Posted on 07/15/2025 10:13:45 PM PDT by FLNittany
Grier recently celebrated his 93rd birthday on July 14, making him one of the oldest NFL players alive.
He was a third-round pick out of Penn State in 1955, selected by the New York Giants. The massive defensive tackle played seven seasons as a member of the G-Men, where he helped the Giants win the championship in 1956.
During his time in New York, Grier was a three-time All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl twice.
He was then traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 1963, where he became part of the "Fearsome Foursome", along with Hall of Famers Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen plus Lamar Lundy.
He would go on to play four more seasons with the Rams, before retiring after the 1966 season, in large part due to a nasty torn Achilles.
While Grier had a memorable career as a professional football player, it's what he did next that elevated his legend.
He became a television host on his very own show the Rosey Grier Show on KABC-TV that ran from 1968 to 1970, while also becoming a bodyguard for former U.S. attorney general and senator, Robert F. Kennedy.
Grier helped apprehend Sirhan Sirhan, the man who assassinated Senator Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles in 1968. At the time of the shooting, Grier was guarding Kennedy's pregnant wife, Ethel, while Sirhan was carrying out his deadly plan.
Grier heard gunfire ahead of him and rushed to Kennedy's side before disarming and bringing down Sirhan.
"So I see George Plimpton has the gun pointed at his face, and I'm concerned that it is going to go off, so I put my hand under the trigger housing and I pulled back the hammer so it couldn't strike," Grier recalled.
"I wrench the gun from Sirhan. I find the pin and I ripped it out and held it. Now I have the gun in my hand, so I shove it in my pocket.
"I grabbed the man's legs and dragged him onto a table. There was a guy angrily twisting the killer's legs and other angry faces coming towards him, as though they were going to tear him to pieces.
"I fought them off. I would not allow more violence."
Grier would go on to receive national recognition from his heroics that night that catapulted him into the spotlight.
He would go on to appear in dozens of TV shows, with over 70 guest appearances, some of which included “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” and “I Dream of Jeannie."
He became a series regular on shows such as Daniel Boone, Make Room for Granddaddy, and The White Shadow.
Grier didn't stop there. He pursued singing professionally, working for various labels and recording his own songs.
He was very much involved in politics, following his time on Kennedy's security detail. Grier was a Democrat in his younger years before becoming a Republican in the 1980s.
From there he endorsed President Ronald Reagan for re-election, even speaking at the 1984 Republican National Convention. In 2017, he even seriously considered running for governor of California, before opting not to pursue a candidacy.
Grier has lived many lives in his near century of life. From football player to bodyguard to actor and singer, it's been a full and adventurous life. One that isn't finished.
Wasnt he the one they called “The Fridge”? Wow, talk about a blast from the past! He was in a few movies too. Has certainly loved a full life. May he have many more years to enjoy. Neat person.
Nope, he wasn’t the fridge. That was another player, wil,iam perry.
Rosey actually did a lot of knitting and crocheting. He was different.
What a life he led! I didn’t even know about him being the one who grabbed Sirhan Sirhan.
Rosey Grier, the lineman who wrestled the gun that killed Bobby Kennedy from Sirhan Sirhan, has spent his life wrestling stereotypes, proving that big men can cry—even do needlepoint—while black men can vote for Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump.
One of the last names Robert F. Kennedy uttered fifty years ago was Rosey Grier’s. In his California primary victory speech moments before he was shot in June 1968, Kennedy said: “And to Rosey Grier, who said that he’d take care of anybody who didn’t vote for me. In a kind way because that’s what we are. Smile pretty.”
Indeed, this six-foot-five, 300-pound defensive tackle has charmed Americans with his grin and light touch for decades. But that night darkened suddenly, when Sirhan Sirhan started shooting while shouting “Kennedy, you son of a bitch.” Sirhan, a Palestinian with Jordanian citizenship, resented Kennedy’s support of Israel. Although it wasn’t reported that way in 1968, Kennedy’s assassination was one of the first Palestinian terrorist attacks against an American—and in America.
Grier was protecting Ethel Kennedy, Bobby’s wife, pregnant with their eleventh child. Grier had just helped her down from the stage in the Ambassador Hotel, when he heard the gun shots. The kind of hero who runs toward gunfire not away from it, Grier found the writer George Plimpton trying to wrench the gun from the killer.
People were scrambling, shouting, running in different directions. Acting instinctively, reliving a teenage trauma, Grier remembered his father coming home drunk one night, and pointing a gun at his sister’s face, “so I took the gun away from my dad. And now, there’s a gun pointed at George Plimpton’s face, so I put my hand over the gun, then I pulled the trigger back so my thumb went under it so it couldn’t fire.” ...
I still remember when my music teacher had us listen to this:
It’s Alright To Cry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8bdTXt2mW4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Listopad
Edward George Listopad (born August 28, 1929) is an American former professional football guard who played for the Chicago Cardinals.
Your point?
I knew you were curious. I’m helping you
often saw him play on tv as a kid in so cal. the Rams were on a lot. he was certainly fearsome as a player, but i never knew he became a Republican and supported the great RR. that’s unusual for a black man of that era. he was well known as a Christian man, which is why he stopped the violence that night. ‘Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the sons of God.’ thanks for the post.
I believe Listopad is the oldest living NFL player.
Who’s claiming that Rosey Grier is the oldest living player?
Can’t you people read?
Hahahaha - I thought he was in that movie !!!!
Rosiey Grier’s wikipedia page claims it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosey_Grier
Wikipedia? Srsly?
His memorable appearances as "Salathiel Harms" in some episodes of "Kojak" also deserve mention.
Regards,
IIRC, Rosie visited OJ in jail after being arrested for the two murders. Rosie came away very upset and supposedly he and OJ had some heated words. Speculation was that OJ may have admitted the killings to him.
My uncle played with Rosie with both the Giants and Rams.
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