Merlin Olsen (74) and Deacon Jones rush Johnny Unitas
Merlin Olsen, NFL Hall of Fame defensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams’ Fearsome Foursome, actor in the 1970s on Little House on the Prairie and Father Murphy, and football color commentator with Dick Enberg has died at age 69 of cancer.
I liked Olsen a lot… In the 1970s and 80s… watching Enberg/Olsen do AFC games on NBC was a great foil to Madden/Summerall on CBS doing NFC games. I liked both teams equally and for different reasons and his active role in very pro-conservative entertainment in the 1970s is something to appreciate as well. He retired from football before I was old enough to appreciate him, but if Deacon Jones says you could play and were a badass then that’s good enough for me.
This and the passing a few weeks ago of Tom Brookshier continues the passing of an era for my generation — a child of 1970s and 80s sports and pop culture. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
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Damn, ya beat me to it, Floyd…
Ultimately, to each their own, but you can keep your Joe Buck and Troy Aikman combo (damn, Troy deserves so much better than that silver-spoon Costas-wannabe); anyone and Al Michaels (even in Al’s heyday); and the hell with Pat Summerall and John Madden, too (sorry, Pat’s slurred ramblings were funny – before I knew he had a drinking problem – but never understood the appeal of Madden, even well before he became a caricature of himself).
For me, the gold standard will always be Merlin Olsen and Dick Enberg. Knew their shit through and through (when you’re a Hall of Fame lineman who played next to Deacon Jones as part of the “Fearsome Foursome”, how can’t you?), but never took themselves too seriously. Made watching games as fun as they can be without being there, and while it probably set the bar too high for a booth team to equal, so glad I got to learn from Olsen, also one of the smoothest on-air voices.
Oh, yeah, loved those FTD commercials and that prairie show, too.
Rest in peace and all prayers to the Olsen family. I’ll never forget him.
Here’s what Joe Posnanski said about Olsen when he was talking about the busts in the Hall of Fame:
GOD, I LOVE THAT QUOTE!! A lovely summing-up of a good, good man.
RIP, Merlin! God bless!
Dayum, Eric! tell Mrs P I told her to give you a kiss on the lips w/tongue for that remark.
Will do. Bob’s devolved so much in the last few years, but at least he earned his smarm (plus he can bounce between knowledgeable interviews with dignitaries, musicians, athletes, actors, anyone like nobody else). Buck just has good genes.
If “good genes” is code language for nepotism then I agree. Or, maybe he’s the only guy they could fit in the frame with Costas without requiring Bob to stand on a platform.
This makes me sad. As sad as I was when Max McGee died. Merlin Olson was so much part of the lore I grew up with because the Rams were some of the Packer’s fiercest competitors back in the Lombardi era. He was part of a generation of football players who played because they loved the game. I am sitting here now with tears in my eyes.
Rest in Peace Merlin, say hey to Vince and Max for us. Valhalla just got another one.
Agreed. I had the chance to meet him many years ago at Utah State. We were both alumni, and he’s probably the best known of all of them. He was many classes ahead of me, but it was still an honor to meet him. What i remember most was his humility and genuine warmth towards anyone he met. It was like he’d known you for 10 years rather than 10 minutes.
Valhalla indeed!