.jpg)
Merlin Jay Olsen (/ˈoʊlsən/; September 15, 1940 – March 11, 2010) was an American professional football player, announcer, and actor. For his entire 15-year professional football career, he was a defensive tackle with the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected to play in the Pro Bowl 14 times — every year but his last. The only other football players to have matched or exceeded that number are Bruce Matthews, Tony Gonzalez, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady, who is the only NFL player to have played more times in the Pro Bowl, with 15 selections.
In 1961, Olsen received the Outland Trophy, awarded to the best lineman of the year in college football. He is a member of the Pro
Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. As an actor, he
portrayed farmer Jonathan Garvey on Little House on the Prairie. After leaving
that series, he starred in his own NBC drama, Father Murphy.
Early life
Merlin Olsen was born in Logan, Utah, where his parents,
Merle Barrus and Lynn Jay Olsen, graduated from Utah State University (USU) and
began their careers. His father was a professor at the university, while his
mother had graduated in elementary education. Merlin was the second of nine
siblings and the firstborn son. The family opened their home to host, feed,
sleep, or tutor anyone in the neighborhood.
Merlin pursued athletics in high school but was cut from the
basketball team while in grade 9, told by the coach that athletics wasn't for
him and that he should take up the arts. Later, Olsen turned down a football
scholarship to Stanford University to play for USU. Classmate Ross Peterson
described him as a "natural, big,
strong leader ... he could have been successful at anything". His
brothers Phil and Orrin also played football.
College career
Olsen attended Utah State University, where he became a
member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and was a three-year letterman in football
as a defensive tackle. He graduated from the College of Business and Social
Sciences at USU with a bachelor's degree in finance in 1962 and a master's
degree in economics in 1971. He later received an honorary doctorate degree in
business from the Huntsman School.
In football, as a senior, he was a consensus All-America
selection and was the winner of the Outland Trophy. After Olsen's junior year
in 1960, he was also named All-American by the Football Writers Association of
America and the Newspaper Enterprise Association. He was also All-Conference in
both 1960 and 1961. Olsen and Utah State were in the 1960 Sun Bowl, losing to
New Mexico State, 20–13. Led by Olsen, the Aggie defense held the New Mexico
State Aggies to just 44 rushing yards on 32 carries.
The Aggie defense Olsen anchored as a senior gave up an
average of 50.8 rushing yards (which led the nation), 88.6 passing yards, and
139.4 total yards, which all still stand as school records for defense. The 1961
Aggie defense gave up an average of 7.8 points a game, which is second in team
history behind Olsen's 1960 team, which allowed 6.5 points per game.
Additionally, the Aggie defense held four opponents to less than 100 total
yards. One, the University of Idaho, was held to a school-record 23 total
yards, with the Aggies winning 69–0.
The Aggies, not known as a national power football program,
finished 10th in both the AP and UPI postseason polls, the only time that has
occurred in school history. The Aggies had a combined 18–3–1 record during
Olsen's junior and senior seasons under coach John Ralston and were conference
champions in those two seasons as well.
He was a member of the Utah State University chapter of the
Sigma Chi fraternity, which has an annual Merlin Olsen Day of Service named in
his honor where brothers are encouraged to give back to their communities.
Awards and honors
Olsen played in the East-West Shrine Game in 1961 and in
2003 was voted to the game's Hall of Fame. He also played in the Hula Bowl
after his senior season and was voted MVP of the game.
Olsen is a member of the State of Utah's Sports Hall of
Fame, the Utah State University Sports Hall of Fame, and USU's All-Century
Football Team. In 2000, he was selected by Sports Illustrated as one of the
State of Utah's Top 50 Athletes of the Century. He was voted into the
All-Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 1988. In 1969, he was voted to the
Newspaper Enterprise Association All-Time All-America team with collegiate
greats such as Bronko Nagurski, Red Grange, Jim Thorpe, and O. J. Simpson,
among others.
In 2008, Olsen was named to the 75th Anniversary All-Sun
Bowl Team to commemorate the Sun Bowl Association's Diamond Anniversary.
Utah State University announced the intention to name its
football field after Olsen during a ceremony in Logan during halftime of the
USU-St. Mary's basketball game on December 5, 2009.
Olsen was also a three-time academic All-American at Utah
State and graduated summa cum laude in 1962 with a degree in finance.
Professional football
career
After college, Olsen had offers from both the Los Angeles
Rams of the National Football League and the Denver Broncos of the rival
American Football League. He chose the security of the NFL and signed with the
Rams. Olsen's first contract was for around $50,000 for two years, plus a
signing bonus. It was 1962, and the average football player's salary at the time
was around $12,000 a year. He was the first USU Aggie to be drafted in the 1st
round of the NFL draft.
Olsen played professionally (1962–1976) for the Los Angeles
Rams of the National Football League. A leading defensive star of his era, he
missed only two games in his 15-season NFL career. He was named the NFL's
Rookie of the Year in 1962 and was First-team All-Pro in 1964, and 1966 through
1970. He was voted Second-team All-Pro in 1965, 1973 and 1974.
Olsen almost ended up on offense, but was later moved to the
defensive line after a few experiments in practice. Soon, he became part of one
of the best front fours in NFL history. Deacon Jones, Rosey Grier, and Lamar
Lundy joined Olsen on the defensive line in 1963, which was nicknamed "The Fearsome Foursome". He
was named the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Week for week 12 in 1965. Olsen
scored his first touchdown in that game. As Jones was the face of the Fearsome
Foursome, offensive linemen often double- or triple-teamed him, leaving Olsen
one on one with a clear path to the ball carrier.
Throughout the 1960s, this quartet terrorized opposing
offenses. Olsen's play helped the Rams to the playoffs in 1967 and 1969. He was
voted the club's Outstanding Defensive Lineman from 1967 to 1970 by the Los
Angeles Rams Alumni. In week 14, 1967, Olsen and the rest of the Fearsome
Foursome were named the AP NFL Defensive Players of the Week for their
performance against the Baltimore Colts. In the 1970s, Olsen continued his
dominant play at defensive tackle, and his 11 sacks in 1972 were second on the
team. After week 8 in 1972, Olsen was named the Associated Press NFL Defensive
Player of the Week for the third time in his career.
The Rams won the NFC West crown from 1973 to 1976 thanks
in part to the play of Olsen. They ranked first in the NFL in run defense in
1973 and 1974 and finished second in sacking opposing passers both years. In
1973, Olsen was voted the NFLPA NFC Defensive Lineman of the Year, and the next
season, 1974, he was the recipient of the Bert Bell Award as the NFL MVP as voted
by the Maxwell Club. Olsen accepted the award "on behalf of all who toil
in the NFL trenches".
Merlin and two of his brothers, Phil and Orrin, played in
the NFL; Merlin and Phil played together for the Rams from 1971 to 1974. Their
nephew, Hans, son of their brother Clark, also played professional football. In
1975 and 1976, the Rams' defense finished second in the NFL against the run
while ranking in the top five in sacking opposing quarterbacks and compiling a
22-5-1 record over those two seasons.
Olsen's last game was the NFC Championship game in 1976 at
Bloomington, Minnesota. The Vikings took advantage of a freak play early in the
game. A blocked field goal returned 90 yards for a touchdown, shocking the Rams
in the first quarter. The defense was later victimized by a couple of big plays
by the Vikings. The Rams came up short, losing 24–13, bringing the storied
career of the Rams' finest defensive tackle to an end.
Olsen made the Pro Bowl a then-record 14 times, missing it
only in his final year. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in
1982 in his first year of eligibility; he selected his college position coach, Tony Knap as his presenter. In 1999, Olsen was ranked 25th on The Sporting
News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
Post-football career
Olsen enjoyed continued success after the NFL as a broadcaster,
actor, and businessman.
Olsen served as a television color commentator, teaming
mostly with Dick Enberg on NBC's coverage of the AFC during the late 1970s and
almost all of the 1980s. He and Enberg also teamed for four Super Bowls (XV,
XVII, XX, and XXIII), as well as nine Rose Bowls from 1980 to 1988. Olsen also
worked Super Bowl XIII in 1979 with Curt Gowdy and John Brodie (Enberg was then
serving as pre-game/halftime/post-game host). In 1989, Olsen was replaced by
Bill Walsh as NBC's lead NFL color commentator. For the 1989 season, Olsen
worked with Charlie Jones on NBC's broadcasts. In 1990 and 1991, he moved to
CBS Sports doing NFL games with Dick Stockton.
Olsen developed a successful career as an actor. He appeared
as the character Little George in the John Wayne movie, The Undefeated, with
Rams teammate Roman Gabriel, in 1969.
In 1970, he appeared once on Petticoat Junction, playing mountaineer Merlin Fergus in the episode "With This Ring".
When Little House on the Prairie actor Victor French left to
star in his own comedy, Carter Country in 1977, Olsen was tapped to play Michael
Landon's new sidekick, Jonathan Garvey,
for several years. One memorable quote from his character's son, Andy Garvey, "My pa doesn't know anything about
football!" came when Andy's friends suggested that Jonathan coach
their football team.
Olsen played the starring role of John Michael Murphy in the
1981-83 NBC television drama series Father Murphy.
In the Highway to Heaven episode 2.12 ("The Good Doctor"), the main character, Alex, tells Mark
Gordon (Victor French) that "All I
could see was the flowers and the beard. I thought you were Merlin Olsen."
This is an inside joke since Olsen, Landon, and French were in the TV series
Little House on the Prairie earlier in their careers.
Olsen's last acting work was in the short-lived 1988 TV
series Aaron's Way.
Olsen was also the commercial spokesman for FTD Florists for
many years. A part-time resident of the Coachella Valley, Olsen was the
longtime radio and television spokesman for Palm Desert-based El Paseo Bank.
Olsen also appeared in many Sigma Chi fraternity promotional
campaigns; he and his brother Phil were Life Loyal Sigs, Significant Sigs
(given to members for distinguished acts outside the fraternity), and members
of the Order of Constantine (given for service to the Fraternity). Olsen
donated one of his cleats, which were bronzed, to be used during the annual
football rivalry between two Las Vegas high schools, Eldorado High School and
Chaparral High School, which both opened in 1973. Each year, Olsen presented
the "trophy" in the
ceremony at the rivalry game.
Olsen often co-hosted the Children's Miracle Network
telethons, a humanitarian organization founded in 1983 by Marie Osmond and John
Schneider.
Awards
He was named the Walter Camp Man of the Year in 1982 and
Athlete of the Century for the state of Utah. During halftime of a basketball
game between Utah State, Olsen's alma mater, and Saint Mary's on December 5,
2009, Utah State University announced that the playing surface inside Romney
Stadium, home stadium for the university's football program, would be named
Merlin Olsen Field in Olsen's honor. Because of Olsen's illness, Utah State
decided not to wait until the 2010 football season to hold the ceremony; he was
able to attend the game, but did not speak. A sculpture of Olsen was unveiled
in a plaza south of the stadium during an official dedication ceremony in Fall
2010.
In 1979, Olsen was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of
Fame.
In 1980, Olsen was inducted into the National College
Football Hall of Fame.
In 1998, Olsen was inducted into the Utah Tourism Hall of
Fame.
Olsen was voted to the California Sports Hall of Fame Class
of 2010, along with Bill Walton, Dwight Stones, and Jim Otto, among others.
In 1983, Olsen served as Grand Marshal of the Rose Parade.
Personal life
On March 30, 1962, Olsen married Susan Wakley, a fellow USU
student. They had three children: Kelly, Jill, and Nathan. Olsen was a member
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a resident of San
Marino, California.
Olsen was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in 2009 and underwent three courses of chemotherapy. In December 2009, he filed a
lawsuit against 25 defendants, including NBC Studios, NBC Universal, 20th
Century Fox, Georgia Pacific, Sherwin-Williams, and Lennox Corp., for allegedly
exposing him to asbestos, which he claimed had caused his cancer.
Olsen died on March 11, 2010, at City of Hope National
Medical Center in Duarte, California, at age 69.
Olsen is buried at San Gabriel Cemetery in San Gabriel,
California.
Filmography
Film
1969 The
Undefeated Little George
1971 One More
Train to Rob Eli Jones
Something Big Sgt.
Fitzsimmons
1975 Mitchell Benton
Television
1970 Petticoat
Junction Merlin Fergus Episode: "With
This Ring"
1973 Kung Fu Perlee Skowrin Episode: "Nine
Lives"
1974 Dr. Simon
Locke The Cat Episode: "The
Killer"
1977-1981 Little
House on the Prairie Jonathan
Garvey 51 episodes
1978 A Fire in
the Sky Stan Webster Television film
1980 The Golden
Moment: An Olympic Love Story Todd
Simms Television film
1981 Walking Tall Webb McClain Episode: "Hitman"
1981-1983 Father
Murphy John Michael Murphy 34 episodes
1982 The Juggler
of Notre Dame Jonas Television film
1984 Time Bomb Jake Calahan Television film
1986 Fathers and
Sons Buddy Landau 4 episodes
1988 Aaron's Way Aaron Miller 14 episodes, (final appearance)
No comments:
Post a Comment