Lamar Lundy

Lamar J. Lundy Jr. (April 17, 1935 – February 24, 2007) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end for 13 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 to 1969. He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers and was selected by the Rams in the fourth round of the 1957 NFL draft.

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 NFL history. All four also did some acting; Lundy portrayed the boulder-hurling cyclops in the unaired pilot of Lost in Space (this pilot was later made into episode 4 of the series, entitled "There Were Giants in the Earth").

Lundy was born in Richmond, Indiana, on April 17, 1935, the first child of Lamar Lundy Sr. and Sarah Corine (Ferguson) Lundy. He attended Nicholson Elementary School and Test Junior High School in Richmond, and graduated from Richmond High School where he was a two-sport star in basketball and football, and was an All-American in both sports. Lundy led the Red Devils to the State Finals in basketball, playing for Hall of Fame Coach, Art Beckner. He was selected to the Indiana Basketball All-Star team that defeated the Kentucky All-Stars in 1953. He was also an All-State player in football. He was All-State in football in 1951 and 1952. The football team was undefeated in 1952 and 1953, and the basketball team went to the final four in 1953. He was named a distinguished alumnus in 1998.

When it came time to choose a college, Lamar selected and attended Purdue University, where he was the first black student to receive a football scholarship, and where he was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of both the football and basketball teams in his senior year. He led the Boilermakers football team in receiving his senior season and was a two-time second-team All-Big Ten end.

As a collegiate basketball player at center, Lamar scored 678 points (73rd all-time for the Boilermakers) and collected 533 rebounds (29th all-time for the Boilermakers). He averaged 10.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game from 1954 to 1957. He was a third-team All-Big Ten center in 1957.

Lundy was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1975, the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990, and the Purdue Hall of Fame in 1995; being one of only two people inducted into both Indiana's football and basketball Halls of Fame. In June 1968, he was honored by the city of Richmond. Lundy played in the Chicago College All Star game, where college all-stars played an NFL team.

In 2023, the John Purdue Club created the Lundy League, a capital gift society for donors to support Purdue Athletics, and to honor Lundy and his "above and beyond" mentality.

At 6 ft 7 in or 6 ft 8 in and 245 or 250 pounds, Lundy was drafted by both NFL and NBA teams, but he opted for a career in football. He was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks in the 1957 NBA draft, and the Los Angeles Rams in the fourth round of the 1957 NFL draft (47th overall). Early in his professional career (1957–1959), Lundy (number 85) played mostly at tight end, catching 35 passes for 584 yards, a 16.7 yards per catch average, and 6 touchdowns. Twenty-five of those receptions were in 1958. He switched to defensive end full time in 1960. He scored an additional 3 touchdowns on interception returns, an NFL record for defensive linemen (and the only 3 interceptions of his NFL career).