Alex Karras died this morning. The headline in this Chicago Tribune obit read: “Actor, also starred in NFL.”

Obviously, the headline writer was too young to remember what a great player Karras was for the Detroit Lions. He helped define that generation of players in the 60s.

However, when it comes to being an actor, Karras made his debut in Paper Lion, the 1968 film in which George Plimpton attempted to play quarterback for the Lions. Bonus points for knowing Alan Alda played Plimpton.

Here’s a clip. Karras appears at the 18:50 mark. He jokes about being a woman with “big Charlies” and has a couple politically correct jokes about Hitler. It was a long way from Webster.

Besides acting, Karras replaced Don Meredith in ABC’s Monday Night Football booth in 1974.

Here’s a clip. By the way, this Jets team was coached by Lou Holtz.