Not many people can say they won an NFL championship and captured a U.S. senator’s assassin.
Rosey Grier can.
Grier recently celebrated his 93rd birthday on July 14, making him one of the oldest NFL players alive.
He was a third-round pick out of Penn State in 1955, selected by the New York Giants. The massive defensive tackle played seven seasons as a member of the G-Men, where he helped the Giants win the championship in 1956.
During his time in New York, Grier was a three-time All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl twice.
He was then traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 1963, where he became part of the “Fearsome Foursome”, along with Hall of Famers Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen plus Lamar Lundy.
He would go on to play four more seasons with the Rams, before retiring after the 1966 season, in large part due to a nasty torn Achilles.
While Grier had a memorable career as a professional football player, it’s what he did next that elevated his legend.
He became a television host on his very own show the Rosey Grier Show on KABC-TV that ran from 1968 to 1970, while also becoming a bodyguard for former U.S. attorney general and senator, Robert F. Kennedy.
Grier helped apprehend Sirhan Sirhan, the man who assassinated Senator Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles in 1968. At the time of the shooting, Grier was guarding Kennedy’s pregnant wife, Ethel, while Sirhan was carrying out his deadly plan.
Grier heard gunfire ahead of him and rushed to Kennedy’s side before disarming and bringing down Sirhan.
“So I see George Plimpton has the gun pointed at his face, and I’m concerned that it is going to go off, so I put my hand under the trigger housing and I pulled back the hammer so it couldn’t strike,” Grier recalled.
“I wrench the gun from Sirhan. I find the pin and I ripped it out and held it. Now I have the gun in my hand, so I shove it in my pocket.
“I grabbed the man’s legs and dragged him onto a table. There was a guy angrily twisting the killer’s legs and other angry faces coming towards him, as though they were going to tear him to pieces.
“I fought them off. I would not allow more violence.“
Grier would go on to receive national recognition from his heroics that night that catapulted him into the spotlight.
He would go on to appear in dozens of TV shows, with over 70 guest appearances, some of which included “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” and “I Dream of Jeannie.”
He became a series regular on shows such as Daniel Boone, Make Room for Granddaddy, and The White Shadow.
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Grier didn’t stop there. He pursued singing professionally, working for various labels and recording his own songs.
He was very much involved in politics, following his time on Kennedy’s security detail. Grier was a Democrat in his younger years before becoming a Republican in the 1980s.
From there he endorsed President Ronald Reagan for re-election, even speaking at the 1984 Republican National Convention. In 2017, he even seriously considered running for governor of California, before opting not to pursue a candidacy.
Grier has lived many lives in his near century of life. From football player to bodyguard to actor and singer, it’s been a full and adventurous life. One that isn’t finished.