Darris McCord is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 Defensive End

Defensive end

Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...

 for the Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

 (1955–1967). He attended the University of Tennessee

University of Tennessee

The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...

. His first few years of High School Years were spent at Cass Technical High School

Cass Technical High School

The Cass Tech Technicians football team is a high school football program in Division 1 Public School League, representing the prestigious Cass Technical High School in Detroit, MI. Cass Tech High School has long been recognized nationwide for its extraordinary football program dating back to its...

 and than finished at Franklin High School (Tennessee)

Franklin High School (Tennessee)

Franklin High School is a Public High School located in Franklin, Tennessee, in Williamson County.-History:Franklin High School was established in 1910, with 2 teachers and 20 students in an upstairs room in the Franklin Institute, an old Elementary School, located in the center of Franklin,...

in Franklin, Tennessee where he graduated from.

College career

All-American tackle out of Tennessee, right in the middle of the halcyon days of the fifties. Had both the speed and agility to get at the quarterback.

Professional career

A native of Detroit, McCord was a solid performer for 13 years for his hometown Lions. He joined the team out of the University of Tennessee in 1955. He alternated between defensive tackle and end through 1958. In 1959 he moved to the left defensive end spot, remaining there for the rest of his Lion career.

Darris was one of the most durable Lions of all-time, missing only one regular-season game during his career. As a member of the NFL’s original "Fearsome Foursome," he teamed with fellow end Sam Williams, and tackles Alex Karras and Roger Brown, forming one of the most dominant defensive lines of the early sixties. The Foursome spearheaded a defense that holds two of the top four sack totals in Lion history, with 50 in 1964 and 49 in 1965. McCord would earn the lone Pro Bowl trip of his career at defensive tackle on Detroit’s 1957 championship squad. Was the oldest player on the team after serving duties for the Lions 13 seasons…Played in the 1958 Pro Bowl.