R.I.P. Alex Karras

Former Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras, who went from being one of the dominant lineman of the 1960’s to a successful career as an actor, passed away October 10th at age 77.  He died of kidney failure after battling numerous illnesses in recent years.

Karras played for some Lions teams that had the misfortune of being up against the Green Bay Packers of the Vince Lombardi era.  At that time, there were a lot fewer teams that made it to the post season, and Karras’ only post season appearance was in the last game of his career, when the Lions lost to the Dallas Cowboys on December 26th, 1970. Perhaps that lack of post season appearances, plus the fact that tackles were not added as an official statistic until 1994, is the reason he isn’t in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Karras became a TV and film actor after his playing days ended.  He is perhaps best known for playing Emmanuel Webster’s adaptive father on the TV show “Webster”—a character that was a far cry from his tough NFL image.  A few years ago, Karras was diagnosed with Dementia, and was one of many former NFL players with Dementia who are suing the league, alleging the NFL didn’t do enough to protect players from head injuries.