LA Rams: 15 greatest linebackers of All Time

There was no mistaking LA Rams middle linebacker Jack Reynolds when he stepped onto the football field. While he measured just 6-foot-1 and 232-pounds, in his time he was a massive defender in the middle of the Rams’ defense. Reynolds was a third of what many believe to be the Golden Age of the LA Rams linebacking corps, playing alongside Isiah Robertson and Jim Youngblood.

One of the most notable items from Jack Reynolds’s career is his nickname: Hacksaw. How did he get that nickname? By one of the most incredible stories I’d ever heard about an NFL player, that’s how:

"“I went to Kmart and bought the cheapest hacksaw they had, along with 13 replacement blades. I cut through the entire frame and driveshaft, all the way through the car … It took me eight total hours. I broke all 13 blades. When I finished, I got one guy from the dorm, Ray Nettles, to witness it. The next day we took the rest of our friends from the dorm up the hill to see it, and when we got there, both halves of the car were gone, with just the 13 broken blades lying on the ground. To this day, I don’t know what happened to that car.” – Jack Reynolds via LA Times as per Bradley Geiser of Sportcasting.com"

While Reynolds was a dominating linebacker for the LA Rams, he was never able to achieve his ambition of hoisting the Lombardi with the team.  The Rams constantly knocked on the door, appearing in postseason play for eight consecutive seasons with the Rams. In 1979, he even managed to compete in a Super Bowl, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL Championship Game.

Reynolds was a fierce and ferocious defender, standing 6-foot-1 and weighing a powerful 232-pounds. He played middle linebacker at a time when the linebacker was the main defender against the powerful rushing attacks of the two-back running offense. Reynolds was more than up to the challenge.