Noting that the population of Natural Bridge is 992, he says with a laugh, "It's a little bit different than L.A."
He and his wife design and manufacture jewelry. Their company, The Gorgeous Horse, specializes in equestrian pieces, he says, "for people who own horses and go to horse shows."
Meador, who attends about 20 shows a year, recalls with great fondness playing for the Rams of the 1960s, especially the powerful late-'60s teams coached by George Allen.
"It's unfortunate that we didn't get into the Super Bowl," he says. "I don't think there was a better defensive team in football."
Playing behind the "Fearsome Foursome" of Olsen, Deacon Jones, Rosey Grier and Lamar Lundy, he says, was "just a real pleasure" for a defensive back.
"Those guys put the pressure on those quarterbacks a lot of times," he says. "That sure made it a lot easier."
Listed at 5 feet 11 and 190 pounds, Meador says he earlier was rejected as "too small" for major college football by then-Texas A&M coach Bear Bryant, winding up instead at tiny Arkansas Tech.
He was a two-way star in college, rushing for 3,410 yards, and a seventh-round pick of the Rams in the 1959 draft.
"It was quite an experience," he says of his relocation to Southern California a half-century ago. "At Arkansas Tech, if we had 2,000 people at a game, we had a big crowd. I came out to L.A. and the first NFL game I ever see, I played in the sucker."
He made an immediate impact, then-Rams assistant Jack Faulkner telling a reporter that the fresh-faced rookie "looks like Mickey Rooney but hits like Jim Brown."
In 12 seasons, he sat out only one game because of injury, playing in 159 consecutive games through his first 11 1/2 seasons. He returned five interceptions for touchdowns.
But at this point, nearly 40 years after his final game, Meador faces long odds of reaching the Hall. While anyone can nominate a candidate simply by writing to the Hall of Fame, a seniors committee annually names only two nominees from the pre-1985 era to be considered along with 15 other finalists.
Finalists then must garner 80% of the vote from the 44-person board of selectors to be elected to the Hall.
Whether or not he makes it, however, Meador says he is overwhelmed by the dedication and generosity of his children -- Mike, Mark, Dave and Vicki.
"I don't know what to say other than I'm super, super proud of them," he says. "They're super people, and if I do make it, it's going to be them that did it more than anything else."
Pausing, he adds, "Those are Hall of Fame kids, I tell you."
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jerome.crowe@latimes.com
