Ron Yary
Encyclopedia
Anthony Ronald "Ron" Yary (born July 16, 1946) is a former professional American football
offensive tackle, playing primarily for the Minnesota Vikings
and also for the Los Angeles Rams. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
in 2001. Yary gave credit for his Hall of Fame induction to his former coaches, John Ashton (high school) John McKay
(college) and Bud Grant
(professional). He also praised his position coaches Marv Goux, Dave Levy, John Michaels and Jerry Burns
, and acknowledged his closest friend as being Donnie Hollar.
in Los Angeles County, California. In October 2001, the school named the football field Ron Yary Stadium. While attending Bellflower High School
, Yary starred in football, baseball, and basketball.
and attended Cerritos College
for one year and then the University of Southern California
, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi
Fraternity. As a sophomore in 1965, Yary was voted the Pac-8 defensive lineman of the year and All-West Coast for his play at defensive tackle. As a junior he was moved to the offensive line where he was a consensus All-American
as a junior in 1966 and a unanimous All-American
choice in 1967, his senior year. He was the 1967 winner of both the Outland Trophy
and the Knute Rockne Award, awards that annually go to the nation's top collegiate lineman. Yary was the first USC Trojan to win the Outland. In Yary's senior year of 1967 the Trojans won the NCAA football national championship under Coach John McKay
. During Yary's three seasons, the Trojans compiled a 24-7-1 record. In 1987 Yary was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame
.
Named to the ABC Sports, Sports Illustrated
and Walter Camp
NCAA Football All-Century teams in 2000.
by the Minnesota Vikings
when the Vikings traded Fran Tarkenton
to the New York Giants
for that number one pick, becoming the first offensive lineman ever to be selected first overall. He played from 1968 to 1981 with the Minnesota Vikings
, and 1982 with the Los Angeles Rams
. During Yary's tenure with the Vikings, the team won 11 division titles. During that period, Minnesota won the 1969 NFL championship and NFC titles in 1973, 1974 and 1976, and played in Super Bowl
s IV, VIII, IX and XI where Yary was one of 10 Players to have played in all four games for the Vikings. Yary was named All-Pro
6 consecutive seasons (1971–76) and 2nd Team All-Pro in 1970 and 1977 and was an All-NFC choice from 1970 through 1977. He played in seven consecutive Pro Bowls, and was a major force in a Minnesota team that was highly successful throughout the 1970s. In addition to his All-pro honors, Yary was voted the NFC Offensive Lineman of the Year three times (1973–75) by the NFLPA.
Yary won the starting right tackle job (military duty forced him to miss first three games)on the Vikings offensive line in his second season and remained as a fixture at that spot throughout his Minnesota tenure. He was voted to the 1970s All-Decade First Team after the 1979 season.
The 6-5, 255-pound Yary possessed speed, agility, intelligence, aggressiveness, a hard work ethic and size—all the attributes necessary to be an outstanding offensive lineman.
In addition to his many playing abilities, Yary was also durable and willing to play in spite of injuries. he missed only two games due to injuries—both coming in 1980 with a broken ankle—in 14 years in Minnesota. Later that same year, he continued to play in spite of a broken foot. He was inducted to the Vikings Ring of Honor in 2000. He became a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
in 2001. It would be 29 years before another offensive lineman would be drafted first overall. That was Orlando Pace
, picked by the Rams in 1997
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
offensive tackle, playing primarily for the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
and also for the Los Angeles Rams. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 2001. Yary gave credit for his Hall of Fame induction to his former coaches, John Ashton (high school) John McKay
John McKay (football coach)
John Harvey McKay was an American football player and coach. He was served as the head coach at the University of Southern California from 1960 to 1975 and of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1976 to 1984. In 16 seasons with the USC Trojans, McKay compiled a record of 127–40–8 and...
(college) and Bud Grant
Bud Grant
Harry Peter "Bud" Grant, Jr is the former longtime American football head coach of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League for eighteen seasons. Grant was the second and fourth head coach of the team...
(professional). He also praised his position coaches Marv Goux, Dave Levy, John Michaels and Jerry Burns
Jerry Burns
Jerome Monahan "Jerry" Burns is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Iowa, from 1961 to 1965, compiling record of 16–27–2, and for the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL from 1986 to 1991, tallying a mark of...
, and acknowledged his closest friend as being Donnie Hollar.
Early years
Yary attended Bellflower High SchoolBellflower High School
Bellflower High School is located in Bellflower, California, as part of the Bellflower Unified School District . Bellflower is a combination middle school and high school, having students from grades seven through twelve....
in Los Angeles County, California. In October 2001, the school named the football field Ron Yary Stadium. While attending Bellflower High School
Bellflower High School
Bellflower High School is located in Bellflower, California, as part of the Bellflower Unified School District . Bellflower is a combination middle school and high school, having students from grades seven through twelve....
, Yary starred in football, baseball, and basketball.
College career
Anthony Ronald Yary was born in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and attended Cerritos College
Cerritos College
Cerritos College is a public comprehensive community college founded in 1955 located in Norwalk, California. It was named after Rancho Los Cerritos, a ranch that served prominently in the region in the 19th century...
for one year and then the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi
Phi Kappa Psi
Phi Kappa Psi is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania on February 19, 1852. There are over a hundred chapters and colonies at accredited four year colleges and universities throughout the United States. More than 112,000 men have been...
Fraternity. As a sophomore in 1965, Yary was voted the Pac-8 defensive lineman of the year and All-West Coast for his play at defensive tackle. As a junior he was moved to the offensive line where he was a consensus All-American
1966 College Football All-America Team
The 1966 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that choose College All-America teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams were Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Central Press Association, Football Writers...
as a junior in 1966 and a unanimous All-American
1967 College Football All-America Team
The 1967 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that choose College All-America teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams were Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Central Press Association, Football Writers...
choice in 1967, his senior year. He was the 1967 winner of both the Outland Trophy
Outland Trophy
The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best United States college football interior lineman by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named All-America at two positions, Outland garnered consensus All-America honors in...
and the Knute Rockne Award, awards that annually go to the nation's top collegiate lineman. Yary was the first USC Trojan to win the Outland. In Yary's senior year of 1967 the Trojans won the NCAA football national championship under Coach John McKay
John McKay (football coach)
John Harvey McKay was an American football player and coach. He was served as the head coach at the University of Southern California from 1960 to 1975 and of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1976 to 1984. In 16 seasons with the USC Trojans, McKay compiled a record of 127–40–8 and...
. During Yary's three seasons, the Trojans compiled a 24-7-1 record. In 1987 Yary was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
.
Named to the ABC Sports, Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
and Walter Camp
Walter Camp
Walter Chauncey Camp was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". With John Heisman, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding H. Yost, and George Halas, Camp was one of the most accomplished persons in the early history of American football...
NCAA Football All-Century teams in 2000.
Professional career
Yary was the first overall pick of the 1968 NFL Draft1968 NFL Draft
The 1968 National Football League Draft was part of the Common Draft, in the second year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players on January 30–31.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:...
by the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
when the Vikings traded Fran Tarkenton
Fran Tarkenton
Francis Asbury "Fran" Tarkenton is a former professional football player, TV personality, and computer software executive....
to the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
for that number one pick, becoming the first offensive lineman ever to be selected first overall. He played from 1968 to 1981 with the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
, and 1982 with the Los Angeles Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
. During Yary's tenure with the Vikings, the team won 11 division titles. During that period, Minnesota won the 1969 NFL championship and NFC titles in 1973, 1974 and 1976, and played in Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s IV, VIII, IX and XI where Yary was one of 10 Players to have played in all four games for the Vikings. Yary was named All-Pro
All-Pro
All-Pro is a term mostly used in the NFL for the best players of each position during that season. It began as polls of sportswriters in the early 1920s...
6 consecutive seasons (1971–76) and 2nd Team All-Pro in 1970 and 1977 and was an All-NFC choice from 1970 through 1977. He played in seven consecutive Pro Bowls, and was a major force in a Minnesota team that was highly successful throughout the 1970s. In addition to his All-pro honors, Yary was voted the NFC Offensive Lineman of the Year three times (1973–75) by the NFLPA.
Yary won the starting right tackle job (military duty forced him to miss first three games)on the Vikings offensive line in his second season and remained as a fixture at that spot throughout his Minnesota tenure. He was voted to the 1970s All-Decade First Team after the 1979 season.
The 6-5, 255-pound Yary possessed speed, agility, intelligence, aggressiveness, a hard work ethic and size—all the attributes necessary to be an outstanding offensive lineman.
In addition to his many playing abilities, Yary was also durable and willing to play in spite of injuries. he missed only two games due to injuries—both coming in 1980 with a broken ankle—in 14 years in Minnesota. Later that same year, he continued to play in spite of a broken foot. He was inducted to the Vikings Ring of Honor in 2000. He became a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 2001. It would be 29 years before another offensive lineman would be drafted first overall. That was Orlando Pace
Orlando Pace
Orlando Lamar Pace is an American football offensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams first overall in the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at Ohio State. Pace has started all 16 games eight times and blocked for three straight NFL MVPs...
, picked by the Rams in 1997
1997 NFL Draft
The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997. No teams elected to claim any players in the supplemental draft that...
.
Personal life
Yary is married to Jamie and has two sons, Jack (born 2001) and Grant (born 2005). Yary resides in Southern California and sells commercial real estate. However, he has recently stated that he would like to move back to the Twin Cities area.External links
- Ron Yary Profile at USC Legends