Everything about Earl Faison totally explained
Earl Faison (born 1939) was an American college and professional
football player who played in the American Football League between 1960 and 1966. Drafted by both the
Detroit Lions of the
National Football League and the
Los Angeles Chargers of the
AFL, Faison signed with the Chargers as a first-round pick immediately after the conclusion of the
East-West Shrine Game on
December 31,
1960.
The 6-foot-5, 260 pound Faison had been an All-American at
Indiana University, playing on both offense and defense. After entering the pro ranks, he worked with Chargers' assistant coach
Chuck Noll to continually blow past opposing offensive lineman on his way to smashing
American Football League quarterbacks.
Faison was a member of the original
"Fearsome Foursome" (the Chargers' defensive line) from 1961-66. The “Foursome” was made up of Faison and Hall of Fame linemate
Ernie Ladd, with alternate members of the group including
Bob Petrich,
Ron Nery,
George Gross,
Bill Hudson and
Henry Schmidt.
Despite often being double and triple-teamed, Faison was chosen as the
American Football League Rookie of the Year and All-AFL in
1961. He missed the early portion of the 1962 season, after suffering a knee injury, then reported late the following year after a contract dispute. The contract problems would resurface in
1965, but his performance remained good enough to continue a string of four consecutive All-Star seasons in the league from
1961 to
1964.
On
January 15,
1966, Faison and Ladd were dealt to the
Houston Oilers as part of a five-player trade, but four days later, the trade was nullified because of tampering by Oilers' owner
Bud Adams. In response, Faison looked to the
Canadian Football League's
Toronto Argonauts, but eventually signed a three-year $90,000 contract with the Chargers on
July 29.
The bitter contract problems, coupled with Faison's back problems, continued to linger until
October 18 when Faison was released by the Chargers. In announcing the dismissal, Gillman bitterly noted that Faison, "has a long way to go to become average." One day later, the expansion Miami Dolphins signed Faison for the remainder of the year.
On
June 27,
1967, Faison was involved in a seven-player trade that sent him to the
Denver Broncos, but 10 days later, the team returned him back to the Dolphins, who then placed him on waivers on
July 24. Faison's release led him to file a lawsuit against Miami on
October 6, citing breach of contract. Claiming that his three-year contract entitled him to the remaining $60,000 over two years, Faison was ultimately unsuccessful in his lawsuit.
A member of the Chargers Hall of Fame, Faison was also inducted into the
Indiana University Hall of Fame in
1990. In his post-playing career, Faison briefly dabbled in acting, including a pair of appearances in
The Beverly Hillbillies. He then returned to
California as an educator and football coach, and while at
Lincoln High School, he served as head coach during the era of future
Pro Football Hall of Famer
Marcus Allen before eventually serving as the school's principal.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Earl Faison'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://earl_faison.totallyexplained.com">Earl Faison Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
