 Mack in 1975 | |||||||||
| No. 65 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Guard | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1943-11-01)November 1, 1943 (age 82) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 250 lb (113 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Cleveland Heights (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) | ||||||||
| College | Michigan (1963–1965) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1966: 1st round,2nd overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Thomas Lee Mack (born November 1, 1943) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aguard for theLos Angeles Rams of theNational Football League (NFL). He was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
A native ofCleveland, Ohio, Mack playedcollege football as anend andtackle for theMichigan Wolverines from 1963 to 1965. He was a starter on the1964 Michigan team that won theBig Ten Conference championship and defeatedOregon State in the1965 Rose Bowl. He was selected as a first-teamAll-Big Ten player in 1965 and was inducted into theUniversity of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 2006.
Mack was selected by the Rams with thesecond overall pick of the1966 NFL draft and played atleft guard for the Rams for 13 seasons from 1966 to 1978. During his NFL career, Mack played in 11Pro Bowls and appeared in 184 consecutive games, 176 as a starter, over 13 seasons.
Mack was born in 1943 inCleveland, Ohio, and attendedCleveland Heights High School.[1] He was the son ofRay Mack, a Cleveland native who playedMajor League Baseball as asecond baseman from 1938 to 1947, including eight seasons with theCleveland Indians.[2] Mack became anEagle Scout in 1960, and he later became a recipient of theDistinguished Eagle Scout Award.[3]
Mack enrolled at theUniversity of Michigan in 1962 and was a member of theMichigan Wolverines football team from 1962 to 1965.[4] As a sophomore in 1963, he played at theend position and spent most of the season on the bench.[4][5] After the 1963 season, Mack switched to the tackle position at the suggestion of Michigan coachBump Elliott. Mack later referred to the position change as "the big break of my life," an opportunity that "turned my whole experience in terms of football around."[5]
As a junior, he started seven games at right tackle and won theMeyer Morton Award for the1964 Michigan Wolverines football team that compiled a 9–1 record, outscored opponents 235–83, and defeatedOregon State in the1965 Rose Bowl.[6] As a senior, he started seven games at right tackle for the1965 Michigan team,[7] and he was selected by theAssociated Press as a first-team tackle on the1965 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[8] Mack was inducted into theUniversity of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 2006.[9]
While attending Michigan, Mack was a member ofSigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.[10]
Mack was selected by theLos Angeles Rams in the first round, as the second overall pick, in the1966 NFL draft.[1][11] During Mack's rookie season with the Rams, starterDon Chuy was injured during the fifth game of the season, allowing Mack to move into the lineup.[12] He started nine games during the 1966 season and became a fixture for the Rams at the left guard position for the next 13 seasons.[1] During his NFL career, Mack never missed a game due to injury, appearing in 184 consecutive contests, the third longest streak in Rams history behindMerlin Olsen andJack Youngblood.[13]
During Mack's career with the Rams, the club enjoyed a .720 winning percentage with a won-lost-tie record of 129–48–7, won their division eight times (1967, 1969, and 1973–1978), and reached four NFC championship games. In 1973, the Rams scored led the NFL with 388 points (27.7 points/game). In 1974, the Rams lost to theMinnesota Vikings by four points in the1974 NFC Championship Game, with a controversial penalty call against Mack costing the Rams a touchdown. The Rams had the ball at the one-yard line on second down when the Vikings'Alan Page made contact with Mack; the referee called illegal procedure on Mack, but replays showed that Mack had not moved. After the game, Mack insisted he had not moved but credited Page with "a smart play" in making contact since a penalty, if called against the Vikings, would have been meaningless.[14][15]
Mack was selected to 11 Pro Bowls, the first coming after his second season in 1967. He missed only onePro Bowl appearance the rest of his career (1976). Mack's 11 invitations earned him a third-place tie withBob Lilly andKen Houston for the most selections of all time. Mack was selected first-teamAll-Pro four times (1969,1971,1973,1974) and second-team All-Pro four times (1968,1970,1972, and1975). In addition, he was named All-NFC eight times between 1970 and 1978.[1]
Mack announced in late November 1978 that he would retire at the end of the1978 NFL season.[16] He was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1999.[17]
After retiring from football, Mack worked as an engineer, using the engineering degree he received at the University of Michigan.[5] He eventually became a lobbyist for Bechtel Group, Inc.[18]Mack has a daughter named Carrie who attended Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, MD (Class of 1992).
Media related toTom Mack at Wikimedia Commons