View source for Lyle Alzado

{{short description|American football player & actor (1949–1992)}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| image       = LyleAlzadoPic.jpg
| caption     =
| position    = [[Defensive end]]
| number      = 77
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1949|4|3}}
| birth_place = [[Brooklyn|Brooklyn, New York]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|1992|5|14|1949|4|3}}
| death_place = [[Portland, Oregon]], U.S.
| height_ft   = 6
| height_in   = 3
| weight_lbs  = 255
| draftyear   = 1971
| draftround  = 4
| draftpick   = 79
| high_school = [[Lawrence High School (New York)|Lawrence]] {{nowrap|([[Cedarhurst, New York]])}}
| college     = [[Yankton College|Yankton]]
| teams       =
* [[Denver Broncos]] ([[1971 NFL season|1971]]–[[1978 NFL season|1978]])
* [[Cleveland Browns]] ([[1979 NFL season|1979]]–[[1981 NFL season|1981]])
* [[Los Angeles Raiders]] ([[1982 NFL season|1982]]–[[1985 NFL season|1985]])
* Los Angeles Raiders ({{nfly|1990}})*
| pfr         = A/AlzaLy00
| highlights  =
* [[List of Super Bowl champions|Super Bowl champion]] ([[Super Bowl XVIII|XVIII]])
* [[National Football League Comeback Player of the Year Award|NFL Comeback Player of the Year]] (1982)
* 2× First-team [[All-Pro]] ([[1977 All-Pro Team|1977]], [[1980 All-Pro Team|1980]])
* Second-team All-Pro ([[1978 All-Pro Team|1978]])
* 2× [[Pro Bowl]] ([[1978 Pro Bowl|1977]], [[1979 Pro Bowl|1978]])
| statlabel1  = [[Quarterback sack|Sacks]]
| statvalue1  = 112
| statlabel2  = [[Fumbles|Fumble recoveries]]
| statvalue2  = 20
| statlabel3  = [[Safety (American football score)|Safeties]]
| statvalue3  = 3
| statlabel4  = [[Touchdowns|Defensive touchdowns]]
| statvalue4  = 1 
}}
'''Lyle Martin Alzado''' (April 3, 1949 – May 14, 1992) was an American professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[defensive end]] of the [[National Football League]] (NFL), famous for his intense and intimidating style of play.<ref name="google1">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6UVUbuU_6gC&pg=PA26 |title=Kardiac kids: the story of the 1981 Cleveland Browns |publisher=Kent State University Press |year=2003 |isbn=9780873387613 |access-date=January 13, 2011}}</ref>

Alzado played for the [[Denver Broncos]], the [[Cleveland Browns]], and finally the [[Los Angeles Raiders]] with whom he won a championship in [[Super Bowl XVIII]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishjournal.com/community_briefs/article/briefs_jewish_sports_hall_of_fame_picks_honorees_israeli_consulate_welcomes/ |title= Jewish Sports Hall of Fame picks honorees |publisher=Jewish Journal |date=December 27, 2007 |access-date=January 13, 2011}}</ref> He was a three-time [[All-Pro]] and two-time [[Pro Bowl]] selection during his career of 15 years.

==Early life==
Alzado was born in [[Brownsville, Brooklyn]], [[New York (state)|New York]] to an Italian-Spanish father, Maurice, and a [[Jew]]ish mother with a [[Russians|Russian]] family background, Martha Sokolow Alzado. He followed Judaism.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dDyEVDIA3aIC&q=%22Lyle+Alzado%22+%22jewish%22&pg=PA93 |title=The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heroes: An Illustrated Compendium of Sports ... - Peter S. Horvitz - Google Books |date= April 2007|isbn=9781561719075 |access-date=2020-01-20|last1=Horvitz |first1=Peter S. |publisher=SP Books }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Mandel |first=Authorken |url=https://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-Features/Jews-in-Super-Bowl-history |title=Jews in Super Bowl history - The Jerusalem Post |publisher=Jpost.com |date=2012-02-04 |access-date=2020-01-20}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=eiGZHVqzUSEC&dq=%22lyle+alzado%22+jewish+mother&pg=PA140 77: Denver, The Broncos, and a Coming of Age - Terry Frei - Google Books<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://people.com/archive/raiders-terror-lyle-alzado-never-walks-away-from-a-fight-on-or-off-the-football-field-vol-22-no-11/ Raiders Terror Lyle Alzado Never Walks Away from a Fight—On or Off the Football Field | PEOPLE.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref name="google2909">[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=74ofAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5dIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2909,6287635&dq=alzado+lawrence-high&hl=en "Lyle Alzado Hits Only on Sunday"], Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal, October 15, 1978</ref> When he was 10, the family moved to [[Cedarhurst, New York|Cedarhurst]], [[Long Island]]. His father, whom Alzado later described as "a drinker and street fighter," left the family during Alzado's sophomore year at [[Lawrence High School (New York)|Lawrence High School]].<ref name="ESPN Classic bio of Alzado">{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/classic/biography/s/Alzado_Lyle.html |title=ESPN Classic bio of Alzado |publisher=Espn|access-date=January 13, 2011}}</ref> He played high school football under coach Richard Mollo for three years.<ref name="google2909"/>

==College career==
After he did not receive a college scholarship offer, Alzado played for [[Kilgore College]], a community college in [[Kilgore, Texas]]. Two years after joining he was asked to leave the team; he later said it was for befriending a black teammate.<ref name="ESPN Classic bio of Alzado"/> He went to play for [[Yankton College]] in [[South Dakota]].<ref name="google1"/><ref name="google2909"/><ref name="google3">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fqqq4LG0KVsC&pg=PA76 |title=Tom Flores's Tales from the Raiders Sidelines |year=2003 |isbn=9781582615998 |access-date=January 13, 2011|last1=Flores |first1=Tom |last2=Fulks |first2=Matt |publisher=Sports Pub.}}</ref> Though playing in relative obscurity in the [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics|NAIA]], Alzado nonetheless gained notice by the NFL when [[Denver Broncos]]' coach and scout [[Stan Jones (American football)|Stan Jones]] having been taken off the road by automobile trouble, decided to pass the time at nearby [[Montana Tech]], one of Yankton's opponents.<ref name="google2909"/><ref name=heater>{{cite news|newspaper=The Wichita Eagle|via=newspapers.com|accessdate=2022-08-24|title=Broncos' Lyle Alzado: No laughingstock is he|page=3B|date=March 28, 1978|author=MacKay, Bill|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108259361/the-wichita-eagle/}}</ref> Montana Tech's coaches were showing him films of their star [[running back]] [[Don Heater]], but Jones was impressed with the unknown defensive lineman Alzado squaring off against Montana Tech's offense and passed back a favorable report to his team.<ref name=heater/><ref name="ESPN Classic bio of Alzado"/> The Broncos ultimately drafted Alzado in the fourth round of the 1971 draft.<ref name="google2909"/><ref name=heater/> Alzado went back to Yankton after his rookie season to get his college degree. He received a B.A. in physical education with an emphasis in secondary education. During his college years, Alzado participated in amateur boxing making it to the semi-finals of the 1969 Midwest Golden Gloves Boxing Tournament, held in [[Omaha, Nebraska|Omaha]].

==NFL career==

===Denver Broncos===
When the Broncos' starting right [[defensive end]] [[Rich Jackson|Rich "Tombstone" Jackson]] was injured in 1971, Alzado took over the job and went on to make various All-rookie teams for his contributions of 60 tackles and 8 sacks. The following year, Alzado began to get national attention as he racked up 10½ sacks to go with his 91 tackles. In 1973, Alzado posted excellent numbers as the Broncos had a winning record for the first time in team history with a 7–5–2 mark.

In 1974, Alzado gained more notice as one publication named him All-AFC; with his 13 sacks and 80 tackles (eight for a loss), he was recognized as one of the NFL's top defensive ends, along with [[Elvin Bethea]], [[Jack Youngblood]], [[L. C. Greenwood]], [[Claude Humphrey]], and [[Carl Eller]]. Bethea, Youngblood, Humphrey, and Eller are enshrined in the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]]. The [[Denver Broncos]] posted their second consecutive winning season, going 7–6–1.

The 1975 season brought change, as Alzado moved to defensive tackle. He responded with 91 tackles and 7 sacks. Alzado took a step backward as did the Broncos with a 6–8 record. On the first play of the 1976 season, Alzado blew out a knee and missed that campaign. The Broncos were 9–5 but [[SPORT magazine]] reported that 12 players, including Alzado, did not think the team could reach the playoffs with coach [[John Ralston (coach)|John Ralston]]. Ralston was replaced as coach by [[Red Miller]] for the 1977 season.

The 1977 season was the most successful in franchise history to that point; the Broncos had one of the NFL's best defenses, went 12–2 and then beat the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] and [[Oakland Raiders]] - the team for which he later starred upon their move to Los Angeles in 1982 - in the playoffs to reach [[Super Bowl XII]]. In that game, played in [[New Orleans]], they were beaten soundly 27–10 by the [[Dallas Cowboys]]. Still the year was a big success for Alzado, who was voted consensus All-Pro and consensus All-AFC as well as winning the [[UPI AFL-AFC Player of the Year|UPI AFC Defensive Player of the Year.]] He also led the Broncos in sacks with 8, while making 80 tackles.<ref name="google1"/>

In 1978, the Broncos again went to the AFC playoffs, but lost the rematch in the first round to the eventual champion [[Pittsburgh Steelers]]. Alzado had 77 tackles and 9 sacks and recorded his first NFL [[Safety (American football score)|safety]]. (Alzado recorded two more in his career, which ties him for second place all-time). He was 2nd team All-Pro and a consensus All-AFC pick. In 1979, he had a contract dispute, and the Broncos traded him to the [[Cleveland Browns]].<ref name="google1"/>

===Cleveland Browns===
Alzado made the second-team All-AFC in 1979 playing defensive end. He had 80 tackles that year as well as seven sacks.<ref name="google1"/> The following year, the Browns won the AFC Central division, losing to the Raiders in the Divisional round. Alzado led the Browns in sacks with nine, and was All-Pro and All-AFC. In 1981 he recorded 83 tackles and led the Browns in sacks with 8½. However, the Browns, falling from 11–5 in 1980 to 5–11 in 1981, traded him to the [[Oakland Raiders]] in 1982.<ref name="google3"/><ref name="google4">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lHJrkIxwhMcC&q=alzado+%22raiders%22&pg=PA366 |title=Biographical dictionary of American sports: 1992-1995 supplement for baseball, football, basketball, and other sports|year=1995 |isbn=9780313284311|access-date=January 13, 2011|last1=Porter|first1=David L.|publisher=Greenwood Publishing }}</ref>

===Los Angeles Raiders===
Being discarded by the Browns rekindled a fire in Alzado, and he worked out with a vengeance. By the time Alzado joined the Raiders, the team had relocated to [[Los Angeles]]. After demonstrating dominant play throughout the strike-shortened 9-game season of 1982, he was voted the NFL Comeback Player of the Year.<ref name="google4"/> He also recorded 7 sacks and 30 tackles while being voted All-AFC.<ref name="google4"/> That was the sixth season out of his first 12 campaigns that he received a post-season honor.

Alzado helped lead them to a [[Super Bowl XVIII|Super Bowl]] victory in the 1983 season while recording 50 tackles and 7½ sacks. He started at right end opposite future Hall of Fame inductee [[Howie Long]]. Alzado also had an outstanding 1984 season with 63 tackles and 6 sacks, but the next year his tackle and sack totals dipped to 31 and 3 following a mid-season injury.<ref name="google4" />

Alzado retired at the end of the 1985 season.<ref name="google4" /> He attempted a comeback in 1990,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-05-11-sp-1215-story.html |title=Alzado, Who Misses the Violence, to Try Comeback |work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 11, 1990 |access-date=April 2, 2010 | first=Steve | last=Springer}}</ref> but injured a knee during training camp and was released. In 196 career games, he racked up 112 sacks, 24 forced fumbles, and nearly 1,000 tackles, while earning [[Pro Bowl]] honors in 1977 and 1978. After his retirement from playing, Alzado worked as a part-time [[color analyst]] for [[NFL on NBC|NBC]]'s NFL coverage in 1988–89.

In 2018, the [[Professional Football Researchers Association]] named Alzado to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/hall-of-very-good-2018.html |title=PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2018 | access-date=September 20, 2019}}</ref>

==Style of play==
The man [[ESPN]] later labeled a "...violent, combative player known for his short temper", inspired the league rule against throwing a helmet after having done so to an opponent's helmet.<ref name="ESPN Classic bio of Alzado"/> Peter Alzado, Lyle's brother, later identified the years of their youth – marked by an absent, alcoholic father and an overworked mother - as the crucible for Alzado's unremittingly fierce style of play. "That violence that you saw on the field was not real stuff," his brother held. "Lyle used football as a way of expressing his anger at the world and at the way he grew up."<ref name="ESPN Classic bio of Alzado"/> [[Defensive end]] [[Greg Townsend]], a teammate on the Raiders said that the savagery for which Alzado became noted represented part of a "split personality." "Off the field," remembered Townsend, "he was the gentle giant: so caring, so warm, so giving."<ref name="ESPN Classic bio of Alzado"/>

==Outside football==
Alzado was an amateur boxer and, in 1979, fought an [[Exhibition fight|exhibition match]] against [[Muhammad Ali]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Vaughan |first=Kevin |title=Goodbye, Mile High |publisher=Denver Rocky Mountain News |url=http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/milehigh/1223mile0.shtml |access-date=March 26, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611093646/http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/milehigh/1223mile0.shtml |archive-date=June 11, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=George |first=Justin |date=2024-09-09 |title=Did Muhammad Ali fight in Colorado? |url=https://coloradosun.com/2024/09/09/muhammad-ali-in-colorado/ |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=[[The Colorado Sun]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

He was involved in "countless youth organizations", receiving the Byron "Whizzer" White award for community service in 1977.<ref>Orange Madness, Woodrow Paige, Jr., Thomas Crowwell Publishers, 1978, pg. 99.</ref> He appeared in ''[[Stop the Madness]]'', a 1985 anti-drug music video sponsored by the [[Reagan administration]].

==Acting==
Alzado pursued an acting career in both movies and television, appearing mostly in youth-oriented comedy and adventure roles. His most notable film roles include the bully construction worker in ''[[Ernest Goes to Camp]]'' and the unstoppable killer in ''[[Destroyer (1988 motion picture)|Destroyer]]''. He appeared in ''[[Mike Hammer: Murder Takes All]]'' as a notorious bodyguard and rifleman. He played prison staff member Brawn in the 1990 film ''[[Club Fed (film)|Club Fed]]'' and co-starred in the films ''[[Neon City]]'' and ''[[Oceans of Fire]]''.

On television, Alzado appeared in a number of mid-1980s commercials for ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' with "Jack", who tries to help him perform the commercial correctly. He played himself, wearing his Raiders uniform, in the ''[[Amazing Stories (1985 TV series)|Amazing Stories]]'' episode "Remote Control Man"<ref>{{cite web|title=Internet Movie Data Base|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0511113/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm#cast|publisher=IMDB|access-date=May 14, 2013}}</ref> He also played himself in a 1988 episode of ''[[Small Wonder (TV series)|Small Wonder]]''; he made a guest appearance on ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Super Show]]'' in 1989. He starred in the sitcom ''[[Learning the Ropes]]'' as a high school teacher whose secret alter ego is a professional wrestler known as "the Masked Maniac," alongside numerous [[National Wrestling Alliance|NWA Wrestling]] stars. Alzado appeared in the series premiere of the short-lived 1991 sitcom ''[[Good Sports]]'' with [[Ryan O'Neal]] and [[Farrah Fawcett]], and in episodes of ''[[It's Garry Shandling's Show]]'' and ''[[MacGyver (1985 TV series)|MacGyver]]''.

==Steroid use and death==
Alzado was one of the first major US sports figures to admit to using [[anabolic steroid]]s. In the last year of his life, as he battled against the [[brain tumor]] which eventually caused his death, Alzado asserted that his steroid abuse directly led to his fatal illness.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5oVkn206pJkC&q=alzado+%22physical+education%22&pg=PA464 |title=Foundations of sport and exercise psychology|year= 2007|isbn=9780736086417|access-date=January 13, 2011|last1=Weinberg|first1=Robert Stephen|publisher=Human Kinetics }}</ref> Alzado recounted his steroid abuse in an article in ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'',

{{blockquote|I started taking anabolic steroids in 1969 and never stopped... Now I'm sick, and I'm scared... It was addicting, mentally addicting. Ninety percent of the athletes I know are on the stuff. We're not born to be...{{convert|300|lb|disp=sqbr}} or jump {{convert|30|ft|m|disp=sqbr}}... I became very violent on the field. Off it, too. I did things only crazy people do. Once in 1979, in Denver, a guy side-swiped my car, and I chased him up and down hills through the neighborhoods. I did that a lot. I'd chase a guy, pull him out of his car, beat the hell out of him... But look at me now. I wobble when I walk and sometimes have to hold on to somebody. You have to give me time to answer questions, because I have trouble remembering things.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Lyle|last=Alzado|url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1991/07/08/im-sick-and-im-scared-the-author-a-former-nfl-star-has-a-dread-disease-that-he-blames-on-his-use-of-performance-enhancing-drugs|title=I'm Sick and I'm Scared |magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]] |date=July 8, 1991|access-date=January 4, 2023}}</ref>}}<!-- Deleted portions of quote may be from accompanying First Person with Maria Shriver interview from roughly the same time, per Denham 1999 bearworks.missouristate.edu/articles-coal/371/ -->

Alzado died on May 14, 1992, at age 43 from [[brain cancer]]. He was buried at [[River View Cemetery (Portland, Oregon)|River View Cemetery]] in [[Portland, Oregon]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.riverviewcemetery.org/_mgxroot/page_10718.php|title=River View Cemetery|access-date=May 18, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611084333/http://www.riverviewcemetery.org/_mgxroot/page_10718.php|archive-date=June 11, 2011}}</ref>

==Hall of Fame==
Alzado was inducted into the [[International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame]] in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishsports.net/BioPages/LyleAlzado.htm |title=Lyle Alzado |publisher=Jewishsports.net |access-date=2020-01-20}}</ref>

==Exhibition boxing record==
{{BoxingRecordSummary
|draws=
|ko-wins=
|ko-losses=
|dec-wins=
|dec-losses=
|nonscore=1
}}
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!{{abbr|No.|Number}}
!Result
!Record
!Opponent
!Type
!Round, time
!Date
!Location
!Notes
|-
|1
|{{N/A}}
|0–0 {{small|(1)}}
|style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Boxing career of Muhammad Ali|Muhammad Ali]]
|{{N/A}}
|8
|Jul 14, 1979
|style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|USA}} {{small|[[Mile High Stadium]], [[Denver]], [[Colorado]], U.S.}}
|style="text-align:left;"|{{small|Non-scored bout}}
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [[List of notable brain tumor patients]]
* [[List of doping cases in sport]]
*[[List of Jews in sports#Football (American)|List of select Jewish football players]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[https://www.espn.com/classic/biography/s/Alzado_Lyle.html ESPN Classic bio]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090202040245/http://raidersonline.org/lyle-alzado.php Lyle Alzado] at Raiders Online.Com
*{{IMDb name|23668}}
*{{find a Grave|4672}}

{{Broncos1971DraftPicks}}
{{Super Bowl XVIII}}
{{"Whizzer" White NFL Man of the Year}}
{{NFL Comeback Players of the Year}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alzado, Lyle}}
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:American Conference Pro Bowl players]]
[[Category:American football defensive ends]]
[[Category:American football defensive tackles]]
[[Category:American sportspeople in doping cases]]
[[Category:American male boxers]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:Burials at River View Cemetery (Portland, Oregon)]]
[[Category:Cleveland Browns players]]
[[Category:Deaths from brain cancer in Oregon]]
[[Category:Denver Broncos players]]
[[Category:Doping cases in American football]]
[[Category:Jewish American players of American football]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Raiders players]]
[[Category:NFL announcers]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Players of American football from New York City]]
[[Category:People from Cedarhurst, New York]]
[[Category:American people of Spanish descent]]
[[Category:Yankton Greyhounds football players]]
[[Category:International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Jewish American boxers]]
[[Category:Jewish American male actors]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Nassau County, New York]]
[[Category:Lawrence High School (Cedarhurst, New York) alumni]]
[[Category:Boxers from New York City]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:People from Brownsville, Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Jews from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Jews from Oregon]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:NFL Comeback Player of the Year winners]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Kilgore, Texas]]
[[Category:Kilgore Rangers football players]]