Height 6' 1" (1.85 m) Weight 112.49 Profession Actor, Producer, Soundtrack Education University of Iowa Nationality Paul Hornung and Alex Karras Suspensions Back in 1963, Paul Hornung and Alex Karras went from being well liked to most despised in the league. Karras played his entire NFL career with the Lions before retiring in 1970 at age 35. Alex Karras, who died Wednesday in Los Angeles at age 77, is most identified as a National Football League great and an actor. Karras was a great football player, but he didn't really like offense and, in those days, you had to go both ways. Karras Jr. played for Washington during the NFL strike, and when he put on his Super Bowl ring from the 1987 Super Bowl in June 2018, he became the third Ted Karras with a Super Bowl ring. Upon returning to action in 1964, Karras once refused when an official asked him to call the pregame coin toss. He worked for the SIL as an assistant coach to Bob Lombardi. [9] The Professional Football Researchers Association named Karras to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2006[10], On January 15, 2020, Karras was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as a Centennial Member. Lineman and Actor, Dies at 77", Vintage Toledo TV: CKLW & CBET-TV 9 Print ads, "Detroit Lions to add Alex Karras, Herman Moore, Roger Brown to ring of honor", https://www.profootballhof.com/centennial-slate-for-class-of-2020-revealed/, "Ex-Lions great Alex Karras suffering from kidney failure", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alex_Karras&oldid=1014358775, Players of American football from Indiana, Sportspeople involved in betting scandals, Sportspeople from the Chicago metropolitan area, Articles with dead external links from October 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, NFL player missing current team parameter, Infobox NFL biography articles missing alt text, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2012, Wikipedia articles with PLWABN identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 26 March 2021, at 17:00. His uncle, Alex Karras, spent 13 seasons with the Detroit Lions (1958-71) and earned All-Big Ten honors at the University of Iowa. But as soon as you're not a hero and not playing, the fan doesn't really care what happens to them.". (Mongo was also surprisingly philosophical, stating that he was "only pawn in game of life." His real-life wife, Susan Clark, played his fictional wife in the series; Karras and Clark produced the series through their Georgian Bay Entertainment production company. Karras later wrote an autobiography, "Even Big Guys Cry," and two other books, "Alex Karras" and "Tuesday Night Football." Mitnick said the family had not yet decided whether to donate Karras' brain for study, as other families have done. Evashevski promised to start Karras in the 1956 season opener against Indiana, when he would square off against his brother, Ted. Theodore George Karras Jr. (born December 10, 1964) is an American football coach and former player. Alex Karras: Pos: DT, Career: 161 G, 3xAll-Pro(1st), 4xProBowl, Lions 1958-1970, born IN 1935, died 2012 His grandfather, Ted Karras, Sr., and great uncles, Lou Karras and Alex Karras, played in the NFL during the 1950s and 1960s, and his father Ted Karras, Jr. Born in Gary, Indian on July 15, 1935, Karras was known for using the Detroit Lions in the National Soccer League and also his functions in Blazing Saddles and the ABC sitcom, Webster. His grandfather, Ted Karras, Sr., and great uncles, Lou Karras and Alex Karras, played in the NFL during the 1950s and 1960s, and his father Ted Karras, Jr. Alex Karras net worth is $17 Million Alex Karras Wiki: Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family Template:Multiple issuesAlexander George "Alex" Karras (July 15, 1935 – October 10, 2012), nicknamed "The Mad Duck", was an American football player, professional wrestler, and actor. [2][3] George Karras opened a medical practice in Gary, but he died when Alex was thirteen years old. He was a first-team All-Pro in 1960, 1961 and 1965, and he made the Pro Bowl four times. Because of this, Alex said, "Indiana had the inside track" on recruiting him. After being disappointed at not getting to play in the season finale, Karras threw a shoe at Evashevski and quit the team. "Many others across the country came to know Alex as an accomplished actor and as an announcer during the early years of 'Monday Night Football. He made the Pro Bowl four times, and the Hall of Fame named him a member of the 1960s All-Decade team. Family owned and operated. Alex Karras remembered as 'gregarious' and 'funny' Iowa teammate Randy Duncan, radio broadcaster Bob Brooks recall former Hawkeye great New Orleans Saints' Tom Dempsey (19) moves up … College football: Dixon, Golston among four Hawks to … In his senior season in 1957, Karras was the most dominant lineman in the nation, won the Outland Trophy, and was the runner-up in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. From the moment you walk into our showroom, you'll know our commitment to customer Karras was also hampered that season by a cracked ankle bone. What he wanted to do was chase down quarterbacks and play defense.[7]. Obviously, Iowa came up with something, I have no intention of stirring up any mess. Despite the new contract, controversy remained, as Karras and Gilmer sparred in midseason, with the coach reportedly ready to release the veteran defensive tackle. Allan Brinn, Frank Faraci, Patrick Groark, Jr., Alex Karras and his twin brother Sol, Henry T. Mulea, Al Clements, and Peter Beeftink. Previously, Karras served as the first head football coach at Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Alex Karras, who died in 2012 at age 77, was the brother of Karras’ grandfather, al named Ted, and remains one of the Hall of Fame’s glaring omissions. The rugged player, who anchored the Detroit Lions' defense and then made a successful transition to an acting career with a stint along the way as a commentator on "Monday Night Football," died Wednesday. Besides football, he excelled as an actor, sports broadcaster, author and producer. In 1974 he also played the part of Lyle, a Marine saved by Hawkeye Pierce in M*A*S*H. That same year, he was quickly brought in by ABC in September to replace Fred Williamson as a commentator for the network's Monday Night Football. [1] He was a four-time Pro Bowl player with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), where he played from 1958 to 1970. Shown here, during a rehearsal on Jan. 31, 1985, are Karras, Billy Crystal (in character as “Fernando”) and Tina Turner. By that time, Alex Karras had learned to play football in a parking lot near his home, and he blossomed into a four-time Indiana all-state selection at Gary's Emerson High School. He was treated at the Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, before being released into hospice care. After the 1971 preseason, while rehabilitating a knee injury suffered the previous year, Karras was released, ending his playing career at age 35. The Lions also said he had suffered from heart disease and, for the past two years, stomach cancer. He played a hulking villain who menaced Clint Walker in the ABC TV film Hardcase. His grandfather, Ted Karras, Sr., and great uncles, Lou Karras and Alex Karras, played in the NFL during the 1950s and 1960s, and his father Ted Karras, Jr… During his last years as a Detroit Lion, Karras wrote a journal of his experiences that was published in the Detroit Free Press. The Green Back Packers players were punished for betting on NFL games, and their violation of league rules was so flagrant that each player was suspended for a year. (Leon Hart, a Notre Dame end, was the only lineman ever to win the Heisman Trophy in 1949.) Read this biography to know his birthday, childhood, achievements, family … When that actually happened, Karras backtracked and flew home on the team plane. Also Know, is Alex Karras related to Ted Karras? Coach Karras' bloodline is football-rich; his father, Ted Sr., played for the George Halas-led Chicago Bears from 1960-64. She believed her father Alex had been a Hall-of-Fame football player with the Detroit Lions -- but that was five decades ago. He was still an All-Pro selection in 1967 to 1969. "I'm thinking about him every minute," Kramer wrote. Karras played college football as a defen… Alex Karras, 86, of Bradenton, passed away August 19, 2019. I have vivid memories of him before he ever gained immortality as “Mongo” in “Blazing Saddles” or as the stepdad of “Webster.” Alex was born in Chicago Illinois and moved to Florida in 1971, then moved to Miami, Tampa and … Karras probably would have left Iowa had he not befriended a Greek theater owner, Ernie Pannos, as well as fellow players Cal Jones and Bob Commings. [11], Karras' sense of humor came to the attention of writer George Plimpton, who heard many Karras' stories while training with the Lions for his book Paper Lion. When Alex Karras retired from the Detroit Lions in 1970, he left town for the bright lights of Hollywood. Karras was recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a defensive tackle on the All-Decade Team of the 1960s. "[8] During his first year back, player discontent with head coach George Wilson resulted in Karras asking to be traded. Karras was the tenth selection of the 1958 NFL draft, taken by the Detroit Lions. ", Several years before that, Karras had already become a bit of a celebrity through George Plimpton's behind-the-scenes book about what it was like to be an NFL player in the Motor City, "Paper Lion: Confessions of a Second-string Quarterback. [20], Karras also worked briefly as a football coach in 2007 and 2008. As before, it would be the coach who would depart, with Karras's former teammate Joe Schmidt taking over. "I'm not permitted to gamble. Karras called it his biggest college win, saying, "The Karrases have always had a rivalry with Notre Dame. He was an actor and producer, known for Blazing Saddles (1974), Victor Victoria (1982) and Porky's (1981). Alex Karras was born as Alexander George Karras on July 15, 1935 in Gary, Indiana to Dr. George Karras and Emmeline Wilson. As an actor, Karras played Mongo in the 1974 comedy film Blazing Saddles. This 1968 photo provided by the NFL shows Detroit Lions football player Alex Karras. 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