Ep. 7: Dennis Harrah on playing alongside some of the all-time greats

at the end he was great. He was great all through, but he was even better at the ns amazing. He was one of the anchors of the offensive line to help lead the Rams to six NFC West titles. His nickname was herk As in Hercules, which is great. That's a great name. Please welcome in Ram's legend Dennis Harra and good looking dude. What's up, Dennis. I am glad to be on today's world and doing a zoom is it's a little of it out of my wheelwell so

to speak. But you know what, I'm glad to be on and glad to be a part of it, and I'm just so happy that the Los Angeles Rams are back home. I keep saying that, and now it's been a few years now, but I'm telling you, I'm just When I went to Saint Louis to me the divorce was final, I was just I was pretty It was tough. It was tough. I used to see pictures of you guys, the guys that came before us, and you know, I came in in ninety four. It was a little bit different.

I guess, you know, attendance was down and the move was imminent. But when you're a rookie, you don't know these things. You just trying to put one foot in front of the other. But I would see pictures of you guys, and you in particular, man, it looked like you guys were just having a blast playing football, winning games and just living that so cal life. Man, that must have been fun back then, you know what it was,

It was fun. I had a very blessed career to be able to play for the Los Angeles Rams for thirteen years, and you know it was it was a lot of great times, a lot of a lot of great times in the locker room, a lot of laughs, and we just enjoyed each other. The offensive line stayed together for a long period of time, and that was back in the era or two where there was there was no free agency, you know. I mean basically, you stayed with that team until somebody cut you, and that

was pretty much you had. Every now and then somebody got traded, but very, very seldom did anybody get traded. And you know, you just you had a bond. To me, it's hard for me to believe guys can bond today like we did back then because we spent so much time together, years together, and now these guys come in and you'll have I think when the Rams won the Super Bowl to one year, I think you had ten different guys come in on defense. How does that happen?

I mean, you know, I can't imagine being able to just have that camaraderie deal going in that short period of time. You know, I just got off the phone or just got off a zoom with Jackie Slider and you guys you had I'm sorry you had to deal with that. Hey, I'm sorry you had to deal with Jackie Slater. Yeah, but the truth didn't in him. The truth didn't in him. The truth Hey, he just hey, he just full of it. I'm just see, this is what I didn't get from from when I came in.

He was eighteen years in. He was in his eighteenth year. So we automatically respected. I need some Reggie, some some Jackie Slater stories. Eighteen years in his eighteenth here nineteen he was stealing. He was stealing. Hey, hey, hey, Jackie, a story one of my number one, his rookie year. Okay, we had just finished training camp Merlin Olsen, my hero, jack young blood, the Duke of football. Hey, one of the greatest men of all times. All the guys decided

to have a get together and Huntington Beach. So we Hey, all those guys back then had their broncos and there, you know, had had you know, all their matsio, four wheel drives and everything. So we're out there on the beach and Honeyton Beach. We're sitting there around the fire, and all of a sudden, we see we see a car coming and see out coming. Hey, we look out there and there's old Jackie Ray Jackie Ray Slater in

his Delta eighty eight. Hey, from Ready in Mississippi, Buddy Man Delta eighty eight and Jackie used to sit in the middle of the front seat. You know, he put his left arm, you know, he got the lean going, He got the lean going. And here he comes. We're all out on the beach with the four wheel drives and Jackie Ray from Marindian, Mississippi sees all of us out on the beach and we and we look at him, go oh, no, he's gonna drive the car on the beach.

And we're waving, waving him down, waving him down. And what does Jackie Ray do? Hey, he put that big old hand up and he thought we were waving at him to say how jack He took it Delta eighty eight And soon as that back tyre hit the sand, it buried right in the sand, right there, Delta eighty eight, right on the beach and Huntington Beach. And so that hey, we died laughing. We had so many ball players. We picked up at Delta eighty eight and put it back

on the concrete. You guys looked at the car out of the sand. We lifted the car out of the sand, put it back on the concrete, and Jackie Ray goes, I thought y'all were waving me to come on anyway, So I hope. Hey, I played beside Jackie for twelve years, Yeah, twelve years, you know, and we have become I mean not only we were a great teammate, I mean great teammates together. We become friends for life. And uh, you know,

him being from Mississippi, me being from West Virginia. You know, you always talk about all these racial divides and this and that. To me, he's he's my best friend and love of life. He just everything, and just the camaraderie and and and what we had is very very special in my heart to me. You know, it's it's your brothers. I mean, it's it's it doesn't matter about skin, that's

you and me versus them. And we got to move to football, and it's Yes, this is what I love most about football, about team sports, but football in particular, it's I don't care what you look like. Can you help us get better? Can you help us win? Hey, that's all we care. Hey, we're old here to battle,

We're out here to battle. And you learn we're all different and whatever, you know, just but it just you know, I hear so much about the you know, the negativity on one side or the other it's just I'm so sick and tired of hearing it. We're all brothers. We're all brothers together for a common goal, and that is to win, and we learn how to do it and

we just and to me is the greatest. You wish everybody in this world could go through what we did to realize that we are all here for one common goal and you know, to get along and to uh, you know, to win and whatever it is, whatever your job is, and that so but it's just it's just too bad. We're just dealing with so much of the negativity now. And that was a great, great time then, great era, and and I do miss a lot of it. But I missed the locker room and the guys, guy's

messing with each other's amen to that. You know what I think we're onto something. That's what this country needs is a good two a day practice. It's a good training camp. Hey, just total stress as some man just about ready to just kick your button. You look at the other buddy, You go, man, you might have to give me a hand here. You might. Hey, Hey, as Jackie Ray used to say every time coming out of the huddle, if it was if it was a pass protection.

He said, Hey, don't forget to give me a look. Now, give me a look. Give me a look. Hey, I go with Jackie. I got somebody over top of me. He said, don't worry about that. He said, you give me a look. So, if you got at Tech, you really got beat by any means. He expected you to get a hand out on him and do everything you could to help him out. And that's the way we were. We all helped each other out and we're working together. Well, you brought up West Virginia, So how did a West

Virginia kid get down to Miami? Well, then a better question is how did the West Virginia kid live in Hey? How did the West Virginia kid? Well? I had a scholarship offered to Marshall as a scholarship offered a Virginia Tech. And unfortunately, one of the horrific things that happened and in my lifetime, was that we were coming home from a wrestling match and we heard that there was a plane crash. Wow, and everyone was killed. With that's a movie,

we are Marshall. I had to sign a letter and tent to go to Marshall, and unfortunately, the whole team coaches, alumni, doctors, everybody were killed in that plane crash. It was it was a horrible time for West Virginia and UH and uh in Marshall University, it was just horrible. And and they were gonna, you know, just they were gonna let freshmen start back then, which they couldn't. So, you know, they told me that, you know, you're probably going to come in and start, and uh, I was just going.

You know, I knew I was not ready for that. I just knew I wasn't ready. And and my coach knew a coach from at the University of Miami that acts was from West Virginia, and uh, you know, I know, I know here we go, that West Virginia deal. But anyway, anyway, so he offered me a scholarship to the University of Miami. Playing in Miami, it's it's tough. It's a tough place to play. Yeah, yeah, you know, between you know, between laying out at the pool and going to the beach.

I hey, I'm beat my self up. You know. Well wait, did you say you wrestled? You're a wrestler? Uh, you know what I was. I wrestled a little bit in high school. I was. It was not, I was not very It's I think somebody somebody should, uh, every person, every athlete should wrestle at least one year or alive. Just what your body control. It teaches you and just just your own personal self protection and how tough a sport that is. That's the hardest thing I've ever done

in my life. I would compare that to two of days at the University of Miami, which was the most brutal thing that I'd ever been through. Well it was real, actually three of days. But uh, but wrestling is a very, very tough sport. Under who who was your coach in Miami University of Miami, Well, basically it was fran Kersey and then fran Kursy went to Kentucky and then Pete Elliott took over, and Pete Elliott ended up running the

Pro Football Hall of Fame like twenty years inside. Oh yeah, he came from Michigan, So it wasn't it wasn't coaches that you might have heard about or whatever. But basically Frank Kersey was there, and uh, but it was brutal. I mean it was. He came in there, we did three days and full contact and it was. It was one if you talked to Ted Hendricks, yeah, who was

in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The two days at the University of Minam we were the toughest things we ever did in any years of our playing football, thirteen years with the Rams whatever. The University Minam was the toughest thing I'd ever gone through. I just talked to Jackie, and like I said, Jackie was the guy that kind of, uh kind of welcomed me to the NFL. He taught me what practice is about at this level. So and it just it was just an absolute horror

show what he was doing back. They mean, he had eighteen years experience on me, you know what I mean. But you came in and I'm glad somebody told me this. You came in when Merlin Olsen was still playing. So you got your teeth wet or your teeth cut under Merlin Olsen. What was that like back in the day, Merlin Merlin never bought me a beer. He never bought me a PEPSI I had to play against Merlin and

practice every day. I was the first round draft choice, came in, you know, I was you know, I was a big weightlifting guy and all this kind of stuff, and then I had to practice against Merlin every day, so they're you know, beating on me, trying to get me to do whatever. But it just I did. Merlin was in like his fourteenth year and he wanted nothing to do with me trying to beat on him. So I would say, if anything, that Merlin disliked me as

much as anybody on the team. I mean, you know, I had to practice against him every day, and that was you know, and you're trying to do what the coaches want, and you're trying to protect him because you respect him so much. And it was, you know, especially being a rookie, you know, it was a tough It was tough marching orders for me to try to figure out how I could, you know, because you know, later on in your career you learn how to brother in law.

You know. I call it, you know, I call it brother in law practice, you know, because I'll even look and go brother in law because that means I'm coming out, I'm gonna look like I'm gonna hit hard. Well, let's fake through this and just get through the play and do it that way. And I didn't know brother in law at the time, and he definitely didn't want me to be his brother in law. So yeah, that anyway, But Merlin just just being around him was just between him,

Jack Jumblood, Larry Brooks, Isaiah Robertson, hawksall Reynolds. We're talking just you know, hey, you know, just unbelievable defense. We had an unbelievable defense, and we had check marks. They used to call him was a three h three downs in a ball of dust. I'm three yards in a cloud of dust, as in a cloud of deaths. And then I'll get it out. I've had a little head injury here, so I couldn't. I just got it written down, thank you, thank you. I meant to have that in

my notes anyway. Man. Needless to say, our defense back then was unbelievable. And then, like I said that, Merlin was a leader and totally everybody respected him and I respected him very much too, and sorry that he's gone to Yeah, just tremendous. And in our d Line meeting room when I was in Anaheim, Merlin his picture was right behind me, and Deacon was staring at me from the left. So these are the guys that we had to look at or had looking at us. While we're

going through and watching film. It was amazing. So I get you there, twenty one oh five. Does that number stand out to you? Twenty one oh five? Yeah, hey, I'm glad they're not gonna ask me any hard questions, you know. And at two thousand, one hundred and five yards and that's Eric Dickinson, I got, you know what,

I see that in my ring on right now. I got to two thousand, one hundred and five yard ring from from Eric and Vince Ferragamo at the time, and Dickerson was phenomenal and you know, everybody wanted to be around him anyway. Needless to say, Eric is also has become as to me as a friend for life. Is absolutely a friend for life and just such such a great person and a caring person. I'm asked with him all the time about how friendly is now since he's

working for the RAMS. But but this is my two thousand, one hundred and five ring. I got look at that that Eric gave me, and that so uh okay, that answers a question. But my other thing was now Eric still when we broke a single season russy record, we did that. The next year we were supposed to get a thousand dollars a pair of cowboy boots a thousands than in that day, back in the days nineteen eighty five,

there's supposed to be a thous thousand dollars. Yeah, well, needless to say, he got traded, and needless to say, I never got my thousand dollars cowboy boots, and I'm still looking for those this day. What in the world what we want to make that happen? What in the world, what in the world, Yeah, make that happen. Yeah, I was, that's another question. Like I said, I hope you were.

You guys the guys up front were properly thanked for Eric carrying the football for twenty one hundred and five yards. I mean, it doesn't happen without you guys up front. And like I said, just playing with Eric, just getting known and giving him a little seam, he could make it happen. Fantastic running back, great person. And uh as far as like I said, the compensation, one day, one day, I'll know he'll come clean and give me those boots. No doubt you said you were a five hundred pound

bench presser. Did you say that or did somebody told me that you did bench five ve twenty. I did five any my senior in college and uh, you know that was that was the big deal. And and and I had a four eight forty and defense five twenty did that and that was one of the things that helped me. But I've always been, uh, I've always been a weight room guy, and that and that was back when is that six on each side? Is that twelve five five five and the twenty five and think it is?

And that interesting? Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was a that was pretty good lift in the day. That's a pretty good lift now. That was way now in today's NFL. Well. And again, so I was, like I said, I stayed in the weight room. And that's from from all the way from my sophomore year, hey, all the way through I eat it through high school airywhere my high school coach game gave me a key to the weight room.

I mean because I can't. I wanted to be there so much and stayed late that my high school const gave me a key to the weight room when I was when I was, he really gave you. I know a lot of people say that, but they really gave you a key. No, I actually gave me a key to the weight room in West Virginia, you know. So anyway, so wow, anyway, and that's that's pretty tough to give kids something in West Virginia, fade, they wouldn't steal it,

no doubt. Well, you know, I just I told Jackie I had a great time watching him and Reggie White, go at it. If I could pick a dream match, um, you versus Aaron Donald in your era, Well, I'm glad you're dreaming of that. To me, it's more of a nightmare, hey, him for you, I know, i'd have to be telling Zach you ready to give me a look? Hey, give me a look, you know what? Hey? To me, it would be, uh, it would You'd have to get your mind right. You gotta get your mind right and that.

So it would have been an honor to not whatever. I mean, I would have I hard to tell you how to give it? Hell? Now what? And that's all I can say, because I know my heart what I would do, right, Hey, Hey, it's you know how I can I don't even want to go there with that. Other than the fact though it is he is phenomenal and I love watching him, and hey, he's he's one of the greatest anywhere you can. Absolutely. Hey, we do

this thing on this pod. Uh. It's called my favorite play, and we have you guys, look back from your favorite play, one that stands out. If you can remember one from any playoff game, regular season, practice, training camp. What have you your favorite play? Take us through it and try to describe it as best you can. Okay, my favorite play. This one brought me back to reality. I've got big Claude Humphries, defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons. I've got

doctor John Williams. Big Doctor John Williams is a tackle they call a play where I got a double read. I got a linebacker on me to that outside backer. If he doesn't come, I help, I help Doctor Williams. Well, all of a sudden, Big Claude Humphries is right there. My linebacker doesn't come, My other linebacker doesn't come, and I go after Claude humphries knee. Big John's hold him up. Claude Humphries. He says a couple explicit words to me, and he says, if you ever do that again to me,

I will knock you out. So, being the young brilliant man from West Virginia, I had a couple explicits for him, and I go back to the huddle and James Harris was a quarterbacker, and James Harris, of all things, the last play of the half. Next play, he calls the same play. All of a sudden, I gotta I said, what am I gonna do? Am? I? I said, I hope a linebacker comes because I don't want to have

to try to cut Claude again. So next thing, you know, both linebackers don't come, and I go after Claude's knee again and Austin and I look up and it's an interception. Oh boy, oh man, Here I go, Here I go. I got the cut off angle. I'm working it. I got the cut off angle. I'm got him. I got him, I got him, and bam. That's the last thing I remember.

The next thing I remember is seeing feet walked by me, and all of a sudden, George menisfee buck bus cemmonia cap in my nose and I'm looking up and I'm looking up at the sky and I see George's face right there, and I said, George, what in the hill happened? He said, Claude Humphries just knocked your ass out and I went, Oh, my goodness. So I got myself together, and needless to say, I never cut Claude Humphries again in that game. And then ay after the game was over,

I went looking for Claude. He was up. I went all the way up his tunnel and I pecked him on the shoulder and tore. He turned around and looked at me, and I said, Claude, I said, first of all, I want to apologize, And second of all, you're a man of your word. Did you really put some the heat ball and teammates Jockstrups? Were you that guy? Were you the frankster? I've heard of this. Anything I could do, anything we could do for just to make to laugh, to have a good time. I was just trying to

come up something to laugh about. So basically I laughed about something every day. Oh, they told me. They told me. I wish I had a teammate like you. Absolutely playing loose. That's what it's all about. Having fun. It's a game, right, It's it's a game. It's for keeps, but we're still playing a game. It's a lot of fun playing a game. And I've had a blast with you, man, So thank you.

Dennis Sarah for coming on Rams like you're just so pretty, you know, I'm hey, you know what, Hey, it's it's fading. It's totally it's totally fading. And uh, you know, hey, hey, like I said, bad to the bone, just now it's old bones. So now it's bad bones. I got you. That's gonna do it for another episode of Ram's Iconic Thanks to all our fans for tuning in and wherever you are listening, please do us a favor. Hit that subscribe button and leave us a review and let us

know which Ram's icon you would like to hear from next. Hey. Look, before you know it, the twenty twenty one season will be here and we cannot wait for you to step inside the Rams House with us. There is still time to be among the first to experience so Far Stadium. To join us and purchase tickets, visit the Rams dot Com slash twenty twenty one. That's the Rams dot Com slash twenty twenty one. Thanks again to Ram's legend Dennis Sarah for joining us. I'm DeMarco far Thank you for listening.

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