Tom Fears

The little guy who caught all those passes in the Minnesota Vikings' upset playoff win over the San Francisco 49ers Saturday broke the record of a big guy who just got his first Social Security check. When 5-foot 11-inch, 166-pound Anthony Carter gained 227 yards with 10 receptions at Candlestick Park, he broke the NFL's one-game playoff reception yardage record of 198 yards, set with 7 catches by Tom Fears on Dec.

Sid Gillman was unquestionably an innovative football genius and contributed tons to the modern passing game. However, Sam Farmer's article credits Gillman -- in the mid-1950s -- with incorporating the deep pass into the pro football offense. One wonders, then, what it was the Rams were doing under coaches Joe Stydahar and Hampton Pool in the early '50s with Norm Van Brocklin and Bob Waterfield as quarterbacks and Tom Fears, Elroy Hirsch and Bob Boyd as deep receivers. Those Ram offenses were, this writer recalls, designed by Clark Shaughnessy, who introduced the T-formation at Stanford in the '40s.

Tom Fears, former star end for the Rams who coached the New Orleans Saints in their first three seasons, was hired as coach of the Milan team in the new International League of American football.

He awakens every morning at 4:30, dresses quietly in a soft sweat suit, steps outside before the sun. He walks up Hudson, down Olympic, on to the track at Los Angeles High, around and around and around in the dark. If looking for Ollie Matson these days, this is the best place and time to find him. A Hall of Fame running back walking invisibly amid us. A ghost of the Ram football past. "They act like I'm dead," he says. If so, then the 71-year-old rests in a catacombs shared by many, an entire generation of Rams memories left behind six years ago when the team moved to St. Louis.

I read with interest your recent account of Tom Fears' reaction to his NFL playoff record for pass reception yardage being broken by Anthony Carter of Minnesota Vikings. Quoting Tom: "I might still hold the record if the Viking hadn't been throwing all those long bombs in the second half with a 10-point lead. He didn't get my single-game receptions record, though." For we graybeards who saw Tom Fears set the record for the number of receptions against the Green Bay Packers, we must chuckle.

Six members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame will be honored July 27 at the Los Angeles Hyatt Regency. The 6 p.m. public banquet, featuring Dan Fortmann, Ollie Matson, Dick Butkus, Tom Fears, Mel Hein and Merlin Olsen, will benefit Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles. Players in attendance, including the six being honored, will be seated among the audience. Information is available through Big Brothers, 258-3333.

Sid Gillman was unquestionably an innovative football genius and contributed tons to the modern passing game. However, Sam Farmer's article credits Gillman -- in the mid-1950s -- with incorporating the deep pass into the pro football offense. One wonders, then, what it was the Rams were doing under coaches Joe Stydahar and Hampton Pool in the early '50s with Norm Van Brocklin and Bob Waterfield as quarterbacks and Tom Fears, Elroy Hirsch and Bob Boyd as deep receivers. Those Ram offenses were, this writer recalls, designed by Clark Shaughnessy, who introduced the T-formation at Stanford in the '40s.

Los Angeles arguably produced no finer athlete than Tom Fears, who attended Manual Arts High in the early 1940s. And 49 years ago today at the Coliseum, Fears had his greatest game in an NFL uniform. Playing for the Rams, he caught a record 18 passes in a 51-14 victory over Green Bay. The record still stands. It was the Rams' final regular-season game, and the victory clinched a playoff berth.

Tom Fears doesn't attend many games anymore, but he was watching from the stands Monday night as receiver Henry Ellard continued his assault on Fears' 38-year-old Ram record for single-season receptions. It was one great pair of hands, generations removed, admiring another's. "I think he's a hell of a receiver," Fears said. One of the game's greatest receivers, Fears has charted Ellard at a distance over the years.

Some advice for the Miami Heat, who finished 15-67 in their first season: Don't panic. Stay the course. Have faith in your people. This from men of experience, like Tom Fears, the original head coach of the New Orleans Saints, and Lou Gorman, the first general manager of the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners. As New York Islanders general manager Bill Torrey explained, all expansion teams start at the same point: "no pencils, no desks, no players, nothing." But why did the Islanders evolve into playoff contenders within a few years, while the Mariners, who began in 1977, still struggle for respectability?

If someone asked you to name consummate L.A. football stars, you'd start with Tom Fears, Bob Waterfield, Kenny Washington and Jon Arnett. They all starred here in high school (Fears and Arnett at Manual Arts, Waterfield at Van Nuys, Washington at Lincoln), in college (Fears, Waterfield and Washington at UCLA and Arnett at USC) and in the NFL with the Rams. Fears, who died Tuesday at 77, still holds the record for most receptions in an NFL game, 18 against Green Bay in 1950.

Tom Fears, who hand-delivered the Los Angeles Rams' only NFL championship, died Tuesday afternoon in Palm Desert of complications from Alzheimer's disease. He was 77. In the 1951 NFL championship game at the Coliseum, Fears caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Norm Van Brocklin, a 73-yard play in the fourth quarter, and that was the difference in the Rams' 24-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

Los Angeles arguably produced no finer athlete than Tom Fears, who attended Manual Arts High in the early 1940s. And 49 years ago today at the Coliseum, Fears had his greatest game in an NFL uniform. Playing for the Rams, he caught a record 18 passes in a 51-14 victory over Green Bay. The record still stands. It was the Rams' final regular-season game, and the victory clinched a playoff berth.

This is not a life that should be forgotten. It has been, until now, a 71-year highlight film that, for those who don't know the man, plays out suspiciously like some Faustian joy ride. Perhaps, in a cruel conclusion, Tom Fears has been called to "accounts payable." Maybe no one gets what he was handed and walks away clean. Maybe no one deserves to have been so happy.

Tom Fears, former star end for the Rams who coached the New Orleans Saints in their first three seasons, was hired as coach of the Milan team in the new International League of American football.

Some advice for the Miami Heat, who finished 15-67 in their first season: Don't panic. Stay the course. Have faith in your people. This from men of experience, like Tom Fears, the original head coach of the New Orleans Saints, and Lou Gorman, the first general manager of the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners. As New York Islanders general manager Bill Torrey explained, all expansion teams start at the same point: "no pencils, no desks, no players, nothing." But why did the Islanders evolve into playoff contenders within a few years, while the Mariners, who began in 1977, still struggle for respectability?

This is not a life that should be forgotten. It has been, until now, a 71-year highlight film that, for those who don't know the man, plays out suspiciously like some Faustian joy ride. Perhaps, in a cruel conclusion, Tom Fears has been called to "accounts payable." Maybe no one gets what he was handed and walks away clean. Maybe no one deserves to have been so happy.

Tom Fears doesn't attend many games anymore, but he was watching from the stands Monday night as receiver Henry Ellard continued his assault on Fears' 38-year-old Ram record for single-season receptions. It was one great pair of hands, generations removed, admiring another's. "I think he's a hell of a receiver," Fears said. One of the game's greatest receivers, Fears has charted Ellard at a distance over the years.