Rosey Grier
Encyclopedia
Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier (born July 14, 1932 in Cuthbert, Georgia
) is an American
actor, singer, Christian
minister, and former professional American football
player. He was a notable college football player for Pennsylvania State University
who earned a retrospective place in the National Collegiate Athletic Association
100th anniversary list of 100 most influential student athletes. As a professional player, Grier was a member of the New York Giants, and the original Fearsome Foursome
of the Los Angeles Rams
and played in the Pro Bowl
twice.
After Grier's professional sports career he worked as a bodyguard for Robert Kennedy during the 1968 presidential campaign and was guarding the senator's wife, Ethel Kennedy, during the Robert F. Kennedy assassination
. Although unable to prevent that killing, Grier took control of the gun and subdued the shooter, Sirhan Sirhan
.
Grier's other activities have been colorful and varied. He hosted his own Los Angeles
television show and made approximately 70 guest appearances on various shows during the 1960s and 1970s.
As a singer, Grier first released singles on the A label in 1960, and over the following twenty-five years he continued to record on various labels including Liberty, Ric, MGM and A&M. His recording of a tribute to Robert Kennedy, "People Make The World" (written by Bobby Womack
) was his only chart single, peaking at #128 in 1968.
Grier is known for his serious pursuit of hobbies not traditionally associated with men such as macrame
and needlepoint
. He has authored several books, including Rosey Grier's Needlepoint for Men in 1973. Grier became an ordained Christian minister in 1983 and travels as an inspirational speaker. He founded American Neighborhood Enterprises, a nonprofit organization that serves inner city youth.
He played high school football
at Abraham Clark High School
in Roselle, New Jersey
.
football team, Grier was drafted as the 31st overall pick in the third round of the 1955 NFL Draft by the New York Giants
. He played with the Giants from 1955 to 1962, during which he led the team to a NFL Championship in 1956
and the Eastern Conference Championship in 1958, 1959, 1961 and 1962. Grier was selected for the Pro Bowl
in 1956 and 1960, and was named All-Pro
at the defensive tackle position in 1956 and 1958–1962.
Grier was then traded in July 1963 to the Los Angeles Rams
in exchange for defensive tackle John LoVetere
and a high future draft pick. He was part of the "Fearsome Foursome
", along with Deacon Jones
, Merlin Olsen
, and Lamar Lundy
, often considered one of the best defensive lines in football history, along with the Purple People Eaters
of the Minnesota Vikings
, the Steel Curtain
of the Pittsburgh Steelers
, and the Dallas Cowboys
' Doomsday Defense
. His career ended in 1967 due to a torn Achilles tendon
.
Sacks with Rams: 1963 (6), 1964 (6.5), 1965 (1.5), 1966 (7)
, a weekly half-hour television show discussing community affairs in Los Angeles
. Grier served as a bodyguard for his friend, United States senator
and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy
. He was guarding Ethel Kennedy, the Senator's wife, who was then expecting a child, the night that Kennedy was assassinated
in Los Angeles in 1968. Grier and Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson
heard shots fired ahead of them. Reacting first, Johnson subdued the shooter followed by Grier (as seen in official White House archives). As Johnson grabbed the gun, Grier placed his hand over Johnson's to help secure the weapon. Grier later said, "I grabbed the man's legs and dragged him onto a table. There was a guy angrily twisting the killer's legs and other angry faces coming towards him, as though they were going to tear him to pieces. I fought them off. I would not allow more violence."
Grier was well known in the 1970s for his hobbies of needlepoint
and macrame
, practices not normally associated with "macho
" sports figures. Grier has a daughter from a previous relationship named Sherryl Brown-Tubbs. He later married Bernice Lewis, who had one child, Denise, whom he adopted before getting divorced. He then married Margie Grier, whom he divorced in 1978 and remarried in 1980. Margie Grier died on June 10, 2011. A nephew, Mike "Big Daddy" Grier
, followed his uncle's career in sports when he enrolled as a student at Boston University
, but he played ice hockey
instead of football. Grier released his autobiography 'Rosey: The Gentle Giant' in 1986.
(1964) as well as a cameo
playing an athletic trainer in an episode of I Dream of Jeannie
. He became a regular cast member starting in 1969 on the series Daniel Boone
, Make Room for Granddaddy, and The White Shadow
. Grier also sang the song "It's All Right to Cry" for the children's album and TV program Free to Be… You and Me
. Grier appeared on the television game show Match Game 74
as a panelist. Grier starred in a handful of low-budget features, including The Thing with Two Heads
(1972) and The Glove
(1978). Grier appeared in the 1974-1976 NBC TV series Movin' On
with Claude Akins
, filmed in Grier's home state of Georgia. He appeared in a third season episode of Quincy, M.E. called Crib Job, in which he played himself as the director of a group called Giant Step, and 2 episodes of Kojak, one in the third season and one in the fourth season, as a bounty hunter called Salathiel Harms. He also appeared on an episode of CHiPs
during the first season in 1977, where he plays a distraught motorist who, during a routine traffic stop, proceeds to destroy his car in frustration by pulling it apart piece by piece. Grier also guest voiced in a 1999 episode of The Simpsons
entitled "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
".
buy homes and receive vocational training. Grier was ordained a Christian minister in 1983, and the next year he founded his nonprofit resource center for inner-city teens, developing spiritual and educational programs for disadvantaged youths.
Grier is a prominent member of Alpha Phi Alpha
fraternity. He is also on the Milken Family Foundation
board of trustees and serves as its program administrator of community affairs.
He has been honored by Penn State
as recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1974, and the Alumni Fellow Award in 1991. He was named to the NCAA
's "List of the 100 Most Influential Student-Athletes” published to commemorate the NCAA's 100th anniversary. In 1997, he was inducted into the New Jersey Sports Hall of Fame.
Cuthbert, Georgia
Cuthbert is a city in, and the county seat of, Randolph County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,731 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Cuthbert is located at 31º46'15" North, 84º47'37" West ....
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor, singer, Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
minister, and former professional American football
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...
player. He was a notable college football player for Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
who earned a retrospective place in the National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
100th anniversary list of 100 most influential student athletes. As a professional player, Grier was a member of the New York Giants, and the original Fearsome Foursome
Fearsome Foursome (football)
The "Fearsome Foursome" was a title first used in reporting American Professional Football, when referring to the dominating defensive lines of the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League in the early 1960s, the New York Giants, Detroit Lions and most widely, the Los Angeles Rams of the...
of 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,...
and played in the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
twice.
After Grier's professional sports career he worked as a bodyguard for Robert Kennedy during the 1968 presidential campaign and was guarding the senator's wife, Ethel Kennedy, during the Robert F. Kennedy assassination
Robert F. Kennedy assassination
The assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, a United States Senator and brother of assassinated President John F. Kennedy, took place shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, in Los Angeles, California...
. Although unable to prevent that killing, Grier took control of the gun and subdued the shooter, Sirhan Sirhan
Sirhan Sirhan
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan is a Jordanian citizen who was convicted for the assassination of United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy. He is serving a life sentence at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, California.Sirhan was a Christian Arab born in Jerusalem who strongly opposed Israel...
.
Grier's other activities have been colorful and varied. He hosted his own Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
television show and made approximately 70 guest appearances on various shows during the 1960s and 1970s.
As a singer, Grier first released singles on the A label in 1960, and over the following twenty-five years he continued to record on various labels including Liberty, Ric, MGM and A&M. His recording of a tribute to Robert Kennedy, "People Make The World" (written by Bobby Womack
Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40...
) was his only chart single, peaking at #128 in 1968.
Grier is known for his serious pursuit of hobbies not traditionally associated with men such as macrame
Macramé
Macramé or macrame is a form of textile-making using knotting rather than weaving or knitting. Its primary knots are the square knot and forms of "hitching": full hitch and double half hitches...
and needlepoint
Needlepoint
Needlepoint is a form of counted thread embroidery in which yarn is stitched through a stiff open weave canvas. Most needlepoint designs completely cover the canvas...
. He has authored several books, including Rosey Grier's Needlepoint for Men in 1973. Grier became an ordained Christian minister in 1983 and travels as an inspirational speaker. He founded American Neighborhood Enterprises, a nonprofit organization that serves inner city youth.
Early life
One of twelve children, Grier was named after Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was governor of New York at the time and was elected president later that year.He played high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
at Abraham Clark High School
Abraham Clark High School
Abraham Clark High School is a four-year public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from the borough of Roselle, in Union County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Roselle Public Schools. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association...
in Roselle, New Jersey
Roselle, New Jersey
Roselle is a Borough located in Union County in the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 21,085....
.
Professional career
After playing on the defensive line on the Penn State UniversityPennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
football team, Grier was drafted as the 31st overall pick in the third round of the 1955 NFL Draft by 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...
. He played with the Giants from 1955 to 1962, during which he led the team to a NFL Championship in 1956
1956 NFL season
The 1956 NFL season was the 37th regular season of the National Football League. CBS became the first network to televise some regular season games across the nation...
and the Eastern Conference Championship in 1958, 1959, 1961 and 1962. Grier was selected for the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
in 1956 and 1960, and 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...
at the defensive tackle position in 1956 and 1958–1962.
Grier was then traded in July 1963 to 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,...
in exchange for defensive tackle John LoVetere
John LoVetere
John Manning LoVetere is a former American football defensive tackle who played seven seasons in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants. He played college football at Compton Junior College.Found article at Helmut HutJohn LoVetere is one of the most impressive...
and a high future draft pick. He was part of the "Fearsome Foursome
Fearsome Foursome (football)
The "Fearsome Foursome" was a title first used in reporting American Professional Football, when referring to the dominating defensive lines of the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League in the early 1960s, the New York Giants, Detroit Lions and most widely, the Los Angeles Rams of the...
", along with Deacon Jones
Deacon Jones
David D. "Deacon" Jones is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and the Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.Jones specialized in quarterback sacks, a term attributed to him...
, Merlin Olsen
Merlin Olsen
Merlin Jay Olsen was an American football player in the National Football League, NFL commentator, and actor. He played his entire 15-year career with the Los Angeles Rams and was elected to the Pro Bowl in 14 of those seasons, a current record shared with Bruce Matthews...
, and Lamar Lundy
Lamar Lundy
Lamar J. Lundy, Jr. was an American defensive end with the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League for 13 seasons, from 1957 to 1969. Along with Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, and Rosey Grier, Lundy was a member of the Fearsome Foursome, often considered one of the best defensive lines in...
, often considered one of the best defensive lines in football history, along with the Purple People Eaters
Purple People Eaters
Purple People Eaters is a term for the defensive line of the Minnesota Vikings from the late 1960s to the late 1970s. The term is a reference to a popular song from 1958, the superb efficiency of the defense, and the color of their uniforms...
of 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...
, the Steel Curtain
Steel Curtain
The Steel Curtain was the nickname given to the front four of the famous defensive line of the American football team Pittsburgh Steelers during their 1970s dynasty years. This defense was the backbone of the Steelers dynasty, which won 4 Super Bowls...
of the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, and the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
' Doomsday Defense
Doomsday Defense
The Doomsday Defense was the nickname given to the famous defense of the Dallas Cowboys American football team during the dynasty years of the late 1960s - 1970s...
. His career ended in 1967 due to a torn Achilles tendon
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon , also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendo calcaneus, is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to the calcaneus bone.- Anatomy :The Achilles is the tendonous extension of 3 muscles in the lower leg:...
.
Sacks with Rams: 1963 (6), 1964 (6.5), 1965 (1.5), 1966 (7)
Post-football career
After his retirement, Grier hosted the Rosey Grier Show on KABC-TVKABC-TV
KABC-TV, channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, licensed to Los Angeles, California. KABC-TV's studios are located in Glendale, California...
, a weekly half-hour television show discussing community affairs in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Grier served as a bodyguard for his friend, United States senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
. He was guarding Ethel Kennedy, the Senator's wife, who was then expecting a child, the night that Kennedy was assassinated
Robert F. Kennedy assassination
The assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, a United States Senator and brother of assassinated President John F. Kennedy, took place shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, in Los Angeles, California...
in Los Angeles in 1968. Grier and Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson
Rafer Johnson
Rafer Lewis Johnson is an American former decathlete and film actor.-Biography:Johnson was born in Hillsboro, Texas, but the family moved to Kingsburg, California, when he was nine. For a while, they were the only black family in the town. A versatile athlete, he played on Kingsburg High School's...
heard shots fired ahead of them. Reacting first, Johnson subdued the shooter followed by Grier (as seen in official White House archives). As Johnson grabbed the gun, Grier placed his hand over Johnson's to help secure the weapon. Grier later said, "I grabbed the man's legs and dragged him onto a table. There was a guy angrily twisting the killer's legs and other angry faces coming towards him, as though they were going to tear him to pieces. I fought them off. I would not allow more violence."
Grier was well known in the 1970s for his hobbies of needlepoint
Needlepoint
Needlepoint is a form of counted thread embroidery in which yarn is stitched through a stiff open weave canvas. Most needlepoint designs completely cover the canvas...
and macrame
Macramé
Macramé or macrame is a form of textile-making using knotting rather than weaving or knitting. Its primary knots are the square knot and forms of "hitching": full hitch and double half hitches...
, practices not normally associated with "macho
Macho
Macho typically refers to machismo. Other uses include:*Macho , a short-lived disco group in the late 1970s*Pique macho, Bolivian dish*Macho Man , a 1978 disco song performed by the Village People...
" sports figures. Grier has a daughter from a previous relationship named Sherryl Brown-Tubbs. He later married Bernice Lewis, who had one child, Denise, whom he adopted before getting divorced. He then married Margie Grier, whom he divorced in 1978 and remarried in 1980. Margie Grier died on June 10, 2011. A nephew, Mike "Big Daddy" Grier
Mike Grier
Michael James Grier is a retired professional ice hockey winger who most recently played for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League . He has also played professionally for the Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, and San Jose Sharks...
, followed his uncle's career in sports when he enrolled as a student at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, but he played ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
instead of football. Grier released his autobiography 'Rosey: The Gentle Giant' in 1986.
Movies and television
Grier has appeared in a number of films and television shows. One of the first football stars to successfully transition to acting, he made about 70 television guest appearances, including a role as one of the security contingent in The Brain Killer Affair episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
(1964) as well as a cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
playing an athletic trainer in an episode of I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
. He became a regular cast member starting in 1969 on the series Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone (TV series)
Daniel Boone is an American action/adventure television series starring Fess Parker as Daniel Boone that aired from September 24, 1964 to September 10, 1970 on NBC for 165 episodes, and was made by 20th Century Fox Television. Ed Ames co-starred as Mingo, Boone's Native American friend, for the...
, Make Room for Granddaddy, and The White Shadow
The White Shadow
The White Shadow is an American drama television series that ran on the CBS network from November 27, 1978, to March 16, 1981.-Overview:...
. Grier also sang the song "It's All Right to Cry" for the children's album and TV program Free to Be… You and Me
Free to Be… You and Me
Free to Be… You and Me, a project of the Ms. Foundation for Women, is a record album and illustrated book first released in November 1972 featuring songs and stories sung or told by celebrities of the day including Alan Alda, Rosey Grier, Cicely Tyson, Carol Channing, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross...
. Grier appeared on the television game show Match Game 74
Match Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
as a panelist. Grier starred in a handful of low-budget features, including The Thing with Two Heads
The Thing with Two Heads
The Thing with Two Heads is a 1972 film, starring Rosey Grier, Ray Milland and Don Marshall directed by Lee Frost, and written by Wes Bishop. Frost and Bishop also had parts in the movie....
(1972) and The Glove
The Glove (film)
The Glove is a 1979 action film directed by cult actor Ross Hagen and starring John Saxon. Saxon plays a bounty hunter who's given a large sum to track down a vicious ex-convict who has been murdering former prison guards with a large leather-laced steel glove....
(1978). Grier appeared in the 1974-1976 NBC TV series Movin' On
Movin' On (TV series)
Movin' On is an American drama series that ran for two seasons , between 1974 and 1976. It originally appeared on the NBC television network...
with Claude Akins
Claude Akins
Claude Marion Akins was an American actor with a long career on stage, screen and television.Powerful in appearance and voice, Akins could be counted on to play the clever tough guy, on the side of good or bad, in movies and television. He is best remembered as Sheriff Lobo in the 1970s TV series...
, filmed in Grier's home state of Georgia. He appeared in a third season episode of Quincy, M.E. called Crib Job, in which he played himself as the director of a group called Giant Step, and 2 episodes of Kojak, one in the third season and one in the fourth season, as a bounty hunter called Salathiel Harms. He also appeared on an episode of CHiPs
CHiPs
CHiPs is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. CHiPs followed the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol...
during the first season in 1977, where he plays a distraught motorist who, during a routine traffic stop, proceeds to destroy his car in frustration by pulling it apart piece by piece. Grier also guest voiced in a 1999 episode of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
entitled "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
"Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 31, 1999, just after Super Bowl XXXIII. In the episode, while buying new tires for his car, Homer meets a travel agent called Wally Kogen...
".
Community service
Grier has also written a number of books, and now travels the United States as an inspirational speaker, and is cofounder of American Neighborhood Enterprises, an organization that works to help disadvantaged city dwellersInner city
The inner city is the central area of a major city or metropolis. In the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term is often applied to the lower-income residential districts in the city centre and nearby areas...
buy homes and receive vocational training. Grier was ordained a Christian minister in 1983, and the next year he founded his nonprofit resource center for inner-city teens, developing spiritual and educational programs for disadvantaged youths.
Grier is a prominent member of Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...
fraternity. He is also on the Milken Family Foundation
Milken Family Foundation
The Milken Family Foundation is a private foundation established by Lowell Milken and Michael Milken in 1982. Lowell Milken serves as chairman and co-founder of the foundation.-Goals:...
board of trustees and serves as its program administrator of community affairs.
He has been honored by Penn State
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
as recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1974, and the Alumni Fellow Award in 1991. He was named to the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
's "List of the 100 Most Influential Student-Athletes” published to commemorate the NCAA's 100th anniversary. In 1997, he was inducted into the New Jersey Sports Hall of Fame.
External links
- Rosey Grier filmography
- Rosey Grier football statistics
- Needlepoint for Men by Rosey Grier (1973)
- NCCA Centennial "List of 100 Most Influential Student-Athletes" (PDF)
- [ Roosevelt Grier biography at All Music Guide]
- Gallery of Rosey Grier football cards