage of The Associated Press.

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