Sports / Film & TV
Alex Karras
1935–2012 · professional football player, actor
Dominant Lions defensive tackle for twelve seasons who later became a bestselling book subject, sportscaster and Hollywood actor, remembered as much for owning a downtown Detroit bar as for his play.
- Born
Gary, Indiana- Died
Los Angeles, California
aged 77- Birth name
- Alexander George Karras
- Also known as
- Mad Duck
- Detroit years
- 1958–1971
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
The Detroit Lions took Alex Karras tenth overall in the 1958 draft, and he anchored their defensive line for twelve seasons, missing only one game to injury. As a rookie he fell in with quarterback Bobby Layne's hard-partying circle, and in 1963 his part ownership of the Lindell AC, a Cass and Michigan Avenue sports bar he co-owned with the Butsicaris brothers, drew NFL scrutiny over reports of gambling; Karras was suspended for the 1963 season along with Green Bay's Paul Hornung. He returned and kept playing into 1970, still respected as one of the toughest tackles of his era and later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Writer George Plimpton made Karras a central character of his books "Paper Lion" and "Mad Ducks and Bears," and Karras also wrote a diary column for the Detroit Free Press. After football he became a Hollywood actor, best known as Mongo in "Blazing Saddles" and as the adoptive father in the sitcom "Webster."
Highlights
- Drafted tenth overall by the Lions in 1958; played 1958–1970
- Four-time Pro Bowl selection at defensive tackle
- Suspended for the 1963 season over his stake in the Lindell AC bar
- Central figure in George Plimpton's books Paper Lion and Mad Ducks and Bears
- Later starred as Mongo in Blazing Saddles and George Papadopolis in Webster
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Played here · 1958–1970
Tiger Stadium
Demolished · 1912–1999
Where Karras anchored the Lions' defensive line for twelve seasons; the Lions left in 1974, and the ballpark was demolished in 2008–2009.
Related place · 1963–1971
Lindell AC
Closed · 1963–2002
The sports bar at Cass and Michigan avenues where Karras was a part owner; his stake drew NFL scrutiny and a one-year suspension in 1963. Known as "America's first sports bar," it closed in 2002.