Lion at Large

When Defensive Tackle Alex Karras was dropped by the Detroit Lions football team this fall at the age of 36, he did what any other sports figure would do in the circumstances. He decided to capitalize further on the fame he won on the field. Among other things, he got a job with the Detroit Free Press as a sports columnist. But when he showed up at the first game, the Lions management barred him from the press box. "He's done nothing but say derogatory things about the team," said Lion Public Relations Director Lyall Smith, "and I must assume the reason for his column is to say more derogatory things."

The rebuff has not stopped Karras from having the last derogatory word. As quick with a quip as he once was at rushing the passer, he is the host of a breezy TV show that runs before N.F.L. Monday Night Football in Chicago. Prior to the first game between Detroit and the Minnesota Vikings, Straight Man Bill Frink asked Karras what the Lions might be thinking about in the locker room. "I think they're voting on whether to come out tonight," said Alex. "Minnesota is a vicious team. They've got hair all over their bodies and bad breath." Later, on the Tonight Show, Johnny Carson asked Karras if he remembered any "great moments" in his eleven seasons in pro football. Said Karras: "No. I played with the Lions, John. I think taking showers was probably the highlight."

Last week Karras did his show in a Santa Clans costume, but his tone was still closer to Scrooge. In a lefthanded defense of spectators who boo pro football teams, he said: "If guys are dumb enough to fork over $7 to see this fiasco, then let 'em boo." Karras, who was suspended from football for the 1963 season for betting on the games, still insists that the real reason he was dismissed by the Lions was that "I've always been critical of the Lions' front office. They do a lousy job."

Trading on an endless round of football yarns, Karras is one of the most sought-after speakers on the jock banquet circuit. Last year his 80 appearances before everyone from "Boy Scouts to boozed-up slobs" earned him more than the $35,000 he made with the Lions (a salary that the team is contracted to pay him through the next season). "We ugly guys are taking over," he says. "If they would stop using those pretty quarterbacks in TV ads and get some of us lugs in, they'd sell more hair tonic. Most people are lugs." Advertisers apparently agree. Of late, Karras' threatening visage can be seen hard-selling everything from Enden shampoo to Apeco copying machines.

Alex plays the role of the lovable lug to perfection. His appearance--a 20-in. neck atop a 6 ft. 2 in., 245-lb. body --suggests a hippo in hip pads. Puffing on a huge cigar and squinting through glasses as thick as beer mugs, he bills himself as a "sort of blown-up Cary Grant." He has been besieged with offers, including roles in a TV comedy series and a movie called The Hard Case. Does he miss football? "Sure I miss it. I guess my main regret is that I can't go up to Green Bay and the big warm crowds who yell things like 'Who're ya bettin' on today, fatso?' "

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