Yale Lary is a talented athlete, three-time NFL champion with Detroit Lions, and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Who is Yale Lary?
Robert Yale Lary was born on November 24, 1930, in Fort Worth, one of the largest cities in the Lone Star State. He was a four-sport star in high school, later concentrating on football and baseball at Texas A&M College. For the football team, Eggis Lary played at the safety spot and was named to the Southwestern Conference all-star team in 1951. In baseball, he played outfielder, won a conference championship and participated in the College World Series.
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In 1952, he was selected in the third round of the draft by the Detroit Lions. In the first two seasons of his career, Lary played safeties and on punt returns. He would occasionally kick punt on his own and later became the team's primary punter. He won two consecutive NFL championships with the Lions, earning his first Pro Bowl invitation in 1953.
Related: Tom Fears
Yale spent the summer months playing baseball in the Texas League. Then came a break in his career - he was drafted into the Army. He trained at Fort Banning, Georgia, before being sent to Korea. He returned to the United States in April 1956. Taking his place in Detroit's lineup again, for seven consecutive seasons, Lary was a member of the Pro Bowl.
Related: Otto Graham
In 1957, he won the NFL championship for the third time. From 1959 through 1964, Yale was the league's top punter, while continuing to be part of the Lions' dominant Secondary line. He spent a total of eleven seasons in the league, ending play in 1965 to spend more time with his wife and two children. Lary was later named to the league's All-Star team of the 1950s, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
In addition to playing for Detroit Lions, Yale was a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1959 to 1963. After finishing his career, he stepped away from politics as well.
In February 1965, Lary opened a Ford dealership in Fort Worth and grew the business for ten years. He later switched to real estate, oil sales and refining. Yale Lary passed away on May 11, 2017.
