Lester Andrew Josephson (July 29, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

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 played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Augustana College.

Early years

Josephson's football career had its start in his high school days in Minneota, Minnesota, where he played

8-man football Eight-man football is a form of gridiron football, generally played by high schools with smaller enrollments. Eight-man football differs from the traditional 11-man game with the reduction of three players on each side of the ball and a field wi ...

. He did not play 11-man ball until he began college at Augustana in

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

. His early college years were outstanding, playing on a college team that showed unusual success and talent. The team during his final two years, however, had only mediocre success, and his hope to be claimed in the pro football draft faded.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Josephson was signed by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

, because they were impressed with his athletic ability. The Cowboys needed an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

because of injuries and although they did not want to lose Josephson, he was traded during training camp to the

in exchange for

Jim Boeke James Frederick Boeke (September 11, 1938 – September 26, 2014) was an American football offensive tackle in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams, Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints. He played college football at Heidelbe ...

Los Angeles Rams

He joined the backfield of Roman Gabriel as a rookie fullback, and became a team leader for the next decade. Josephson was selected for the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, after having his best professional season with 800 rushing yards. In the Pro Bowl, he scored a first-quarter touchdown in the 38–20 West victory. The next year, he suffered a left calf injury in pre-season, while running through the stadium tunnel to the field. After the cast for the injury was removed, he tore the Achilles tendon of the same leg while jumping rope during his rehabilitation and was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. Injuries including a broken jaw and the ruptured Achilles tendon slowed him down but he contributed to the team for many years after his worst injuries. He retired in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

after he was waived during the preseason. At the time. his 3,407 rushing yards were the third highest rushing total in Rams' history.

Personal life

After his career, he

acted Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development, commonly known as ACTED, is a French humanitarian non-governmental organisation. It is a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit organisatio. ACTED works in 37 countries responding to eme ...

in several

films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and also served as a football film

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

Films and television

* Technical consultant for ''

Gus Gus is a masculine name, often a diminutive for Angus, August, Augustine, or Augustus, and other names (e.g. Aengus, Argus, Fergus, Ghassan, Gustav, Gustave, Gustafson, Gustavo, Gussie). It can also be used as the adaptation into English of ...

'' (1976) * ''

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

'' as a bouncer * '' Police Woman'' episode "Death Game" (1977) * '' Superdome'' (1978TV) as Caretta * '' Heaven Can Wait'' (1978) as Owens. Josephson also served as a technical consultant for the film.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Josephson, Les 1942 births 2020 deaths Players of American football from Minnesota American male film actors American football running backs Augustana (South Dakota) Vikings football players Los Angeles Rams players Western Conference Pro Bowl players People from Minneota, Minnesota