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Pro Football Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen dies at 69

By DOUG ALDEN, AP Sports Writer 1 hour, 26 minutes ago

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)—Merlin Olsen, a Hall of Fame defensive lineman and member of the Los Angeles Rams’ “Fearsome Foursome” who followed up football with a successful television career in “Little House on the Prairie,” NFL broadcasts and commercials, has died. He was 69.

Utah State, Olsen’s alma mater, said he died outside of Los Angeles early Thursday after battling cancer. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung lining, last year.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell issued a statement lauding Olsen as an “extraordinary person, friend and football player.”

This 1970 handout provided by NFL Photos, shows Los Angeles Rams football player Merlin Olsen. Olsen, a Pro Football Hall of Famer and former television actor, died Wednesday night, March 10, 2010, at a Los Angeles hospital. He was 69.

“He cared deeply about people, especially those that shared the game of football with him,” Goodell said. “Merlin was a larger-than-life person, literally and figuratively, and leaves an enormously positive legacy.”

Olsen was an All-American at Utah State and a first-round draft pick of the Los Angles Rams in 1962.

The giant from northern Utah joined Deacon Jones, Lamar Lundy and Rosey Grier on the Rams’ storied “Fearsome Foursome” defensive line known for either stopping or knocking backward whatever offenses it faced. The Rams set an NFL record for the fewest yards allowed during a 14-game season in 1968.

Olsen was rookie of the year for the Rams in 1962 and is still the Rams’ all-time leader in career tackles with 915. He was named to 14 consecutive Pro Bowls, a string that started his rookie year.

Olsen was also an established television actor with a role on “Little House on the Prairie,” then starring in his own series, “Father Murphy,” from 1981 to 1983 and the short-lived “Aaron’s Way” in 1988.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen dies at 69 - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

Athlete, actor, spokesperson. What a guy. R.I.P.