Ted Karras, the starting left guard for the Bears 1963 NFL championship team, died Tuesday.
He was 81.
Karras had battled Alzheimer’s disease since 2005, his wife, Anna said.
Karras, an Emerson graduate, was one of three brothers who played professional football. Alex Karras played for the Detroit Lions before moving on to a successful acting and broadcasting career and Lou Karras for the Washington Redskins.
After being undrafted out of Indiana, Karras signed with the Bears in 1958. Owner George Halas traded him to the Pittsburgh Steelers before he played a down.
Halas had a handshake agreement with Steelers owner Art Rooney that after Abe Gibron, who also played on the offensive line, retired, Karras would return to Bears. He did so in 1960.
He played five seasons with the Bears, then another with the Lions before finishing his pro career after four games with the Los Angeles Rams in 1966. His NFL career lasted 108 games, including 68 with the Bears.
In a 2005 story in the Post-Tribune, Karras recalled a run-in he had with Bears rookie tight end Mike Ditka. In the Bears’ first game against the Vikings in 1961, Ditka didn’t believe Karras was getting out fast enough on the blocks..
“Move your fat —,” Karras said Ditka told him.
Karras expected Ditka to understand the silent glare. He didn’t.
“He was talking all kinds of (garbage),” Karras said. “It was like, who is this guy?”
Ditka never stopped chattering, Karras said, and eventually the two had a sideline brawl.
According to Anna Karras, Ted and Ditka became good friends and Ted credited Ditka for helping ignite the Bears’ championship run.
A shade over 6-foot, Karras played at 240 pounds. He started his college career at Purdue, then transferred to Indiana.
All three of his sons, Ted Jr., Tony and Jeff, played football for Hobart. Ted Jr., who played at Northwestern, became coach at Andrean and in 1966 brought his dad into the coaching fold.
Ted Jr. remembers his dad’s application to be the offensive and defensive line coach. Ted Jr. hadn’t told his family he was taking the 59er job, and when Ted Sr. read about it in the paper, he called his son and told him he wanted to be on staff. Ted Jr. couldn’t possibly turn him down.
Ted Jr. credits his father for making a key switch in defensive scheme that helped Andrean become successful. On a Saturday, before a junior varsity game, Ted Jr. found his dad in the locker room sketching out an old Bear defense called 6-1. The younger Karras became irritated.
“C’mon dad, we can’t do this now,” he told his dad.
“We have to try this,” Ted Sr. said. “It’s just JV.”
In 1996, the 59ers gave up 127 points in their first three games. On year later, after changing up defenses, the 59ers reached the state championship game.
Ted Jr. went 30-7 at Andrean after he installed the new defense, which become a team staple.
“I was so blessed,” said Ted Jr., who now coaches at Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio, after stops at St. Xavier (Ill.), Rose-Hulman and Marian. “To this day, I use a lot of the base stuff he taught me.”
Jeff Karras, who coached at Andrean, Clark, South Central and Roosevelt, said it was great to spend the time with Ted Sr. on the sidelines as a coach.
“He was intense, but it was fun,” Jeff said. “That was a great second phase of his life. I’m glad we got to spend time together.”
Ted Sr. followed Ted Jr. to St. Xavier and later, Rose-Hulman, before retiring. He spent 20 years in the Hammond school systems as a physical education teacher.
There will be a wake from 2-8 p.m. on Friday, at Burns Funeral Home in Hobart. Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Burns.
Twitter: @MikeHuttonPT
