today is the CA primary election, and tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. This got me thinking a good deal today about RFK, and the events surrounding his shooting by Sirhan Sirhan.
If I recall correctly, as a result of Kennedy's shooting, the US passed a law that provided Secret Service protection to presidential candidates.
Rosie Grier was a friend of RFK, and served as a personal bodyguard for the candidate during his Presidential primary campaign. On the night of the shooting, just after RFK announced victory in the CA primary, Rosie was guarding RFK's wife, Ethel. My recollection is that Rosie Grier, along with former decathlete Rafer Johnson and writer George Plimpton were the ones that primarily tackled and disarmed Sirhan Sirhan after he shot RFK. (I might have to pull off the shelf my book about RFK by Evan Thomas. Mr. Thomas goes in to extensive detail about the events that took place in The Ambassador Hotel before and after the shooting, and Rosie's exact actions after the shooting are detailed.)
Rosie is currently 85, and will turn 86 in a month. His last season as a PSU player was in 1954. As such, I don't think there are many folks on this board, or PSU fans, that can say they saw Rosie play for PSU.
He was drafted by the NFL New York Giants in 1955, and was an All-Pro for them in 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, and 1962. Before the 1963 season, he was traded to the LA Rams. With the Rams, he was a part of the Fearsome Foursome, with Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, and Lamar Lundy. (An interesting note -- he was the oldest member of the Fearsome Foursome, but he's the only member of that elite defensive line that's still alive.)
His football career ended in 1967, when he suffered a torn Achilles.
After retirement, he went on a Bob Hope tour, and then tried his hand at acting, appearing on numerous episodes of TV shows, as well as several movies (mostly in the late '60s and '70s).
He became a Protestant minister in 1983, and shortly thereafter founded a nonprofit to help inner-city teens.
I think the last major publicity that involved Rosie was when he visited with OJ while he was in jail, following his arrest for the murders of Nicole Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. Rosie visited OJ a number of times while he was in jail, and was called to testify at OJ's trial. As conversations between an inmate and a clergyman are protected under CA law, Rosie provided no details about the conversations he had with OJ.
Actually, I think Rosie also made some news last year, when he announced that he would run for Governor of California. However, he dropped out of the race several months after he made the announcement.
Just some random musings by me about a former PSU player.
If you have any Rosie memories, or stories, feel free to post them as replies
If I recall correctly, as a result of Kennedy's shooting, the US passed a law that provided Secret Service protection to presidential candidates.
Rosie Grier was a friend of RFK, and served as a personal bodyguard for the candidate during his Presidential primary campaign. On the night of the shooting, just after RFK announced victory in the CA primary, Rosie was guarding RFK's wife, Ethel. My recollection is that Rosie Grier, along with former decathlete Rafer Johnson and writer George Plimpton were the ones that primarily tackled and disarmed Sirhan Sirhan after he shot RFK. (I might have to pull off the shelf my book about RFK by Evan Thomas. Mr. Thomas goes in to extensive detail about the events that took place in The Ambassador Hotel before and after the shooting, and Rosie's exact actions after the shooting are detailed.)
Rosie is currently 85, and will turn 86 in a month. His last season as a PSU player was in 1954. As such, I don't think there are many folks on this board, or PSU fans, that can say they saw Rosie play for PSU.
He was drafted by the NFL New York Giants in 1955, and was an All-Pro for them in 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, and 1962. Before the 1963 season, he was traded to the LA Rams. With the Rams, he was a part of the Fearsome Foursome, with Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, and Lamar Lundy. (An interesting note -- he was the oldest member of the Fearsome Foursome, but he's the only member of that elite defensive line that's still alive.)
His football career ended in 1967, when he suffered a torn Achilles.
After retirement, he went on a Bob Hope tour, and then tried his hand at acting, appearing on numerous episodes of TV shows, as well as several movies (mostly in the late '60s and '70s).
He became a Protestant minister in 1983, and shortly thereafter founded a nonprofit to help inner-city teens.
I think the last major publicity that involved Rosie was when he visited with OJ while he was in jail, following his arrest for the murders of Nicole Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. Rosie visited OJ a number of times while he was in jail, and was called to testify at OJ's trial. As conversations between an inmate and a clergyman are protected under CA law, Rosie provided no details about the conversations he had with OJ.
Actually, I think Rosie also made some news last year, when he announced that he would run for Governor of California. However, he dropped out of the race several months after he made the announcement.
Just some random musings by me about a former PSU player.
If you have any Rosie memories, or stories, feel free to post them as replies
