"Big Cat" Ernie Ladd (born 1939) was an American college and professional football player and a professional wrestler. The American Football League's San Diego Chargers selected the Grambling State University standout with their 15th pick in the 1961 draft. At 6'9" and 315 pounds, Ladd was arguably the biggest and strongest man in professional football: 52-inch chest, 39-inch waist, 20-inch biceps, 19-inch neck, 20-inch calf, and size 18D shoes. He played in three AFL championship games, helping the Chargers win the American Football League title in 1963 with fellow Hall of Famer Earl Faison, both members of the original “Fearsome Foursome”.

Ladd spent the 1966 season playing for the Houston Oilers before moving, in 1967, to the Kansas City Chiefs. There, with Buck Buchanan, a former Grambling teammate, he filled out what was probably the biggest defensive tackle tandem in history, and won another AFL title. Both Ladd and Buchanan are members of the Grambling State University Athletic Hall of Fame.

The Boston Patriots’ Hall of Fame center Jon Morris said Ladd was so big, he blocked out the sun: “It was dark. I couldn’t see the linebackers. I couldn’t see the goalposts. It was like being locked in a closet.” Ladd was an American Football League All-Star from 1962 through 1965, and is a member of the American Football League Hall of Fame.

See also

• Other American Football League players

External links

• American Football League Website
• Ladd's citation on the AFL Hall of Fame website