who did alex karras play for

Why did you insist on his dismissal? Karras had battled Alzheimer's disease since 2005, his wife, Anna said. Get out, niggers! We got out. All that matters is to see more and more black people mobilized and working toward constructive self-help goals. Ive got a few dollars in the bank, and a home, and my family eats and dresses well and I drive a good car. Theres got to be, somehow, some truly sincere understanding achieved between Negro leaders and the concerned state and city administrations. "I'm thinking about him every minute," Kramer wrote. Thats emotionalism. Haley: You seem to be much more optimistic about the racial situation than you were a few years agoand much less cynical about the prospects of white cooperation. But he was a pro wrestler first, and it was a role he returned to again and again throughout his life, including a major angle with Dick the Bruiser which made national headlines in 1963. Babe: Directed by Buzz Kulik. Once Banned for Gambling, Dies at 84 One time I remember, a Philadelphia Eagles defense man jammed his hand up under my face mask; I felt him clawing for my eyes and I got my teeth in that hand. In April 1963, then-NFL Commission Pete Rozelle suspended Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive great Alex Karras for the entire season after they were found to have bet on NFL games. Karras He discovers there are other worlds. Karras was also hampered that season by a cracked ankle bone. The first rumblings of his eventual abdication came as early as 1964, with the publication of his autobiography, Off My Chest. As for other Negro mayors and city officials in the North, like Hatcher in Gary, it simply had to happen, because otherwise, with the big Northern cities becoming more and more Negro-populated as white people rush to the suburbs, we wouldnt have representative city government. "This physical beating that he took as a football player has impacted his life, and therefore it has impacted his family life," Clark told the AP earlier this year. He doesnt care who likes him or who doesnt, so he doesnt try to be liked. I was concentrating, visualizing things that I knew could happen and what I would do if it went this way or that way. Any hand under there was under there for some purpose, right? There was no fine. Haley: Did you have to contend with race prejudice in pro ball as well? The hulking henchman Mongo was portrayed by a former NFL player. Detroit drafted him with the 10th overall pick in 1958, and he was a three-time All-Pro defensive tackle over 12 seasons with the franchise. But this kind of bitter experience isnt unique with me, or even with black athletes; it happens to every black man and woman in America. The Lions handed the champion Green Bay Packers their only defeat in 1962, a 26-14 upset on Thanksgiving during which they harassed quarterback Bart Starr constantly. I had access to much of their internal operational program, and they had me do a lot of traveling to various places, as a representative. Logs. Theyve got to be listened to, and worked with, and given respect, and urged to help with programing where money and other aid will actually filter down to the lowest level of the ghetto, where you find the people most prone to riotthose who are most bitter and alienated and frustrated and suspicious. In the 1980s, he played a sheriff in the comedy "Porky's" and became a hit on the small screen as Emmanuel Lewis' adoptive father, George Papadapolis, in the sitcom Even if my head was ringing, I could make that slow rise and walk. Haley: Washington Redskins coach Otto Graham, among others. What is that doing to help black people? Karras went to summer classes and whipped his body and grades into shape. They figure, what have they got to lose? But Paul refused to give me enough wide-running sweep plays. Alex Karras attended the University of Iowa. In the leg maneuvers, Id limber-leg, offering one leg, then jerking it away when somebody grabbed. The charismatic bruiser went into acting after his football career, and in his signature scene dropped a horse with a punch as the soft-hearted outlaw Mongo in the 1974 comedy "Blazing Saddles." Brown: Well, the major thing, we felt, was that Paul immensely favored a ground game, with intricately devised through-the-line plays. But thats where we can use all the help we can get from concerned whites: in uprooting racial prejudice where it originatesin the hearts of other whites. In it, Brown demonstrated that his hard-driving, no-nonsense brand of football was a graphic metaphor for his lifestyle: He appraised various football personalities with a brutal candor that left many bruised and angry; and he revealed an attitude of racial militancefurther explored herethat added a facet of passionate social commitment to his already complex image. ", "I had a very heavy heart this morning and I did not know why. The other thing that bugs me about that question is the assumption by the average white man that any black man he sees with any white woman has got to be sleeping with her. He also portrayed the father in the 1980s sitcom "Webster," along with his actress-wife Susan Clark, and was in the "Monday Night Football" broadcast booth along the way. Haley: Do you feel the same way about such black-power firebrands as Stokely Carmichael and Rap Brown? But some simply dont get as much out of themselves as others. We lost the white sympathy and support wed fought so hard to win: Badly needed new civil rights legislation began to die on the vine; existing laws were loopholed, modified or ignored; poverty funds dried up. I got hit on a nerve once. The relationship with white players is much better now; they respect whoever can help them win that championship bonus check. Fearsome NFL defensive lineman. Everybody knew I had everything to learn, and they knocked themselves out helping me; so I probably learned faster than most rookies in films. In one of them, Dark of the Sun, which premieres next month, Brown co-stars with Rod Taylor as a black mercenary involved in the Congolese uprising. The role I played helped me, too. But I never dwell on what I did; its history now. Alex Karras What do you think can be done? Heads got split open, people shot down, property destroyed all over the country. Alex Karras, who died Wednesday in Los Angeles at age 77, is most identified as a National Football League great and an actor. Alex Karras played 161 games over his career. Im getting older, you know, and I want my family ties to be as strong as the ties to my people. The game had accelerated very fast, see, until any coach not utilizing long passes or frequent touchdown-run threats was bound to become obsolete. Haley: But many otherscoaches, players and fans alikehave made the same charge about you. Sanitiza tu hogar o negocio con los mejores resultados. Brown: Hes looking at the wrong part of my anatomy. Notice I dont just say they hit hard, but they like to hit hardthats mental; thats positive thinking, see? That kind of demonstration served its purpose well; but it finally outlived its usefulness. Alex Karras, former NFL lineman, actor, dies In spite of the schoolyard levity they maintained throughout, I couldnt help feeling they were testing each other, secretly wondering what might happen in a ring.. I could feel and understand why he did what he did. And I played a realistic Negro in The Dirty Dozen. They just snapped it up! Karras Thats the only thing the black people are after. Haley: Would you call yourself an exponent of black power? Haley: Have you gained any more confidence in yourself as an actor since Dirty Dozen? Thats my idea of what needs to become the black peoples special interest. They are not trying to be assimilated; but they believe there should be, and must be, equality. It turns off even some supporters. Though Brown did come back to Cleveland after completing the movie, it was only to reaffirm his retirement and announce that he intended to spend his time helping his raceby heading the National Negro Industrial and Economic Union, an organization he had founded. Have you ever been to any Negro theater with a movie going, with a Negro in it? He just kept on getting slapped around, and only when he started to slap back did he begin to get any kind of respect. As a race, we suffer from a terrible mistrust not only of the white man but of each other. The people who in another setting would smile to see their kids rushing you for autographs. "Alex Karras was an outstanding player during a time when the NFL emerged as America's favorite sport," the league said in a statement. He was recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a defensive tackle on the All-Decade Team of the 1960s and retired from the NFL in 1970 at age 35. We have become a consuming people and we have produced almost nothing. With that single act, hundreds of thousands of Negroesbe they criminals, hoodlums, preachers, doctors, lawyers, nurses, schoolteachers, firemen, policemen or politiciansdiscovered that it made no difference, that what really was being put down was black people! My business relationship in Main Bout with Herbert Muhammad and John Ali was a very pleasant and compatible one, however, and I respect the organization for instilling black people with pride in their race and for teaching black people to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and take care of their own. Karras was All-Pro in 1960, 1961 and 1965, and he made the Pro Bowl four times. Between movies, he hustles through a 16-hour day that includes time at home, in his N.N.I.E.U. Former defensive lineman Karras played a former football player who'd been a teammate of young Webster's dad. All they want is decent salaries; they have to eat, to live, just like anyone else. He was an All-Pro selection four times but his irreverent nature often led to conflicts with his coaches and he missed the 1963 season when he was suspended for gambling. Alex Karras, as a young kid, Did join the high school football team, So older brother Teddy did Not further smack his self esteem, Using him as a punching bag. Stokely Carmichael uses a good statement in this area when that subject comes up. Like King, Brown was a genius in his time, but he refused to change and finally he became outdated. I got out before I ever had to do like Ive seen so many guyssitting hunched over on the bench, all scarred and banged up, watching some hot young kid out there in their place; and, worse than that, just wondering if theyd slowed down so badly theyd never be called to go into the game anymore. For all his prowess as a player, Karras may have gained more fame as an actor. I learned that if I was going to make it with the pros, I was going to have to develop something extra, something more than sheer muscle and flashy footwork. Haley: As a longtime pro in another field, how did you feel about being the rookie of the cast in The Dirty Dozen? It was whites, not blacks, who turned it into a hate thing and used it to label exponents of black power as advocates of racial violence. Haley: Speaking of babies, you were once the defendant in a paternity suit filed by an 18-year-old Cleveland girl. For fans of the Karras played himself alongside Alan Alda in the successful movie adaptation of the book, and that opened doors for Karras to be an analyst with Howard Cosell and Frank Gifford on "Monday Night Football. Thats great, the way it needs to be, because thats progress, thats advancement. Alex Karras was 6 ft 2 inches, 248 lb (1.88 m, 112 kg). This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. Now, in saying all this, by no means am I letting the white man off the hook. Haley: How did you evolve this strategy of liberation through economic self-help? Brown: If nothing is done to prevent riotsand I dont mean with more tanksrace war is a very real and immediate probability. Karras and Plimpton remained friends for life, and one of Karras' sons is named after the author. Lees wild! It was either 1958 or 1959, against the Giants. But the number grows with every threat. How many sacks did Alex Karras have? The interview ended when Brown left for San Diego to do scenes parachuting from a plane to rendezvous with an atomic submarine for his role in Ice Station Zebra. When we hit, Id dip a shoulder, hitting his pads, and cross either with a straight-arm to the helmet or a clubbing forearm. So Im sure that Im doing no big damage by looking. But Ill just stick it out, walk tall and wait for the truth to be vindicated. Former player Devin Hester named one of 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023. Was there any truth to that? When racial matters came up, however, he turned dead serious and often punctuated his pungent remarks with a baleful glare and a meaty forefinger jabbed in my direction., Despite the long shooting days, Brown rarely went out at night, choosing instead to stay in his room and study his script. Alex Karras, who gained fame in the NFL as a fearsome defensive lineman and later as an actor, has died. He said, Hell, this is beautiful all around! He called me about five one morning and said if there was a part I could play in Ice Station Zebra, hed have me in Hollywood the next day. And in the end, a dementia victim who blamed the NFL for his illn ; so I dont feel like Im neglecting my duty. Thats my hope. Haley: Have you encountered any other kind of overt discrimination since you became well-known? Why? Finally, I began to feel that Id just rather not see my old friends in that kind of situation. Why is there always the implication that the white woman is just mesmerized, just helpless, if shes with a black man? He was a key figure in Paper Lion, a look at the 1963 Detroit team by writer George Plimpton, who tried out for the team to see what it would be like for an average person. Follow Larry Lage on Twitter: http://twitter.com/larrylage, FILE - This is a 1971 file photo showing Detroit Lions football player Alex Karras. When the referee told him to call heads or tails, Karras responded, Im sorry, sir, Im not permitted to gamble.. Alex Karras, Gary Emerson graduate and former Detroit Thats really all there was to it. What are you making dust all over white people for? Just about then, another car pulled up and stopped and another white guy got out.
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