This post is part of a media project called SoCal Sports History 101: The Prime Numbers from 00 to 99 that Uniformly, Uniquely and Unapologetically Reveal The Narrative of Our Region’s Athletic Heritage. Pick a number, and consider the list of athletes attached to it. Who wore it best? Or, what’s the most compelling story linked to it? Any person, place or thing is in play with Southern California connections. Star power, transformational achievement, longevity, notoriety and quirkiness all factor in. Whatever leads to a lively discussion and interpretation.
The most obvious choices for No. 74:
Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels
Merlin Olsen, Los Angeles Rams
Ron Mix, USC and Los Angeles Chargers
The most obvious choices for No. 75:
Deacon Jones, Los Angeles Rams
Howie Long, Los Angeles Raiders
Irv Eatman, UCLA football
Eddie Sheldrake, UCLA basketball
Max Montoya, UCLA football
The most obvious choices for No. 76:
Rosey Greer, Los Angeles Rams
Marvin Powell, USC football
Joe Alt, San Diego Chargers
Al Lucas, Los Angeles Avengers
The most obvious choices for No. 85:
Jack Youngblood, Los Angeles Rams
Lamar Lundy, Los Angeles Rams
Antonio Gates, Los Angeles Chargers
Bob Chandler, Los Angeles Raiders
Dokie Williams, UCLA football, Los Angeles Raiders
The most interesting stories for Nos. 74, 75, 76 and 85:
Merlin Olsen: Los Angeles Rams left defensive tackle (1962 to 1976)
Deacon Jones: Los Angeles Rams left defensive end (1961 to 1971)
Rosey Grier: Los Angeles Rams right defensive tackle (1963 to 1966)
Lamar Lundy: Los Angeles Rams right defensive end (1957 to 1969)
Southern California map pinpoints:
L.A. Coliseum, Chapman College, Hollywood
Reference books on the subject:
“Headslap: The Life and Times of Deacon Jones,” by John Kilawitter and Deacon Jones, 1996
“Rosey: The Gentle Giant,” by Rosey Grier, 1986
“The Football 100: The Story of the Greatest Players in NFL History,” by the staff of the Athletic, 2023
“Because It Was Sunday: The Legend of Jack Youngblood,” by D.W. Cooper, 2011
It was October of 2025 when the New York Times dropped its latest “Connections: Sports Edition” puzzle on the Athletic app. The daily game challenges sports readers to match four groups of four things, picked from a grid of 16 choices. Like giving clues on the “$10,000 Pyramid” TV game show.
With the category of “Famous Nicknames for NFL Defenses,” it should have been a foregone conclusion that one of the four would be … wait for it …
(Four, three, two, one …)
The Fearsome Foursome.
Some nerve. It was blocked out by a different quartet.
Would it have helped if one of the hipsters in Gotham City remembered that, in 2023, hip-hop/rap artist De le Croix (aka @delacroix302) released a four-track instrumental project called “The Fearsome Foursome EP,” with each soulful boom-bap track named after a member of this Los Angeles Rams’ famous defensive line? (Please, give it a listen. It only lasts 11 minutes).
Merlin Olsen, Deacon Jones, Rosey Greey and Lamar Lundy frequently crossed the line of gentlemanly conduct and unnerved the opposition, but, for what it’s worth, their reign of terror lated just … wait for it … four seasons. Note: This in no way gives anyone permission to instead call them The Four Seasons.
During their alliterative convergence that bridged 1963 to 1966, the Rams also only won 22 of their 56 games. The team had plenty of offensive deficiencies. But now, taking ownership of the Fearsome Foursome brand, there is a foundational meaning of it regenerated in Los Angeles. The current version of the team wants a callback. They’ll get it without any roaming fees.
There is not much quantifiable data to explain how these four Rams might butt heads with modern-day player in a stat-rich era. Sacks were not officially recorded by the league until 1982. Solo and assisted tackles were finally broken down in 1994. Quarterback hits have only been around since 2006.
This group just locked arm in in arm, seized nicknames, and created a mystique. The only numbers that mattered were 74, 75, 76 and 85.
It was strength in numbers.
In 1985, the Los Angeles Times’ Mal Florence tried to size up the group during a story that was just a generation after their departure: “If the Fearsome Foursome had lived in another time, they probably would have been part of a marauding army, sacking cities instead of quarterbacks. There was something majestic about those four distinct personalities … to popularize and set the standard for defensive linemen. They had size and range and were always on the attack. And they did it with flair and elan that were inimitable.”
“We taught the NFL the beauty of playing defense,” Deacon Jones told Sports Illustrated in 2001, during one of those “Where are they now?” editions that sought to go past nostalgia and remind readers of the important points of yesteryear.
The beauty may have been in the nickname — from Jones, especially, who called himself the “Secretary of Defense” and came up with the phrase “quarterback sack.” He wasn’t just preaching to the choir of Rams’ followers.
Jones also holstered a lethal weapon: The head slap. Grier taught him how to do it and perfect it.
Said Jones:
“Lundy would grade out better than anyone across the line. The gamblers, like myself, don’t grade out that high. I was quick off the ball, but I wasn’t as quick as Rosey. In 10 yards, he could run with anyone and that’s all a lineman needs. I did copy his ability to slap. But I did it to keep the tackle’s eyes closed.
“Merlin had superhuman strength. If I was beating my man inside, he’d hold him up and free me to make the tackle. If he had to make an adjustment to sacrifice his life and limb, he would make it. A lot of the plays I made were because he or the others would make the sacrifice.”
Quarterbacks were the ones ultimately sacrificed.
Olsen told Florence: “I think we did some real pioneering in essence on the defensive side of the football. We helped people appreciate for the first time some of the team effort that a defensive line initiates, or a group of linebackers and secondary. A lot of those groups have come forward since that time.
“We were pioneers in another way. I think we were one of the first teams, if not the first, to incorporate stunts into blitzes and (red) dogs as a regular part of defensive patterns.”
At a time when the NFL offense valued the power running game, the Fearsome Foursome fought back, and then attacked whomever had the ball. Should the quarterback decide it may be more prudent to pass, he couldn’t take up too much time in the pocket. He was fresh meat.
“Our philosophy,” said Olsen, “was that they can’t double team all four of us.”
The Rams of the early ’60s were roaming rugged terrain, in desperate straights.
In 1962, the franchise was trying to get its horns around a 1-12-1 finish, worst in franchise history. Former star player Bob Waterfield quit as the head coach midway through it all, and Harland Svare took over.
At a time when the Dodgers had just moved out of the Coliseum and had their own ballpark to occupy, and USC football was starting to take off under new coach John McKay with an 11-0 record in ’62 and winning a national championship, the Rams lacked an identity. They were somewhat under the radar, just as the NBA’s Lakers were playing next door at the Sports Arena.
Prior to the ’63 season, Rams general manager Elroy Hirsch made a pivotal trade with the New York Giants. He swapped out the team’s young right defensive end John LoVetere and a draft pick to grab Pro Bowl right defensive tackle Grier, a 6-foot-5, 284 pounder who was already 31 years old and a seven-year veteran. Svare had been the New York Giants’ defensive coordinator with Grier before coming to the Rams so he knew of his capabilities.
Grier had been on a line with Andy Robustelli, Jim Katcavage and Dick Modzelewski that, according to a 1957 New York Daily News’ headline, made the first reference to anything called “A Fearsome Foursome.”
Lundy, a 6-foot-7, 245 pounder who had been the Rams’ right defensive tackle since 1960 when he arrived from Purdue, would move to right defensive end upon Grier’s arrival. Lundy actually played flanker for three seasons before moving to the other side of the ball.
On the left side, Jones, at 6-foot-5 and 272 pounds, had been the starting defensive end since 1961. A season later, Olsen, at 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds, became the new defensive tackle out, fresh out of tiny Utah State and christened the NFL Rookie of the Year.
Jones said in a 2008 story that he met Lundy coming in as a 1961 rookie and “when I got there, things were completely different than they are now. We were all coming out of a segregated world and we needed leadership among ourselves. I needed a mentor and Lamar was just a solid player and solid gentleman. We met during the course of training camp and became tight friends. He really helped me out during my rookie year and I don’t know if I would have made it through my first season without him.”
At the team’s Chapman College training site, it was clear: Grier brought the big-city technique and experience. Lundy had the reach. Jones brought the swagger. Olsen was the glue, missing just two games over 15 seasons. Jack Patera was put in charge of them as the defensive line coach.
Grier, who’d become known for his needlepoint abilities, figured out how to make this a tight-knit unit. All they needed was love, he said.
“When I was with the Giants, I could be a clown,” said Grier, not against putting on a pair of glasses when on the sideline taking a rest to see the bigger picture. “They had a lot of leaders. We didn’t have that many leaders in L.A. I decided that’s what they needed. So I took a stand and the Fearsome Foursome came together. … We loved each other.”
Jones also told the L.A. media that had been referring to him as his given name David — or even “Dave” — to now call him Deacon, because “I’ve come to preach the gospel of winning football to the good people of Los Angeles.” Jones’ actions already spoke louder than his words.
In his first year playing at South Carolina State, Jones’ scholarship was revoked when the school learned he participated in a protest during the Civil Rights Movement. Jones transferred to Mississippi Vocational College — it became Mississippi Valley State — and became a real steal when the Rams found him in the 14th round of the 1961 draft. They had scouted him by accident when looking at film for a potential running back. Although Jones started as an offensive lineman, his nature moved him to the other side.
That ’63 team didn’t quite sparkle. It lost its first five and its last three amidst a 5-9 season, finishing sixth in the seven-team West Division. On the stat sheet, again unofficial at the time but compiled retroactively, Lundy led the way with nine sacks. Jones and Grier with six each. Olsen tallied 3.5 out of the team’s 27 total.
In ’64, during a mediocre 5-7-2 run, Jones piled up 22 sacks in 14 games. Lundy had eight, Olsen had seven and Grier had 6.5 for a team that upped its total to 49. Chicago Bears tight end Dick Butkus were calling them”the most dominant line in football history.”
In ’65, during a 4-10 slog, Jones registered 19 sacks. Olsen had six, Lundy had 2.5 and Grier had 1.5 of the team’s 32. That season cost Svare his head coaching job.
For ’66, as George Allen came in and pushed the team above .500 at 8-6, Jones had 16 sacks, Lundy had 11.5, Grier had seven and Olsen had four and the team total was back up to 45.
The end, at least for this group, came during a preseason game in September of 1967 when Grier suffered an Achilles injury. He thought he could come back at age 35. He eventually had to retire.
At this point, as the NFL started to change its focus to more offense and Allen figured out that Roman Gabriel was their up-and-coming leader, that Dick Bass could carry the ball, and there was an offensive line worth its weight, the Rams were in the search of replacement parts for their defensive line. They were unwilling to give up its “Fearsome” mantra.
Roger Brown, a 6-foot-5, 300 pound Pro Bowl tackle, came over in a trade from the Detroit Lions and pulled on No. 78 for Los Angeles. Brown had also been part of a defensive line in the early ’60s that was dubbed the “Fearsome Foursome” by team broadcaster Van Patrick. It included Alex Karras, Darris McCord and Bill Glass.
The Rams Rams flipped to a 11-1-2 finish in ’67, tied with Baltimore for the league’s best record in the newly aligned four-team Coastal Division. The nickname seemed to have new life. In the season-ending game against the Colts, on December 17, 1967, the Rams’ 34-10 win was punctuated by seven sacks of Baltimore quarterback Johnny Unitas for a loss of 48 yards. Consider in the 13 previous games, Unitas had been sacked 18 total times. The Rams also intercepted two of his passes, by Jack Pardee and Eddie Meador. That win knocked Don Shula’s Colts out of the playoffs since the league’s tie-breaking rules went to a head-to-head matchup. That one tie on both their marks was against each other in Week 5.
For that ’67 season, Jones was retroactively credited with 21.5 sacks — it could have also been as much as 26 according to other sources. Lundy had 7.5, Brown bagged seven and Olsen had 3.5. That four had 40 of the team’s 43 sacks.
Brown put in three seasons with the Rams and the team saw its greatest success — making it somewhat curious as to why Brown isn’t better remembered in Fearsome Foursome lore.
In ’68, Jones tied his career high with 22 sacks and won NFL Defensive Player of the Year honor for the second year in a row. Olsen had nine sacks and Brown 3.5. But Lundy had two sacks in five games because of a torn knee ligaments. In came Gregg Shuchumacher, a 26-year-old left defensive tackle wearing No. 81. He started nine games, pulled in an impressive 8.5 sacks, but that would be the end of his two-year NFL career. Linebacker Jack Pardee also had 4.5 sacks.
More change in ’69: With Lundy trying to come back and making it just into four games, Diron Talbert (No. 72) stepped in and started 13 times at right defensive end, logging 7.5 sacks. Brown now coming off the bench, still had five sacks. Coy Bacon, fresh out of Jackson State, started 13 games at right defensive tackle and put in eight sacks while wearing Grier’s old No. 76. Jones still led the team with 15 sacks and Olsen had 11.
By the turn of the decade, the 1970 season saw Brown and Lundy retire. Bacon switched to No. 79. Jones’ 12 sacks were one more than Bacon’s 11 (who also had a fumble return for a touchdown). Talbert had 11.5 and Olsen registered 8.5 to help a team total of 53 sacks. The Rams’ offensive line, meanwhile, gave up just 23, which better explained a 9-4-1 season under Allen. But even that era of good will ended. Allen left to coach the Washington Redskins, and Tommy Prothro came over from UCLA after six seasons to become the Rams’ head coach.
For 1971. Bacon had a team-high 11 sacks, while Jones, in 10 games, had 4.5. Jones played through a painful left arch injury and missed three games to break a streak of 143 consecutive games played. Phil Olsen, Merlin’s brother, was slotted in at right defensive tackle (No. 72) and started eight games, landing four sacks. He shared that spot with Bill Nelson (No. 67), who had four more sacks. Merlin Olsen added four sacks in his 14 starts.
After 11 seasons in L.A., Jones was traded to the San Diego Chargers in January of 1972. Merlin Olsen stepped up his game and had 10 sacks in ’72, behind Brown’s 10.5 team lead. By ’73, Olsen was still on his game with seven sacks, but Bacon also left for San Diego. The new team leaders were left defensive tackle Jack Youngblood (wearing No. 85, Lundy’s former number) with 16.5 sacks, and right defensive end Fred Dryer (wearing No. 89) with 10 sacks. Larry Brooks (No. 90), the new left defensive tackle, had nine sacks.
Olsen, Youngblood, Dryer and Brooks … That was the foursome a decade after it all started.
Chuck Knox came in ’74 as the head coach and, during a 10-4 season, losing to Minnesota in the conference championship, Dryer and Youngblood had 15 sacks each to Brooks’ 11 and Olsen’s 3.5.
By age 35, Olsen had 7.5 sacks in ’75, again starting all 14 games. Youngblood (15), Dryer (12) and new left defensive tackle Cody Jones (No. 76, with 4.5 sacks) rounded it out.
Olsen was the last of the original Fearsome Foursome to retire in 1976 — he had three sacks that year. The Rams won another division title, only to lose to Minnesota again in the NFC championship. Youngblood and Brooks (14.5) led the way. Dryer had five, with rookie Mike Fanning (wearing No. 79) adding four.
And that was a wrap.
On the ProFootballReference.com statistical history of the Rams franchise, a category labeled “Approximate Value” is supposed to “attach a single number to every player’s season since 1960″ to gauge, well, the player’s approximate value. Like the MLB’s Wins Above Replacement.
Olsen is the franchise’s career-best “AV” of 167, even ahead of Aaron Donald’s 153. Olsen was the team’s seasonal “AV” leader as a rookie in ’62 as well as in 1970.
Olsen retired as the Rams’ all-time leader in tackles with 915, although, again, it’s not all official. Named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1974, he not only had the unique experience to play with his brother Phil (6-foot-5, 265 pounds) on the Rams from 1971 to ’74, but also play against another younger brother, Orrin, who was in the NFL for one season as a 6-foot-1, 245-pound center for the Kansas City Chiefs.
From 1964 to 1968, Jones was the team’s “AV” leader for five straight years and had a career “AV” of 134 — eighth all time with the Rams).
Olsen and Jones are so far the only two of the original Fearsome Foursome to have their numbers retired by the franchise, as both are also in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
ProFootballRefernce.com researchers, putting together information from game film and other resources to try to quantify defensive stats from games going back to 1960, credits Jones as the Rams’ franchise leader in sacks with 159.5.
His career totals of 173.5 (including two years in San Diego and one more in Washington) would put him No. 3 all time on the “unofficial leaders” list, behind Bruce Smith (200) and Reggie White (198). Smith and White are Nos. 1 and 2 on both official and unofficial lists.
Merlin Olsen has been slotted fourth all-time in the Rams’ franchise record book with 91.0 sacks. Lundy had 60.5. Grier had 21 in his fours seasons and Brown added 15.5 in four seasons that followed.
In the 2023 book “The Football 100: The Story of the Greatest Players in NFL History,” Jones is rated at No. 16 and Olsen is No. 30. Olsen was also on The Sporting News’ list of the 100 Greatest Football Players of All Time in 1999, coming in at No. 25.
For Jones, the “Football 100” book pulls a quote from his 1996 biography, “Headslap,” that goes: “I have a mean streak, and in my business, I needed it, or I never would have made it. Pro football is, after all, a pain-giving game. My head slap gave pain. It made you not want to hold me at the line, which is the one illegal move offensive linemen get away with over and over in every game. My head slap was the right hand of Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali rolled into one.”
“The Football 100” also quotes L.A. Times columnist Jim Murray when he compared what Babe Ruth did for offensive baseball, Jones did for defensive football. “He was a genius at it,” Murray wrote.
The NFL now gives out the Deacon Jones Award to the player with the most sacks recorded in a season.
Jones recalled his most memorable sack was off Atlanta’s Bob Berry, which knocked the quarterback’s helmet off.
“If his helmet doesn’t go, his head does,” Jones would say.
Olsen became the gentle giant of Hollywood actors — “Father Murphy,” and Jonathan Garvey from “Little House on the Prairie” — as well as an esteemed television game analyst for years on NBC with Dick Enberg as his partner. He was also a believable spokesman for telemarketing flowers. Bouquets to him for his career that included a successful Porsche/Audi car dealership in Encino.
Grier also went into movies and TV, but was more a political activist and recognized as an ordained minister. As a bodyguard hired during the 1968 presidential campaign along with teammates Jones and Lundy, Grier put his thumb behind the trigger of Sirhan Sirhan’s gun to prevent him from firing any further after he had already assassinated Robert Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in L.A.
He has been referred to as “Forrest Grier” from a Sports Illustrated story for his Gumpian ability to be on so many consequential moments in history.
In the summer of 1972, Grier was literally a co-headliner in a bleak Blaxploitation sci-fi comedy – if that’s a real genre — called “The Thing With Two Heads.” He played a specificy type-cast African-American convict about to go to the electric chair (Prisoner No. 4031) who decides to donate his body to science. Instead, he’s takento a transplant center where a dying mad professor/white bigoted doctor (Ray Milland) wants to attach his head to a more robust body. What could go wrong?
Roger Ebert gave it a mild thumbs in his movie review: “The publicity for the movie warns against the possibility of ‘apoplectic strokes, cerebral hemorrhages, cardiac seizures or fainting spells’ … they’re just trying to make themselves look good. The only first aid they really need is hot coffee for the patrons who doze off.”
At a time when NFL-turned-film stars like Jim Brown, Jim Kelly or Fred “The Hammer” Williamson were in vogue, Grier turned to becoming an ordained minister in 1983, a role model for inner-city teens, and a nationally known fan of needlepoint.
In 1974, he also told us it was alright to cry. It might make us feel better.
Lundy never stayed long in the public limelight, battling a serious muscle disease after he retired. Lundy also struggled with diabetes and a thyroid ailment during his career.
Lundy, also in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, credited Grier with giving him a better outlook on life as he battled physical issues. It was part of the idea that these four would remain friends to the end.
“Rosey is very involved in religion, and a year ago he came to see me and started talking,” Lundy said in a ’85 L.A. Times interview. “I was on the other side of the spectrum as far as religion was concerned. But now that I have accepted Jesus Christ it seems like my world has turned around, the mountains have been moved. I feel good inside.
“Whoever got the most publicity of the group — Merlin, Rosey or Deacon — we were still looked at as a group. The reason we are remembered is that we were successful as a group.”
Grier, a draft pick by the Giants out of Penn State in 1955, remains the last living member of the group, turning 94 in July, 2026. Lundy died at age 71 in 2007. Olsen died at age 69 in 2010. Jones died at age 74 in 2013.
In a 2025 Los Angeles Times feature on the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive line of Byron Young, Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske and Jared Verse, the story channeled much of the “Fearsome Foursome” legend. They even recreated a photo of the four lined up in a three-point stance.
“The coolest part about it is we’re talking about that group 50 to 60 years later,” Fiske said. “I mean, that’s unbelievable. … For a whole group to make their mark is something that is still considered one of the best is something we chase.”
“They had their time, and now we have our time to make a name,” Young said.
Before the 2026 season, the Rams announced five new uniform color schemes and two new “alternative” looks. One of them is called “Fearsome White” — white jerseys and pants, and shoes and socks, and a white Ram horn, highlighted in blue. No gold. Just like the team from the ’60s. There’s even a number on the sleeve in a “period-correct placement,” the team noted, having players model the jerseys in front of “lockers” dedicated to (and including the old-style helmet horns) of Lundy, Grier, Olsen and Jones.
“To see the Los Angeles Rams uniforms that we wore 60 years ago on the playing field now, reminds me of the importance of being a team player,” Grier said in a statement released by the team. “We selflessly prioritized the team’s collective success over individual stats or personal glory.
“As strong teammates, we supported each other through the inevitable ups and downs of the NFL season. Whether we had those uniforms on or off, we were accountable teammates, trusting each other to do our job flawlessly.”
And maybe next time, it won’t be so puzzling when someone has to defense the absence of mention for The Fearsome Foursome.
Who else wore No. 74 in SoCal sports history?
Make a case for:
Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher (2010 to 2021), Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher (2025):
The native of Curacao came to the franchise as a 6-foot-5, 265-pound catching prospect and took No. 74 because it was the street number where he grew up. By age 22, he showed his worth by striking out 41 in 27 innings during 25 games in 2010. He would surpass 100 strikeouts four times (and reach 99 once and 96 in his second year) despite throwing less than 77 innings. A three-time NL All Star, he led the NL with 41 saves in 2017 (a year after collecting 47) to go with a 1.32 ERA and 5-0 record. His 12-year run with the Dodgers allowed him to amass a franchise record 350 saves, nearly 200 more than runner-up Eric Gage. After spending four years of free agency in Boston, Jansen returned to Southern California and wore No. 74 for the Angels in Anaheim in 2025 (29 saves in 62 games).
In 2013, the Los Angeles Times’ Bill Plaschke wrote: “The Dodgers’ bullpen is a dizzying array of beards and tattoos, its inhabitants marked by checkered pasts and chips on shoulders. All of which makes Kenley Geronimo Jansen the weirdest one of all. ‘You don’t have to look like a tough guy,’ he said softly. ‘When the situation comes up, you just have to be a tough guy.’ …. (His) midseason emergence has made a (Yasiel) Puig-like impact on the pitching staff. (He) takes the mound looking like a giant kid in his pajamas. His giant arms have no tattoos. His whispery voice has no edge. His soft eyes are wide and wandering. He doesn’t drink. He doesn’t party. He is 25 years old and still lives with his parents.”
Perhaps trying to channel the career of Jansen, the Dodgers’ signing of 17-year-old Joseph Deng Thon in January of 2025 as a relief pitcher was to give him No. 74 as well. The 6-foot-7, 185-pound righthander became the first player from South Sudan to sign a professional baseball contract.
Ron Mix, USC offensive lineman (1956 to 1959), Los Angeles Chargers right tackle (1960):
The career of the Pro Football Hall of Famer started as what he called “one of the least talented players in our starting lineup” at Hawthorne High. A Jewish kid who originally grew up in the Boyle Heights neighborhood, Mix considered going to El Camino College with hopes of transferring to UCLA but his size and potential caught the attention of USC end coach Bill Fisk at a high school post season All Star game. He accepted a USC scholarship and began as an offensive and defensive end, wearing Nos. 85 and 83.
He even led USC with one interception in that spot in 1957. As one of the few who lifted weights, he continued to grow bulk and strength, and transitioned to tackle. In 1959, he helped terrorize Pitt’s backfield en route to a 23-0 win. The team captain also recovered a fumble to set up a score in a 17-8 victory over Baylor later that year. His defensive playmaking along with outstanding blocking earned him an All-American nod to cap his Trojan career. Mix kept No. 74 as the AFL’s Los Angeles Chargers got him in a draft trade from the Boston Patriots and signed him for $12,000 plus a $5,000 bonus after he turned down the NFL’s Baltimore Colts’ offer of $8,000. Mix started all 14 games as a rookie, making the AP All-Pro first team. Mix then followed the franchise’s move to San Diego where he made eight straight Pro Bowls. Mix, inducted into the Hall in 1979, is one of only 20 who played all 10 seasons of the AFL’s existence and won a title with the Chargers in 1963. “One of the best offensive lineman I’ve ever seen,” said Chargers coach Sid Gillman. Mix made a statement before the 1965 AFL All-Star Game set for New Orleans that if Black players weren’t allowed to eat in certain restaurants, then he would refuse to play. More teammates joined Mix’s protest and the game was moved to Houston. When Mix decided to retire from the Chargers after the 1969 season he was lured back to play for the Oakland Raiders in 1971. Chargers owner Gene Klein was so upset he took Mix’s No. 74 out of retirement and put it back into circulation. Of the Chargers’ six retired numbers, Mix’s No. 74 is still not among them.
In a 2026 essay for the Los Angeles Times, the 88-year-old Mix wrote: “I am in that winter of life; a time long after leaving that locker room, a place that was alive with bravado and bonds with teammates, each knowing the devastating work it took to, not only get there, but to stay there, because each year the team would bring in a fresh group of draftees and players acquired by trade who wanted your spot. As teammates, we had an unspoken contract to do the drills to the extent that the movements become instinct, to do the work, to play injured, to show up. Playing against greatness was a measurement of who you were. I had the, yes, the pleasure of playing directly against fellow Hall members such as Deacon Jones, Buck Buchanon, Bobby Bell and Claude Humphrey, and a slew of other notable defensive linemen. They, and others, were equally committed to stopping me from doing my job. It has now been 54 years since I left the game and I still miss it.”
Who else wore No. 75 in SoCal sports history? Make a case for:
Howie Long, Los Angeles Raiders left defensive end (1982 to 1993):
Following his rookie season with the team in Oakland, Long started in 151 games during the Raiders’ L.A. run and made eight Pro Bowls. Also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-1980s team, and he was an official Hall of Fame member in the Class of 2000. On the NFL’s unofficial list of career sack leaders, Long was credited with 91.5, tied for No. 85, and one-half ahead of Merlin Olsen. And he can tell you all about it every Sunday morning from the Fox Studios lot.
Irv Eatman, UCLA offensive lineman (1979 to 1982), Los Angeles Rams offensive lineman (1993):
A two-time Lombardi Award semifinalist, two-time All-Pac-10 pick and three time honorable mention as an All American, he capped off his college career on the Bruins’ 1983 Rose Bowl win.During an 11-year NFL run, after three years in the USFL, he was able to circle back to play for the Rams in ’93, starting all 16 games at left tackle.
Max Montoya, UCLA offensive right guard (1977 to 1978):
Born in Montebello, a standout at La Puente High and Mt. San Antonio College, Montoya gravitated to UCLA and was a two-year starter. That launched an NFL career that included four Pro Bowl appearances, including one during his time wearing No. 65 for the Los Angeles Raiders (1990 to ’94).
Eddie Sheldrake, UCLA basketball guard (1948 to 1951):
It seems odd that a 5-foot-9, barely 120-pound guard out of L.A.’s Washington High and captain of John Wooden’s Bruins team at a senior in ’51 would sport such a large number like 75. The rules in place usually called for players to wear nothing larger than 55 so referees could signal fouls to the scorekeeper with their hands. Sheldrake, named to the United Press’ “Little All-American” team of players 5-foot-10 and under, was a Navy aviation mechanic before he went to UCLA and set a school record with 38 points against Stanford as a senior, the year he actually started at forward. Nine members of the UCLA team moved on, so Sheldrake went back to guard, the position he had during his first two seasons of varsity play as he was captain of the Bruins’ freshman team in ’47, setting a record with 262 points. As a sophomore, Sheldrake started the last two games of the season against USC and led his team with 17 points in the first encounter. As a senior, Sheldrake won the Coach Caddy Works Award for competitive spirit and contribution to the team. During Sheldrake’s time on Wooden’s first three varsity teams, the squad went 65-24 and won three Southern Division championships, including UCLA’s first full conference title and NCAA appearance in 1950.
After UCLA, Sheldrake played NIBL and AAU basketball for the Los Angeles’ Kirby’s Shoes squad, leading the team to a 12-0 mark as its captain in ’51-’52 and staying through 1957. Also wearing No. 75.
Even though he was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000, his Wikipedia bio rightly claims Sheldrake as a far more famous restaurateur. He and his brother Don started opening Kentucky Fried Chicken stores in the Belmore Shores area of Long Beach in 1965. Then they started the Polly’s Pies chain in Fullerton in 1968, naming the store after the newborn daughter of their manager. Today the Polly’s Pies restaurant chain has 13 stores located through Los Angeles County, Orange County and Riverside County.
Sheldrake died at age 98 on May 18, 2025. He was inducted into the Orange County Hall of Fame in ’25.
Matt Kalil, USC football center (2008 to 2011): The 6-foot-6, 315-pounder out of Servite High, younger brother of Trojan All-American center Ryan Kalil, Matt also won the Morris Trophy as the Pac-12’s top offensive lineman and became the fourth overall pick by Minnesota in the 2012 NFL Draft. In early 2026, Matt Kalil was in the news for reportedly suing his ex-wife, model Haley Kalil, for making public statements about his private parts as being a reason behind the end of their marriage in 2022.
Who else wore No. 76 in SoCal sports history? Make a case for:
Al Lucas, Los Angeles Avengers defensive tackle (2004 to 2005):
On Sunday afternoon on April 10, 2005, the news shook up not just Arena League Football followers but also those Los Angeles-area football fans: During an Avengers game at the downtown Staples Center against the New York Dragons, the 6-foot-1 and 300 pound Lucas made a tackle on a kickoff return just minutes into the game as the crowd of 11,000 were still filing into the arena. Dragons kick returner Corey Johnson, with teammate Mike Horacek directly in front of him, came toward Lucas. He ducked low to get past a blocker and collided with both Johnson and Horacek at about the 15-yard line, well clear of the Arena Football League’s sponsored dasher boards. Johnson’s knee and upper thigh smash, and Horacek’s leg, hit Lucas’s head at precisely the wrong angle.
“I didn’t see or hear anything that was different than what I’ve seen a million times,” Avengers coach Ed Hodgkiss said at a press conference the next day. Lucas twisted his neck, fell unconscious and never got up. Attempts to revive him failed. After he was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead, the team wasn’t informed until after the game, which the Avengers won, 66-35. Lucas, who was 26, was survived by his wife and young daughter. It was a rare case of a death occurring on the field during a live game. Lucas suffered an upper spinal cord injury caused by blunt force trauma, contact that seemed like a normal football play. The team retired his No. 76 the next season and several memorial funds were set up in his honor by his alma mater, Troy State in Georgia, and other organizations. The AFL Player of the Year and Hero Award were named in his honor. In 2004, Lucas led the Avengers with 18.5 tackles, three sacks, three fumble recoveries and a safety. Going into that Week 10 game against New York, Lucas had made nine tackles and four assisted tackles that ’05 season.
Marvin Powell, USC football offensive tackle (1974 to 1976):
A College Football Hall of Famer, Powell was a two-time All-American and a key member of the ’74 national title team. Trojans went 29-6-1 in his career. After majoring in political science and speech at USC, Powell returned to college for six off-seasons to earn his Juris Doctor from New York Law School in 1987. He had four Pro Bowl seasons in the NFL with the New York Jets and became president of the NFL Players Association.
Joe Alt, Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle (2024 to present): The 6-foot-8, 321-pound two-time All American from Notre Dame was made the No. 5 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft by the Chargers.
Who else wore No. 85 in SoCal sports history? Make a case for:
Jack Youngblood, Los Angeles Rams defensive end (1971 to 1984):
The resume includes having Sports Illustrated, in a 2007 celebrating the greatest professional athletes to wear the uniform numbers, calling him the best No. 85 of all time, a number the team has retired. Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001, Youngblood was a seven-time Pro Bowl player, five-times first-team All Pro and 1970s “All Decade Team” member. He played in 201 consecutive games, a Rams team record, and only missed one game in his 14-year NFL career. His 151 sacks are second only to Deacon Jones in Rams’ franchise history, and on the league’s unofficial list of career leaders, Youngblood would be No. 6 all time.
Oh, and he played not only in Super Bowl XIV at the Rose Bowl in 1980, as well as two prior playoff games, with a broken leg.
Youngblood, who led the NFL with 18 sacks in 1979, helped the Rams come back from a 5-6 start to win their last four in a row, somehow take the NFC West and face Dallas in the first round of the playoffs. As they took a 14-5 halftime lead, it was apparent Youngblood was hurt. Team doctor Clarence Shields told him his leg was broken. “I said, ‘Tape it up, Clarence. … I can still run, tape this dadgum thing up’,” Youngblood told CBS Sports. “He said, ‘Jack, I don’t know how to tape.’ My orthopedic doctor doesn’t know how to tape (laughs).”
The leg was taped up and Youngblood helped preserve a 21-19 win in the final moments with a sack of Roger Staubach, who retired after the game.
In the NFC title game, a 9-0 win over Tampa Bay, Youngblood played with an extra pad protector in the leg.
In the Super Bowl against Pittsburgh, the Rams’ 13-10 halftime lead disappeared when Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swan and John Stallworth went to work in the second half, as Youngblood kept chasing the future Hall of Fame quarterback around the field.
Youngblood went to Hawaii the next week to play in the Pro Bowl.
“Everybody asked me when we got to Hawaii, ‘What the heck are you doing here? You’ve got a broken tibia,'” said Youngblood, who became the Rams’ radio analyst Also the Rams’ radio analyst from 1987 to 1991. “I said, ‘Shut up, I’m not going to miss this party.’ … I mean, we went through the season, and now it’s time to let your hair down a little bit. We do have to go out and compete a little bit. But it wasn’t nearly as intense. It was a show. Let me put that away.”
Bob Chandler, Los Angeles Raiders receiver (1982):
On the wall of his dark office space could be a framed magazine cover — when he posed for Playgirl’s special Christmas Double Issue of 1981. It’s the one with Warren Beatty on the cover, and down in the right corner it teases: “Celebrity Nude! The Oakland Raiders’ Bob Chandler – He’ll Be Catching More Passes Now.” “I never wanted notoriety for anything other than my playing ability,” Chandler told Sports Illustrated’s Douglas Looney at the time. “That’s why I had no notoriety. Strange, isn’t it that after 11 years of busting my ass on the football field, I get the most attention for spending eight hours exposing my ass?” Chandler was preparing then for his 12th NFL season at that point a few dozen catches shy of the 400 milestone. From 1975 through 1978, he caught 220 passes for the Buffalo Bills, more than any other receiver in the league during that period. SI also pointed out that somehow Chandler was never picked for a Pro Bowl. Maybe his offensive contributions were overshadowed on that Bills squad by teammate, running back and friend O.J. Simpson. After missing almost the entire 1979 season with a separated shoulder, Chandler came back in 1980 to lead the Super Bowl-champion Oakland Raiders in receptions with 49, including 10 for TDs, tied for second in NFL scoring catches. At age 32, despite missing most of the first half of the season with a ruptured spleen, Chandler had 26 receptions and four TDs, plus the highest yards-per-catch average, 17.6, of his career. He was back in Southern California at age 33 for what was his final NFL season with the newly-moved Raiders but played just two games in 1982 because of a knee injury. He retired for good before the 1983 season started, ending up with an average of 14.2 yards a catch, with 370 receptions and 48 touchdowns. One last quip from Chandler from that SI piece is how we’d like to remember him: “In the total scope of life, I’ve accomplished nothing. Except that I have gotten to bide my time and be a kid for a long while. And it’s fun being paid a lot of money to be a kid.”
Antonio Gates, Los Angeles Chargers tight end (2003 to 2018):
The eight-time Pro Bowl player played his final two seasons in L.A. after the first 10 in San Diego, collecting 955 receptions for 11,841 yards and 116 touchdowns, the latter more than any tight end in NFL history. It earned him a Pro Football Hall of Fame induction in 2025. How good was he? Former teammate and quarterback, Philip Rivers explained “The Gates Rule” within the team’s offense philosophy: ”That just meant if Antonio Gates is one on one, that overrides all other things. We can talk through a read all you want. But if there’s one guy on Gates and you like the matchup, the ball’s going to No. 85.” And … “The thing about Antonio was, as great as he was as a player, he was just a regular guy. He was a star, yet he wasn’t too big for the little guys on the team. He’d sit in the cold tub and be there having a conversation with a practice squad tight end and practice squad D-lineman. Gates had a sense of style to him in the clothes he’d wear, the cars he’d drive and how he’d carry himself. He has that great smile. Just in the way he’d carry himself around the facility, his mannerisms, he reminded me of a Michael Jordan or a Kobe Bryant. That’s just the way he operated.”
Upon Gates’ induction into the Hall, it was reported that he is the only one enshrined who never played a down of college football in preparation for his professional career. Gates was a college basketball standout at Kent State (after first attending Michigan State to play football and basketball, but it never happened, then transfering to Eastern Michigan to play basketball, then having to re-establish his academics at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, Calif.) Undrafted in the NFL, the Chargers gave him a $7,000 bonus to sign as a rookie free agent.
Dokie Williams, UCLA (1979 to 1982) and Los Angeles Raiders wide receiver (1983 to 1987):
He took the number left open by Chandler. The Raiders selected Williams in the fifth round of the 1983 NFL Draft. He played in 74 games with 39 starts and caught 148 passes for 2,866 yards and 25 TDs. He also returned 44 kickoffs for 949 yards. He was member of the Raiders Super Bowl XVIII championship team.
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