Israel Alvin "Izzy" Lang (February 2, 1942 - October 10, 2008) was a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

who played for six seasons 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 ...

. He was drafted by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

in the 18th round of the

1964 NFL Draft The 1964 National Football League draft was held in Chicago, Illinois, at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers on Monday, December 2, 1963. The first overall pick was Dave Parks, an end from Texas Tech, selected by the San Francisco 49ers. The AFL ...

. He played for the Eagles from

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 Patriarc ...

–

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

, and the Los Angeles Rams in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

. He played college football at

Tennessee State Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Lang was selected by the

in the 18th round (240th overall) of the

. He was mainly a backup during his first two seasons in the NFL, and he earned the starting running back job in 1966 NFL season. In the season-opener against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, Lang rushed for 65 yards on 16 carries. In week 2, he rushed for 114 yards on 16 attempts. Lang was named Most Valuable Player of the 1966

Playoff Bowl The Playoff Bowl (officially known as the Bert Bell Benefit Bowl) was a post-season game for third place in the National Football League (NFL), played ten times following the through seasons, all at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. It was or ...

, even though he did not start in the game. The Eagles lost the game to the Baltimore Colts, 20–14. In

, Lang rushed for 235 yards on 35 carries. After the season, he asked to be traded from the team.

Los Angeles Rams

On July 7, 1969, Lang was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for defensive end John Zook and wide receiver Harold Jackson. He retired after the season.

After football

Lang made an appearance in the 1970 film ''

Where's Poppa? ''Where's Poppa?'' is a 1970 American black comedy film based on the 1970 novel by Robert Klane and starring George Segal, Ruth Gordon, Ron Leibman, and Trish Van Devere. The plot revolves around the troubled relationship between a lawyer (Segal ...

'' as Muthafucka. Lang was arrested 24 times after his retirement. On November 15, 1988, he was arrested for impersonating then- New York Giants

Joe Morris by forging checks. He had convinced United Jersey Bank to cash a check in Morris' name. He had also impersonated Lawrence Taylor,

Leonard Marshall Leonard Allen Marshall Jr. (born October 22, 1961) is a former American football defensive lineman who played twelve seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Selected 37th overall in the 1983 NFL Draft, he spent the first ten seasons of ...

and Doug Williams. He is buried at

Hart Island (Bronx) Hart Island, sometimes referred to as Hart's Island, is located at the western end of Long Island Sound, in the northeastern Bronx in New York City. Measuring approximately long by wide, Hart Island is part of the Pelham Islands archipelago, t ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Izzy 1942 births Living people American football running backs Los Angeles Rams players Philadelphia Eagles players Tennessee State Tigers football players American fraudsters Forgers Players of American football from Tampa, Florida Burials on Hart Island