Carl Frederick Ekern (May 27, 1954 – August 1, 1990) was an NFL football player.

Biography

Ekern was born in

Richland, Washington Richland () is a city in Benton County, Washington, United States. It is located in southeastern Washington at the confluence of the Yakima and the Columbia Rivers. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 60,560. Along with the nearby c ...

. He attended Fremont High School in

Sunnyvale, California Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwest Santa Clara County in the U.S. state of California. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the nort ...

. Ekern was a graduate of

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

and played pro football from 1976 to 1988 for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

. He appeared in the 1986 Rams promotional video, ''Let's Ram It'', under the name of "Carl E, General of the D." Ekern died of head injuries on August 1, 1990, when the

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...

he was driving ran off a highway near the

Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...

town of

Ridgecrest, California Ridgecrest is a city in Kern County, California, United States, along U.S. Route 395 in California, U.S. Route 395 in the Indian Wells Valley in northeastern Kern County, adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS, or China Lak ...

. At the time of the accident, Ekern was en route to

Minden, Nevada Minden is a census-designated place (CDP) in Douglas County, Nevada, United States. The population was 3,001 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Douglas County and is adjacent to the town of Gardnerville. The Douglas campus of the Wes ...

, where he was a volunteer counselor and coach at the Rite of Passage, a camp for juvenile delinquents. The camp is located about 15 miles east of

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...

Carl Ekern Spirit of The Game Award

The Carl Ekern award, honoring the former Rams linebacker, is the Los Angeles Rams award given to the player who best exemplifies sportsmanship, work ethic, and commitment to his teammates.''Rams Team Awards'' (The official site of the St. Louis Rams)
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References

External links

NFL profileRite of Passage
the at-risk youth camp at which Ekern volunteered 1954 births 1990 deaths American football linebackers San Jose State Spartans football players Los Angeles Rams players National Conference Pro Bowl players Sportspeople from Sunnyvale, California People from Richland, Washington {{linebacker-1950s-stub