Profile
Alex Karras
Football Player and Announcer + Actor
Male
Born
Jul 15, 1935
Hometown
Gary, Indiana
Died
Oct 10, 2012
Death Place
Los Angeles, Cali...
Draft Year
1958
Draft Round
1
Draft Pick
10
Alexander George "Alex" Karras, nicknamed "The Mad Duck", is a former football player, professional wrestler, and actor, best known for his stint with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League from 1958–1962 and 1964-1970 and for his role as Mongo… Read More
Photos
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News + Updates
Browse recent news and stories about Alex Karras.
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N.F.L. Notables Who Died In 2012NYTimes - Dec 31, 2012
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Kelly Kleiman: Alex Karras, John Mackey, Head Injuries And When Enough Is EnoughHuffington Post Sports - Oct 18, 2012
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Alex Karras: Actor, Nfl Star Dead At 77ABC News - Oct 11, 2012
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Actor, Former Nfl Star Alex Karras DiesCNN Bussiness Blogs - Oct 10, 2012
Timeline
Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Alex Karras.
CHILDHOOD
1935
Birth
Born on July 15, 1935.
TEENAGE
Karras' sophomore year with Iowa in 1955 got off to a rocky start when he showed up for practice twenty pounds overweight.
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TWENTIES
Karras went to summer classes and later rejoined the football team, but a strained relationship resurfaced. Evashevski promised to start Alex Karras in the 1956 season opener against Indiana, when Alex would square off against his brother, Ted.
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Karras spent the summer of 1957 with an American track team of Greek descent.
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Karras was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft by the Detroit Lions in 1958.
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1963
27 Years Old
On January 7, 1963, Karras's ownership in Detroit's Lindell AC Bar became a source of controversy when league officials urged him to sell his financial interests in the place because of reports of gambling and organized crime influence.
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During his exile, Karras returned to pro wrestling, taking on such memorable characters as Dick the Bruiser, but was then reinstated, along with Hornung, on March 16, 1964 by NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle.
THIRTIES
1966
30 Years Old
Instead, Karras signed a seven-year contract with the Lions on May 20, 1966, with Wilson stating that Karras had used the threat of signing with Miami to garner the large deal with Detroit.
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On June 4, 1967, Karras once again hinted he would retire to work at a new business venture; once training camp began, though, Karras was back with the Lions.
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1968
32 Years Old
In 1968, Karras figured prominently in the film adaptation of George Plimpton's nonfiction sports book Paper Lion, playing himself.
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1971
35 Years Old
Following his release by the Lions in 1971, he began acting on a full-time basis, playing a Tennessee boy turned Olympic weightlifter named Hugh Ray Feather in 1973's The 500-Pound Jerk.
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FORTIES
In 1977 he was cast in the lead of the TV movie Mad Bull.
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1980
44 Years Old
He married actress Susan Clark on March 21, 1980, and they had a daughter together.
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FIFTIES
1989
54 Years Old
In conjunction with the 100 Years of Hawkeye Football celebration in 1989, Iowa Hawkeye fans selected an all-time team.
LATE ADULTHOOD
Karras was among many former NFL players to have filed a lawsuit against the NFL in early 2012, over issues of head injuries during their career that had caused various ill effects later in their lives, including dementia.
Original Authors of this text are noted on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Karras.
Text is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Text is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.