Hall of Fame
Position: Tackle
Years: 1959-1961
Place of Birth: Logan, UT
Date of Birth: Sep 15, 1940
Place of Death: Los Angeles, CA
Date of Death: Mar 11, 2010
Jersey Number: 71
Height: 6-5
Weight: 250
High School: Logan, UT (Logan HS)
Merlin Olsen was first honored by the National Football Foundation in 1961, when he was chosen as one of the top scholar-athletes. He was an All-America tackle at Utah State and winner of the Outland Award as the nation's best interior lineman. In 1980 the Foundation honored Olsen a second time, as he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. He was the first man to be first a scholar-athlete winner and later a Hall of Famer. Following his college days, Olsen played with the Los Angeles Rams. In both collegiate and pro play, he was known as a bruising, hard-hitting defensive lineman. But off the field Olsen was an intelligent and compassionate scholar, respected and admired by his peers. Following his pro football days, Olsen went into television, starring in such vehicles as "The Little House on the Prairie", and then into sports broadcasting as a stellar member of the NBC staff. He was a tough guy on the field, Mr. Nice Guy off the field.
