Ed Meador was good at duping the St. Louis football Cardinals. He did that at least a couple of times.
A defensive back for the Los Angeles Rams, Meador successfully pulled off a fake field goal attempt versus the Cardinals. He also tricked their quarterback, Jim Hart, into throwing passes to Jackie Smith that got intercepted.
As the old saying goes, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”
The Cardinals weren’t alone, though, in getting outmaneuvered by Meador. In his 12 seasons with the Rams (1959-70), Meador totaled 46 interceptions (returning five for touchdowns), 22 fumble recoveries and 10 blocked kicks. He was 86 when he died on Sept. 4, 2023.
Ram tough
As a college player, Meador was a standout running back and defensive back for the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys. He was taken by the Rams (whose general manager was Pete Rozelle) in the seventh round of the 1959 NFL draft.
Placed with the defensive unit at Rams training camp in 1959, Meador impressed and won a starting cornerback spot as a rookie. “He has all the essentials to become an outstanding defensive back,” Rams head coach Sid Gillman told the Los Angeles Times. “He has speed and tremendous reactions. He has more poise than any rookie I’ve ever encountered.”
Defensive backs coach Jack Faulkner said to the newspaper, “I’ve never coached any first-year man with greater potential.”
After five seasons (1959-63) as a cornerback, Meador was moved to free safety in 1964 and stayed there the rest of his career. Los Angeles Times columnist Jim Murray noted, “As free safety, he goes where the ball does. With eyesight better than normal, and the speed of a startled doe, he is the surest tackler in the NFL.”
Meador said the toughest player to tackle was Chicago Bears running back Gale Sayers. “I’d much rather tackle a big man who’s trying to run over me. They don’t have the lateral movement,” Meador said to the Los Angeles Times. “Sayers is the best runner in football because when you try to get hold of him, he’s suddenly five yards away from you. The trick is to keep your eye on his belt buckle. His shoes may be going one way and his hat may be going the other, but he can’t get too far away from his belt.”
Right move
Because of his sure hands, Meador also was the holder on field goal and extra point attempts.
On Dec. 5, 1965, the Rams led the Cardinals, 20-3, in the fourth quarter when, on fourth down at the St. Louis 11-yard line, they set up for a Bruce Gossett field goal try. Instead, after the ball was snapped and Gossett went into his kicking motion, Meador got up and “scampered around right end with the ball, beating several Cardinals defenders to the corner of the end zone” for a touchdown, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Rams head coach Harland Svare told the newspaper, “We have had that play for three years, but it didn’t work until today. When you’re ahead, you can afford to do things like this.”
The Rams won, 27-3, marking the first time since 1962 versus the Green Bay Packers that the Cardinals failed to score a touchdown in a game. Game stats
Doing the unexpected
In the 1968 season opener, the Rams harassed Cardinals quarterback Jim Hart and won, 24-13. Hart had six passes knocked down, three by defensive end Lamar Lundy, was sacked five times and intercepted three times.
Meador made two of the interceptions. His 20-yard return with the first set up a Rams touchdown. The second prevented a Cardinals field goal attempt. Both picks came on Hart passes to tight end Jackie Smith, who was running hook patterns. “We had him covered inside and out,” Meador told the Los Angeles Times.
The coverage was not what Hart was expecting. Because Rams strong safety Ron Smith was new to the position, head coach George Allen had Meador, the free safety, help out in covering Jackie Smith.
As the Los Angeles Times explained, “Hart was keying on the tight safety (Ron Smith) on each occasion. He did not see Meador on either play. NFL quarterbacks are not in the habit of watching out for free safeties when they throw to the tight safety’s man. Meador skillfully took advantage of this fact to run for the ball the instant Hart unlimbered.”
George Allen said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “He’s the best free safety in pro football.” Game stats
Meador was one of three safeties selected to the NFL’s all-decade team for the 1960s. The other two, Larry Wilson of the Cardinals and Willie Wood of the Packers, were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Meador also was named to the Pro Bowl six times _ 1960 and each year from 1964 to 1968. He played in 159 consecutive games for the Rams before sitting out one because of an injury.
Columnist Sid Ziff wrote, “Watching Meador, you wonder how anybody can be that good all the time. He never has an off night.” Video highlights