RIP Yale Lary

Detroit Lions Pro Football Hall of Fame safety Yale Lary, 86, passed away yesterday morning at his home in Fort Worth, Texas.

Lary was one of the best football players on one of the best football teams of the 1950s. It's difficult to imagine now but the Lions were a powerhouse in those days. They won NFL titles in 1952, 1953, and 1957. Lary was a big reason for that success. He played for the Lions for 11 years, 1952-53, 1956-64. Military obligations took away two years in the middle. Perhaps the Lions win that 1954 NFL Championship game against the Cleveland Browns if Lary had been able to play. Probably not, the Browns left little doubt in that one. Lary was one of the best defensive backs, punters, and returners in the game. He was All-NFL five times and voted to nine Pro Bowls. He likely would've had two more of each if the Army hadn't called for him. Lary was selected to the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1950s and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.

Lary was part of a ridiculous run of defensive back talent for the Lions. When he was drafted out of Texas A&M in 1952 he joined Jack Christiansen at the back of the defense. They played together through the Lions' championship years. Christiansen retired following the 1958 season but Dick LeBeau joined the team in 1959 and Dick "Night Train" Lane in 1960. The Lions sported a defensive backfield of Lary, Lane, and LeBeau for the first half of the 1960s. It's no wonder that defense gave those great Vince Lombardi-led Green Bay Packers difficulties. Lem Barney teamed with LeBeau for the remainder of the 1960s to keep up the Lions' impressive secondary. Lary, Christiansen, LeBeau, Lane, and Barney are all honored in Canton.

Yale Lary played football before my football-viewing days yet I feel like I know him as if I'd watched all of his plays. The greatest connection that I ever had with my father was football. We could always talk about that. His players became my players and those players came alive for me. I was especially fond of those from the 1950s. I feel as if I would've been a Baltimore Colts fan if I'd been born about a decade earlier. Unitas, Berry, Parker, Moore, Ameche, Marchetti, Donovan, the list goes on. Berry, Moore, and Marchetti were my favorites. I even patterned what there was of my receiver game after Berry. My father was a San Francisco 49ers fan from the All-America Football Conference days. His allegiance might have been with the 49ers but his fascination was with Paul Brown and the Cleveland Browns. I fell asleep to tales of Motley, Graham, Speedie, Lavelli, Groza, and Willis. With a little bit of Albert, Soltau, Banducci, Perry, and McElhenny to keep up the 49er appearances. I love the NFL of the 1950s. I love every decade but that one has always been special. Perhaps because it was the best mix of where professional football was headed and where it had been. That decade of players is still so alive for me. So it's really sad to watch the thinning of their ranks. A fantastic football team is being put together somewhere. Yale Lary is a part of it. RIP.