Lawrence Jr. Garron (May 23, 1937 – September 13, 2019) was an American

professional football In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larg ...

player. A fullback, he played college football at

Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. History Western Illin ...

, then played professionally in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL) for the

Boston Patriots Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

from 1960 through 1968. He holds the team record run of 85 yards from scrimmage, set in a game against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

on October 22, 1961. He averaged 5.9 yards per carry in 1962 and accounted for 1,168 total yards from scrimmage in 1963. Garron was an American Football League All-Star in 1961, 1963, 1964 and 1967, and a member of the Patriots' All-1960s (AFL) Team. For one season, along with Bob Fouracre, he served as a color commentator for

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

preseason games. At the same time Larry Garron was on the Patriots he studied various forms of martial arts. He held ranks in

Kenpō is the name of several arts. The word kenpō is a Japanese translation of the Chinese word "''quánfǎ''". This term is often informally transliterated as "kempo", as a result of applying Traditional Hepburn romanization, but failing to use ...

(fist law),

Hakkō-ryū Hakkō-ryū () or Hakkō-ryū Jūjutsu () is a school or 'style' of jujutsu descended from Daito-ryu founded in 1941 by Okuyama Ryuho (1901–1987) a student of Sokaku Takeda and a practitioner of shiatsu. This style of self-defense focuses on ...

Jujutsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subd ...

Gōjū-ryū , Japanese for "hard-soft style", is one of the main traditional Okinawan styles of karate, featuring a combination of hard and soft techniques. Both principles, hard and soft, come from the famous martial arts book used by Okinawan masters dur ...

(hard soft system),

Shintō Musō-ryū , most commonly known by its practice of ''jōdō'', is a traditional school ('' koryū'') of the Japanese martial art of '' jōjutsu'', or the art of wielding the short staff (''jō''). The technical purpose of the art is to learn how to defeat ...

, Yoshitsune Jujitsu, and

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. ...

. Larry had some talented sporting sons and nephews, including nephew Donald Garron, who won the 1981 Massachusetts All State 220 yard championship in 22.37, as well as

Rufus Harris Rufus D. Harris is a retired American professional basketball player. He was the America East Conference co-Player of the Year as a senior in 1979–80 while playing for the University of Maine. After graduating, Harris was selected in the 1980 ...

, who had a tryout with the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of ...

in 1980. Two of his sons, Arnold and Andre, are in the Hall of Fame for American football at the University of New Hampshire. Andre also played professionally for the Kansas City Chiefs as a running back and kick returner for two seasons in the late 1980s.Arnold Garron interview 2010
Retrieved on May 23, 2016

References

1937 births 2019 deaths American football fullbacks Boston Patriots players National Football League announcers New England Patriots announcers Western Illinois Leathernecks football players American Football League All-Star players People from Quitman County, Mississippi People from Framingham, Massachusetts American Football League players Players of American football from Mississippi {{runningback-1930s-stub

See also

References