Larry Grantham
Encyclopedia
Larry Grantham is a former American collegiate and Professional Football
player.
A member of the "Ole Miss" Athletic Hall of Fame, he was a linebacker of the University of Mississippi
who came to the American Football League
's New York Titans
in the 1960 college draft and helped form the backbone of a New York Jets
defense that reached the playoffs in 1968 and 1969, and in 1968 captured the AFL Championship and the World Championship
, over the NFL's Baltimore Colts. Thus Grantham's team, with him as a starter throughout, went from being the worst team in an upstart league (the AFL) to World Champions in just nine years.
From his left outside linebacker spot, Grantham wrought havoc on opposing offenses. One of the Jets leading tacklers, he was named to the AFL All-Star team
five times and played in eight league All-Star games. He was selected to the All-Time All- AFL second team
.
He is one of only twenty players who were in the American Football League for its entire ten-year existence, and only seven AFL players who played their entire careers in one city.
Grantham was also named the 1971 New York Jets MVP.
He played one last season in 1974 for the Florida Blazers of the start-up World Football League
. The Blazers made it to the World Bowl 1
, losing to the Birmingham Americans
.
Professional football
In the United States and Canada, the term professional football includes the professional forms of American and Canadian gridiron football. In common usage, it refers to former and existing major football leagues in either country...
player.
A member of the "Ole Miss" Athletic Hall of Fame, he was a linebacker of the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
who came to the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
's New York Titans
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the 1960 college draft and helped form the backbone of a New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
defense that reached the playoffs in 1968 and 1969, and in 1968 captured the AFL Championship and the World Championship
Professional American football championship games
Below is a list of professional football championship games in the United States, involving:* the informal Pittsburgh circuit of professional football teams ;...
, over the NFL's Baltimore Colts. Thus Grantham's team, with him as a starter throughout, went from being the worst team in an upstart league (the AFL) to World Champions in just nine years.
From his left outside linebacker spot, Grantham wrought havoc on opposing offenses. One of the Jets leading tacklers, he was named to the AFL All-Star team
American Football League All-Star games
-All-League Teams:The Sporting News published American Football League All-League Teams for each season played by the American Football League, 1960 through 1969...
five times and played in eight league All-Star games. He was selected to the All-Time All- AFL second team
American Football League All-Time Team
The American Football League All- Time Team was selected on January 14, 1970. The first and second teams would be determined by a panel of members of the AFL's Hall of Fame Board of Selectors: Since the First team included two halfbacks, rather than a halfback and a fullback, Cookie Gilchrist, a...
.
He is one of only twenty players who were in the American Football League for its entire ten-year existence, and only seven AFL players who played their entire careers in one city.
Grantham was also named the 1971 New York Jets MVP.
He played one last season in 1974 for the Florida Blazers of the start-up World Football League
World Football League
The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...
. The Blazers made it to the World Bowl 1
World Bowl (WFL)
The World Bowl, also known as World Bowl 1, was the American football championship game of the short-lived World Football League. It was televised on TVS Television Network....
, losing to the Birmingham Americans
Birmingham Americans
The Birmingham Americans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the four-team Central Division of the World Football League . The Americans, founded in late December 1973, played in the upstart league's inaugural season in 1974...
.