Football Friday: A Gallery of Alex Karras Detroit Lions Football Cards

by Chris Holmes October 12, 2012

Former NFL great and all-around media star Alex Karras died earlier this week from complications due to kidney failure. He had been in extremely poor health the last few years of his life. While most of my generation knows him best as Mongo in Blazing Saddles or George Papadapolis from Webster, Karras was first and foremost an outstanding defensive lineman for the Detroit Lions.

Karras racked up four Pro Bowl selections in his Detroit career (1958 – 1970) — which was interrupted by a season-long suspension for gambling in 1963 — and was later named to the NFL’s 1960s All-Decade Team at defensive tackle.

As a small tribute to Karras, here is a gallery of football cards representing nearly each of his 12 NFL seasons.