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Inducted June 20, 2024

INDUCTION BANQUET PROGRAM STORY — June 20, 2024

Played Football Because He Loved the Game

By:  Tom Markowksi
Detroit News (retired) / NPASHF Board Member

Many NFL fans might not recognize the name of Ron Yary. He never threw a touchdown pass; never scored a game-winning touchdown – or any touchdown for that matter; and you won’t find him hosting any podcast.

All the same, Ron Yary was one of the greatest players of his time. The son of a Polish immigrant, he was born in Chicago, before his family moved to the Los Angeles area.  He would go on to play 15 seasons in the NFL, the first 14 with the Minnesota Vikings.  He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987 and into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.

The reason, at least partially, for his anonymity was the fact he played offensive tackle.

Yary enjoyed a stellar career at the University of Southern California where he was named consensus All-America his junior season and unanimous All-America his senior season. As a sophomore Yary was named first team All-PAC 8 as a defensive lineman. In 1967 he was named recipient of the Outland Trophy and Knute Rockne Award given annually to the top lineman.

And Yary was the first player chosen in the 1968 NFL draft becoming the first lineman bestowed such an honor.

Six times Yary was named All-Pro and eight times (1970-77) he was named all-NFC. In his second season with Minnesota, the Vikings won the NFL Championship (1969) and he started in all four of Minnesota’s Super Bowls (IV, VIII, IX and XI)

He was voted to the first team All-Decade Team for the 1970s (selections are determined by the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee).

Those Vikings teams were best-known for their menacing defense. At the forefront of this unit were the defensive linemen who were known as the Purple People Eaters. They were led by Alan Page and Carl Eller, both of whom are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The attention heaped upon this unit overshadowed Coach Bud Grant’s offense and players like Yary.

Fame mattered little to Yary however. He played football because he loved the game. He loved the camaraderie. He loved the competition knowing that every day he gave his best.

“I played basketball and baseball, and I was good at both,” he said. “I chose football because it’s a team sport. There’s no other sport like it. You played for your teammates and coaches. The big thing was you didn’t want to let your teammates down. You looked at each other in the eyes and it was like you were going into battle. It’s the only sport that had that battle-like mentality.”

Proud and modest, Yary rarely speaks of his prowess on the field preferring to give credit to those coaches who made him the player he became. Part of his acceptance speech into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Yary was laden with praise to a dozen or so people who contributed to Yary’s success including his high school (Bellflower High, Calif.) coach Don Ashton, USC Coach John McKay and McKay’s assistants, Mike Giddings, Marv Goux and Dave Levy. With the Vikings of course there was the stoic Grant, offensive coordinator Jerry Burns and offensive line coach John Michels. As Yary has often said, no one gets into the hall of fame by themselves.”

Then there was his father, Anthony Yary, from whom Yary said he learned the meaning of hard work. According to Ron Yary, no one knows for sure the correct spelling of their last name.

“When he came through Ellis Island, (my father) didn’t know how to spell it,” Ron Yary said. “There wasn’t s birth certificate so they just wrote down Yary because that’s the way it sounded.”

It might have been Jarosz, a common last name in Poland, or something similar but it’s all conjecture and rather moot at this point.

Yary was named after his father’s best friend, Ronnie Spiezak. Yary’s birth name is Anthony Ronald Yary but, to avoid confusion, his parents called him Ron. Anthony Yary and Spiezak worked together in a tool and die shop in Chicago before the two decided to move west and start their own company. The California weather and the chance to be your own boss were too much to turn down.

“You see, my father didn’t like the cold weather,” Yary said. “It gets cold in Poland. He was raised on a 20-acre farm and every day at 4 a.m. he had to get up and feed the cows.

“It was harsh in Poland. It was a crude place to live. In Europe at that time, (people) would look to America and think that in America, if you work hard, you can be successful. And my dad was very successful. He’d work seven days a week and get up before I did and come home around six. He’d have time to go to my games on the weekend.”

Yary has two siblings, an older sister, Tella, and a younger brother Wayne who also attended USC on a football scholarship.

As a sophomore Yary played on the defensive end before switching to offensive tackle his last two years. As a senior he blocked for Heisman Trophy winner O.J. Simpson and USC won the National Championship that season as the Trojans clinched the title with a 14-3 victory over Indiana in the Rose Bowl.

One would assume that after being named the lineman of the year, playing on a National Championship team and being selected No. 1 overall in the 1968 NFL Draft ,Yary would be feeling pretty good about himself. But that’s not Ron Yary. He never played the game for awards or fame.

“Yeah, (National Championship) was a highlight,” he said. “You celebrated but then it was time to move on. My coaches told me before the draft I’d be taken first. You know, I didn’t care. I just wanted to play. To me it was no big thing. You might not believe that but that’s how I felt. When I went to USC it was no big deal if you were all-state or whatever. I played with a lot of the guys who were all-state. That didn’t matter. It’s what you did on the field. Making sure you did your assignments.”

Yary was 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds when he played, rather light by today’s standards. Nevertheless he said the game hasn’t changed much since his playing days, although he did point out today’s linemen have a tad more size.

“I’ve been on the sidelines (for NFL games) and they’re not any quicker than we were,” he said. “They’re more powerful, weighing 350 instead of 250. Teams are looking for girth. But the offensive linemen, they’re not any faster or quicker than we were.”

After football Yary went into business with his brother before retiring at the turn of the century.

He and his wife, Jamie, have three children and live in San Diego County. He remains active in the community mentoring youth as part of the Legacy Leadership programs.

When he was contacted with regards to his selection in the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame, Yary was grateful to be among those inducted, this year as well as those in the past.

“To be acknowledged for anything, it’s truly an honor” he said. “I never played for honors. To be recognized is truly a tribute. To be recognized…it’s humbling.”