Detroit Lions: The Most Underrated Players In Team History
Fearsome Foursome: Alex Karras, Roger Brown, Darris McCord, Sam Williams
From 1962 to 1966, the Alex Karras, Roger Brown, Darris McCord and Sam Williams made up one of the most feared defensive lines in NFL history, the Detroit Lions’ Fearsome Foursome. Because the NFL did not keep track of sacks or tackles for individual players in the 60s, it can be difficult to quantify how talented the players from this era were, but the team recorded 235 sacks during that time, including a team-record 57 in 1962.
Alex Karras is perhaps the most well-known of the four because of his “mad duck” personality and post-football TV career. Karras immediately jumped into the Lions’ starting lineup at defensive tackle after being drafted in the first round in 1958. Karras started every game for the Lions from 1958 to 1962, earning three straight Pro Bowl bids from 1960 to 1962.
After being suspended for the 1963 season due to gambling he turned to professional wrestling for a year. Karras returned to the starting lineup in 1964 and started every game until 1969, making another Pro Bowl in 1965. After his career ended in 1970, he went on to a successful career in film and TV, including commentary for Monday Night Football from 1976-1979 and a starring role in the 80s TV show “Webster.” Karras was named to the NFL All-1960s Decade Team.
Roger Brown was drafted in the fourth round by the Lions in 1960. He was massive for his time, standing 6’5″ and weighing 300 pounds, and lined up next to Karras at defensive tackle. He appeared in every game for the Lions from 1960 to 1966 and was named to five straight Pro Bowls as a Lion from 1962 to 1966. He was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 1967 and joined their “Fearsome Foursome,” which included Hall of Famers Merlin Olsen and Deacon Jones. He played in Los Angeles for three seasons before retiring after the 1969 season.
Darris McCord played in nearly every game for the Lions as a defensive end from 1955-1967 after being drafted in the third round in 1955, earning a Pro Bowl nomination when the Lions won the NFL Championship in 1957. McCord was the quietest of the four, and he developed a reputation as a solid player who went about his business. Brown said upon McCord’s death in 2013 that “(McCord) never was a rah-rah guy… But he was there for support, and he’d hold up his side. He was an outstanding teammate and a good player.” When McCord retired, his 168 games with the Lions was a team record.
Sam Williams is the only member of the four who was not drafted by the Lions. He was selected in the 24th round out of Michigan State by the Los Angeles Rams before joining the Lions in 1960. He played in every game for the Lions at defensive end from 1960-1965 and led the four with three defensive touchdowns over his career in Detroit. Williams ended his career after playing for the Atlanta Falcons in 1966 and 1967.
Any mention of the Fearsome Foursome would be incomplete without a mention of their greatest game, Thanksgiving Day, 1962, when the Lions stunned the eventual NFL champions and then-undefeated Green Bay Packers, 26-14. The Lions defense, led by defensive coordinator Don Shula, Hall of Fame linebacker Joe Schmidt and the four linemen, put the clamps on Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr, sacking him a reported 11 times in the game.
“Everyone watched that game,” Brown has said, “God and his 12 disciples were watching.” Brown played a part in seven of the Lions sacks in that game, including tackling Starr for a safety and also a strip-sack which Williams recovered for a touchdown. “I don’t think the German Luftwaffe could have stopped us that day.”
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