Earl Edwards obit

San Francisco 49ers Lineman Earl Edwards Dies  

He was not on the list.

He was born in Statesboro Georgia in 1946, he was the son of Bruce and Adella Edwards. He was raised in Tampa and attended Blake High School. He attended Wichita State University on a football scholarship, where he was an All American candidate, left Wichita to play in the Canadian Football league for the Edmonton Eskimos. In 1969 the San Francisco 49ers acquired him for 11 players. He would go on to play for other teams Including the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, and Greenbag Packers, playing in the NFL from 1969-1980. He went on to coach at UNLV for 3 years before returning to Arizona State University to complete his degree in sports psychology, subsequently becoming the sports psychologist working with the ASU football team under Coach John Cooper. He went on to become the Player Program Coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals. He also worked in athletic ministry for Athletes International Ministries and Meadowlark Lemons ministry. He consulted with “Kids For Tomorrow” working as a counselor, and then as a substitute teacher.

He will be remembered by his football teammates for his work ethic and contributions and was a relentless seeker for racial and social justice on and off the football field. He is remembered by his family for his big smile, big personality, sarcastic charm, and boundless tenacity. His commitment to help others when he could, and always wanting to stick his neck out and pass forward generosity for someone else encouraged others to follow in his footsteps. You always knew when you needed to “go to your room” with his stern eyebrow. He had a love for music, played a mean air guitar when he wasn't playing his saxophone. He always was a father figure to anyone around him. You never entered or left his presence without one of his big hugs. He always entered the room with a distinctive flare. He was a big family man and made sure everyone felt loved and accepted. As a father figure to not only his own kids, he was respected and he touched a lot of lives through many generations, became a visionary to a great number of people and will be fondly missed.

He is survived by his wife of 37 years Janice Edwards and father to Reginald (Tracy) Edwards (deceased 2020), Sandi (Blaine) Ringham, Brandi Edwards, Gavin (Elle) Edwards and Damien (Katelyn) Edwards. Grandfather to Joseph Handy, Jerin Handy, JJ Edwards, Maya Edwards, Adonis Edwards.

The funeral memorial service will be held on June 8, 2024 at 2pm at Vineyard Gilbert Community Church 601 S Cooper Rd, Gilbert, Az, 85225. Family is requesting the wearing of bright colors to celebrate his colorful life.

Earl Edwards dropped out of Wichita State in 1966 after being "dismissed" from the football team, along with two other players, for unspecified rules violations. The local paper reported the dismissals, then a short time later the Head Coach George Karras then told the same paper that there had been

"no dismissals".

The next story in the saga reported that there had been an olive branch offered by the coach allowing the three players to return under some unstated conditions. Edwards refused.

The previous year he was the Missouri Valley Sophomore Lineman of the Year so bigs things were expected for Edwards but prior to the dismissal he's suffered from a fairly severe ankle injury and was not have the kind of All-America season projected by the school.

Edwards had been a highly recruited athlete out of Tampa, Florida. He'd been offered a football scholarship from 26 schools and a basketball scholarship from ten. He was 6-6, 245 pounds at the time, and his play as a soph caught the eye of the Cowboys, Lions, Packers, and 49ers.

In Spring practice of 1966 the Packers defensive line coach, Dave Hanner, visited the campus and said, "Edwards is going to be a great one". When the 49ers visited and assessed the Shocker team they rated Edwards as good but teammate Bob Hoskins was better.

So after the controversy Edwards and went to Canada to play football. he was signed by Ottawa and went through their camp but they were not impressed with him, stating he stood up to high. They were very very impressed with his size and speed (reported as 5.2 in full gear) but waived him before the season.

Edmonton picked him up and made him an offensive tackle for the '67 season. He was quite successful for Edmonton as a defensive tackle, even garnering possible All-Star notice in 1968 but ultimately didn't gat named to the All-CFL team.

Then around 260 pounds, in 1969 the 49ers drafted him on the fifth round, knowing his physical quality and "good film" from Canada, to help them with their defensive line, which was aging in the middle. he'd become eligible for the draft in 1969 since his class was graduating, allowing him to be drafted that year. In the 16th round  (yes there were that many rounds back then) the 49ers took Bob Hoskins, his former teammate at Wichita State. They got both their guys from the Shockers.

Charlie Kreuger was 32 and Roland Lakes was 30. It was time to retool. The ends were younger and their left end was solid (Stan Hindman) and their right end (Bill Belk) was more of a "hustle-type" not really suited for end due to the lack of speed in his pass rush, but was a good run defender.

However, Edwards was still under contract so the 49ers had to give Edmonton compensation. That turned out to be "immediate and long-term player assistance that will ensure a supply of top talent to the Eskimoes for several years". What?

One Canadian football writer suspected much of that "assistance" was cash but that was never confirmed. He also speculated that since there were waiver wire procedures in both the NFL and CFL that essentially it would be Edmonton would "get the first crack" at the 49ers taxi squad.

Regardless, the deal was finalized and Edwards was a 49er. As a rookie he got to start, not at tackle., but at end, four games each in place of Hindman and Belk and got no notice. He even got three votes for NFL Defensive rookie in a year, not bad considering Joe Greene won the award and was terrific as a rookie and much better known, being the number one overall pick that year.

In addition to his starts at the defensive end, he caught a pass as a tight end and took camp snaps on the offensive line.

Edwards prepared for the 1970 season by lifting weights for the first time in his life. He said he was inspired by Curley Culp's performance in Super Bowl IV so he hit the weights and got his weight to 277 with no loss of quickness, but was aiming to get down to 265 pounds when the season started.

That year Tommy Hart, who was a linebacker in 1968-69, was converted to defensive end  (he'd hit the weights as well and was up to 250 pounds from the 220 he was as a rookie) and the Niners took Cedrick Hardman with their top pick. Hart earned the left end position and Belk was the right end with Hardman coming in on likely passing situations and spelled Belk as well until he became the starter the last month of the season.

Inside Kreuger and Lakes were the starters but Edwards usually played on passing down with Lakes coming out. Edwards also spelled both, gaining experience and provide inside pressure. The 49ers defensive improved as did the team winning the NFL West.

In July 1971 Lakes was shipped to the Giants for a draft pick and Edwards was the starting tackle. According to Mike Giddings, who was on the 49ers staff at the time, "Earl solidified our line and was an excellent player in 1971 and 1972, and the year before as well, as a rusher. He helped is win the West those three years."

 

Career history

Edmonton Eskimos (1967–1968)

San Francisco 49ers (1969–1972)

Buffalo Bills (1973–1975)

Cleveland Browns (1976–1978)

Green Bay Packers (1979)

Career NFL statistics

Games played:            150

Games started:            98

Fumble recoveries:            7