Logan’s most famous native son, Merlin Olsen, dies at 69
Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 9:13 am | Updated: 4:05 pm, Thu Mar 11, 2010.
Herald Journal staff report
Merlin Olsen, 1940-2010
Merlin Olsen, a Logan native who went on to national fame as a football player, TV commentator and actor, has died. He was 69 years old.
The passing was announced this morning by Utah State University, where Olsen played college football and was recently honored with the naming of the football field at Romney Stadium after him. A park in Logan's Island neighborhood, near where Olsen grew up with his nine siblings, also carries his name.
Olsen died at City of Hope Hospital near Los Angeles. He had been undergoing chemotherapy to treat mesothelioma.
Olsen first gained national recognition as an All-America football player at Utah State in 1960. The next year, he won the Outland Trophy as the nation's top defensive lineman and was taken by the Los Angeles Rams in the first round of the 1962 NFL draft.
As a member of the Ram's legendary defensive line, known as the "Fearsome Foursome," he earned 14 trips to the Pro Bowl and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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