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State Your Case: Ladd Was Anchor of Pro Football s First Fearsome Foursome
Ernie Ladd was a fearsome defensive force in the AFL s early days.
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Ernie Ladd was a fearsome defensive force in the AFL s early days.
Facing Ernie Ladd was a fearsome experience and an onerous task best described by six-time All-AFL center Jon Morris, who too often had to wrestle with Ladd when he was one of the most dominating defensive tackles in professional football.
“It was dark,’’ Morris once said about facing Ladd. “I couldn’t see the linebackers. I couldn’t see the goalposts. It was like being locked in a closet.”
Rivers was about more than football
Even though the Chargers left their decades-long home in San Diego, I never stopped rooting for Philip Rivers. Though the team moved two hours north, the distance couldn’t be measured in miles; despite the schism, I still pulled for No. 17. Growing up, I was always a fan of football, but after the team in my own backyard acquired Rivers in a draft day trade when I was in my teens, I started to become a San Diego Chargers fan.
All the memories that stick out in my Chargers fandom have Rivers at its center the 2006 14-2 year, the AFC Championship year, the 4-8 year when they were left for dead and made the playoffs, the playoff win over the Colts at the Q, where the buzz from Mission Valley was felt all over San Diego County, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention blown fourth-quarter leads and heartbreaking losses. But who remembers the bad times when the good times were so good?