Cliff Frazier

1976 Rose Bowl star and All-American Defensive Tackle at UCLA, Frazier played one year in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs before becoming an actor. Cliff Frazier was born in St. Louis, Missouri on November 23, 1952. He moved to Ballwin, Missouri for high school, and after becoming a defensive prep football star, he went on to play nose tackle at Fort Scott Community College. There, Frazier's outstanding play earned him accolades as a junior college All-American defensive lineman in 1972 and 1973. As a result, Frazier was recruited by new UCLA coach Dick Vermeil, and Frazier played defensive nose guard for the Bruins in the 1974-75 college seasons. Frazier was named to the first-team defense for the All-Pacific 8 and NCAA All-American teams in 1975. Frazier was a Tri-Captain of UCLA's Rose Bowl team in 1975 college season. The underdog Bruins team (8-2-1) defeated the previously unbeaten and top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (11-0) in the Jan. 1, 1976 Rose Bowl, 23-10. Ohio State, coached by the legendary Woody Hayes, had the best-ranked defense in the NCAA, and the Buckeyes also had the Heisman Trophy winner in running back Archie Griffin. But Frazier and defensive teammates Manu Tuiasosopo and Dale Curry kept Griffin, fullback Pete Johnson and the rest of the Ohio State offense in check. Frazier led all defensive players with 13 solo tackles and one assist; no other Rose Bowl player participated in more than 9 tackles in the game. Frazier's teammates at UCLA also included future NFL players Randy Cross, and running backs Wendell Tyler and Theotis Brown. Frazier was a second-round round pick of Kansas City Chiefs in the 1976 NFL Draft, the 41st player picked over all. Frazier did not appear in the 1976 NFL season, but played all 14 games for the Chiefs in 1977. After Dick Vermeil became the Philadelphia Eagles head coach, Vermeil arranged for a trade to acquire Frazier from Kansas City for the Eagles 5th round draft pick in the 1978 NFL draft. However, Frazier did not make the Eagles' roster, and went back to southern California to start an acting career. Soon thereafter Frazier made his screen debut as "Monroe," one of the linemen in the football classic, "North Dallas Forty." Frazier was inducted into Fort Scott Community College's "Athletic Hall of Fame" in 1990. On June 9, 2006 Frazier participated in UCLA's "Flashback Camp" in which over 100 former UCLA players and coaches, many of whom were associated with the 1976 Rose Bowl team, coached UCLA Bruin fans on the finer points of football.