A Lineman With an Indiana Beginning
Theodore G. Karras, known as Ted Karras Sr., was born on January 31, 1934, in Gary, Indiana. He played nine NFL seasons and was a starting guard on the Chicago Bears’ 1963 championship team. I find his biography especially substantial because the football years were followed by teaching, coaching, business, and local government work in the community from which he came.
He died on January 26, 2016, five days before his eighty-second birthday. The suffix Sr. distinguishes him from his son and grandson, both also associated with football. Those generations are connected by family and a repeated name, but each has a separate playing or coaching record.
George and Emmeline Karras
Ted’s father, Dr. George Karras, was a Greek immigrant physician who practiced in Gary. His mother, Emmeline Wilson Karras, was a Canadian-born registered nurse. Their professions bring medicine into the background of a family now most widely remembered through sport. I see that detail as a useful correction to the idea that the household’s history began with the NFL.
Three brothers became particularly recognizable in professional football: Lou, Ted, and Alex. Lou was born in 1927, Ted in 1934, and Alex in 1935. The birth years give their careers a generational order and show why the older and younger brothers were not necessarily passing through every sporting stage together.
The family contained other siblings as well, but the football account is most clearly documented through these three. The surname became prominent through several individuals’ work, not through a single shared résumé.
Indiana University and the Steelers
Ted attended Emerson High School in Gary and played college football at Indiana University. He graduated in 1956 and entered the NFL in 1958 as an undrafted player with the Pittsburgh Steelers. That beginning gives his professional career a clear route from local school to university and then to the league.
He played for Pittsburgh in 1958 and 1959 before moving to Chicago. I find the undrafted entry worth retaining because it identifies the actual starting point rather than assuming that every long NFL career began with a draft selection. The later record demonstrates that an initial route into the league is only one part of a player’s story.
Across his NFL career, Karras played 108 games and made 88 starts. Those totals provide a concrete measure of sustained participation. They sit alongside, rather than replace, the team-by-team history and the championship that became his best-known sporting achievement.
The 1963 Chicago Bears
Karras played for the Bears from 1960 through 1964. His role as starting left guard placed him within the offensive line of the 1963 team that won the NFL Championship. Chicago defeated the New York Giants 14 to 10 in that title game.
I think the score and position make the achievement more vivid than simply calling him a champion. They identify the game and the work he performed within the team. A guard’s contribution belongs to coordinated line play, so the championship should be described as a team result with Karras in a specific role.
The 1963 title preceded the Super Bowl era. Keeping the name NFL Championship preserves the historical setting. It also helps distinguish Ted’s achievement from the later Super Bowl victories associated with his grandson, whose professional career began decades after the elder Karras had left the league.
Detroit and Los Angeles
After his Bears years, Karras played for the Detroit Lions in 1965 and the Los Angeles Rams in 1966. Those were the final two seasons of his NFL career. The sequence is compact but important: Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angeles represent four teams across nine seasons.
His brother Alex had a prominent career as a defensive tackle with Detroit. I find that connection worth noting while keeping the brothers’ positions clear. Ted’s principal public identity was as an offensive lineman, whereas Alex became known for work on the defensive line and later for acting.
Lou’s NFL career came earlier, with Washington from 1950 to 1953 after college football at Purdue. Together, the brothers’ records span different colleges, teams, and periods. The family connection is strong, but the individual routes give it its actual substance.
Teaching Coaching and Gary Government
After professional football, Ted returned to Indiana and worked as a teacher and high-school coach in Hammond public schools. He also worked in real estate and served on the Gary City Council from 1972 to 1980. I see these roles as a substantial second career chapter rather than an afterthought to the championship ring.
His later coaching included work with local programs and alongside members of the next generation. He remained involved in athletics after his own playing years had ended. The shift from player to teacher and coach placed his football experience in a different setting, with students and developing athletes replacing professional teammates.
Local musical theater also formed part of his community activities. That detail adds another dimension to a life otherwise summarized through line play and government service. His participation was in local theater; his brother Alex’s screen fame was a separate acting career.
Anna Sons and a Grandson
Ted’s wife at the time of his death was Anna. His sons included Ted Jr., Tony, and Jeffery, often called Jeff. The family continued its football connection through college play and coaching, with Ted Jr.’s career providing the clearest link to a third generation.
Ted Karras Jr., born in 1964, played at Northwestern and briefly participated in the NFL as a replacement player with Washington in 1987. He later became a coach, including head-coaching work at Marian University. His son, Ted Karras III, was born in 1993, played at Illinois, and was drafted in 2016.
The younger Ted won two Super Bowls with New England and later joined Cincinnati in 2022. I distinguish these milestones from his grandfather’s 1963 championship. They show a family connection continuing across eras while preserving the separate teams, titles, and careers involved.
FAQ
Which teams did Ted Karras Sr. play for?
He played for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1958 and 1959, the Chicago Bears from 1960 to 1964, the Detroit Lions in 1965, and the Los Angeles Rams in 1966. His NFL career totaled nine seasons, 108 games, and 88 starts.
What was his major championship achievement?
Karras was the starting left guard on the 1963 Chicago Bears NFL Championship team. Chicago beat the New York Giants 14 to 10. I retain the title’s historical name because this victory occurred before the Super Bowl era and differs from his grandson’s later championships.
How is he related to the later NFL player Ted Karras?
He was Ted Karras III’s grandfather. The connection runs through Ted Karras Jr., the elder Ted’s son and the younger player’s father. Each generation has its own football record, with Ted Sr.’s NFL career followed by his son’s coaching work and his grandson’s later professional play.
