Merlin Olsen Merlin Jay Olsen ( September 15 , 1940 – March 11 , 2010 ) was an American football player in the National Football League , NFL commentator , and actor . He played his entire 15 - year career with the Los Angeles Rams and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 14 of those seasons , a current record shared with Bruce Matthews and Tony Gonzalez . He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame . As an actor he portrayed the farmer Jonathan Garvey on " Little House on the Prairie " . After leaving that series , he starred in his own NBC drama , " Father Murphy " , playing the title role of a foster dad posing as a traveling priest . Early life . Born to Lynn Jay and Merle Barrus Olsen in Logan , Utah , the second of nine siblings and the first - born son , Merlin Olsen had three brothers and five sisters : Colleen , Clark , Lorraine , Gwen , Phil , Winona , Ramona , and Orrin . College . Olsen attended Utah State University where he became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity , and was a three - year letterman in football as a defensive tackle . He graduated from the College of Business and Social Sciences at USU with a bachelor ' s degree in Finance in 1962 and a master ' s degree in Economics in 1971 . He later received an honorary doctorate degree in business from the Huntsman School . In football , as a senior , he was a consensus All - American selection ( making the vast majority of All - America teams ) and was the winner of the Outland Trophy . After Olsen ' s junior year of 1960 he was also named All - American by the Football Writers Association of America and Newspaper Enterprise Association . He was also All - Conference in both 1960 and 1961 . Olsen and Utah State were in the 1960 Sun Bowl , losing to New Mexico State , 20 – 13 . Led by Olsen , the Aggie defense held the New Mexico State Aggies to just 44 rushing yards on 32 carries . The Aggie defense Olsen anchored as a senior gave up an average of 50 . 8 rushing yards ( which led the nation ) , 88 . 6 passing yards , and 139 . 4 total yards which all still stand as school records for defense . The 1961 Aggie defense gave up an average 7 . 8 points a game , which is second in team history behind Olsen ' s 1960 team , which allowed 6 . 5 points per game . Additionally , the Aggie defense held four opponents to less than 100 total yards . One , the University of Idaho , was held to a school - record 23 total yards , with the Aggies winning 69 – 0 . The Aggies , not known as a national power football program , finished 10th in both the AP and UPI post - season polls , the only time that has occurred in school history . The Aggies had a combined 18 – 3 – 1 record during Olsen ' s junior and senior seasons under coach John Ralston and were conference champions those two seasons as well . Awards and honors . Olsen played in the East - West Shrine Game in 1961 and in 2003 was voted to the game ' s Hall of Fame . He also played in the Hula Bowl after his senior season and was voted MVP of the game . Olsen is a member of the State of Utah ’ s Sports Hall of Fame , the Utah State University Sports Hall of Fame and USU ’ s All - Century Football Team . In 2000 , he was selected by " Sports Illustrated " as one of the State of Utah ’ s Top 50 Athletes of the Century . He was voted to the All - Academic All - America Hall of Fame in 1988 . In 1969 , he was voted to the Newspaper Enterprise Association All - Time All - America team with collegiate greats such as Bronco Nagurski , Red Grange , Jim Thorpe , and O . J . Simpson , among others . In 2008 , Olsen was named to the 75th Anniversary All - Sun Bowl Team to commemorate the Sun Bowl Association ' s Diamond Anniversary . Utah State University announced the intention to name its football field after Olsen during a ceremony in Logan during halftime of the USU - St . Mary ’ s basketball game on December 5 , 2009 . HOF Sculptor Blair Buswell created a bronze sculpture that sits at the entrance to Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium . Olsen also was a three - time academic All - American at Utah State and graduated summa cum laude in 1962 with a degree in finance . NFL . Coming out of college , Olsen had offers from both Los Angeles of the NFL and the Denver Broncos of the rival American Football League . He chose the security of the NFL and signed with the Rams . Olsen ' s first contract was for around $ 50 , 000 for two years , plus a signing bonus . It was 1962 , and the average football player salary at the time was around $ 12 , 000 a year . He was the first USU Aggie to be drafted in the 1st round of the NFL draft . Olsen played professionally ( from 1962 to 1976 ) for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League . A leading defensive star of his era , he missed only two games in his 15 - season NFL career . He was named the NFL ' s Rookie of the Year in 1962 and was First - team All - Pro in 1964 , and 1966 through 1970 . He was voted Second - team All - Pro in 1965 , 1973 and 1974 . Olsen almost ended up on offense , but was later moved to the defensive line after a few experiments in practice . Soon he became part of one of the best front fours in NFL history . Deacon Jones , Rosey Grier , and Lamar Lundy joined Olsen on the defensive line in 1963 that was nicknamed " The Fearsome Foursome " . He was named the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Week for week 12 in 1965 . Olsen scored his first touchdown in that game . Throughout the 1960s , this quartet terrorized opposing offenses . Olsen ' s play helped the Rams to the playoffs in 1967 and 1969 . He was voted the club ' s Outstanding Defensive Lineman from 1967 – 70 by the Los Angeles Rams Alumni . In week 14 , 1967 , Olsen and the rest of the Fearsome Foursome were named the AP NFL Defensive Players of the Week for their performance against the Baltimore Colts . In the 1970s , Olsen continued his dominant play at defensive tackle and his eleven sacks in 1972 were second on the team . After week 8 in 1972 , Olsen was named the Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Week for the third time in his career . The Rams won the NFC West crown in 1973 through 1976 thanks in part to the play of Olsen . They ranked first in the NFL in run defense in 1973 and 1974 and finished second in sacking opposing passers both years . In 1973 Olsen was voted the NFLPA NFC Defensive Lineman of the Year and the next season , 1974 , he was the recipient of Bert Bell Award as the NFL MVP as voted by the Maxwell Club . Olsen accepted the award " on behalf of all who toil in the NFL trenches " . Three of the Olsen brothers , Merlin , Phil , and Orrin , played in the NFL , with Merlin and Phil playing together for the Rams from 1971 – 74 . A nephew , Hans , son of his brother , Clark , also played professional football . In 1975 and 1976 , the Rams defense finished second in the NFL against the run while ranking in the top five in sacking opposing quarterbacks and compiling a 22 - 5 - 1 record over those two seasons . Olsen ' s last game was the NFC Championship game in 1976 at Bloomington , Minnesota . The Vikings took advantage on a freak play early in the game . A blocked field goal returned 90 yards for a touchdown shocked the Rams in the first quarter . The defense was later victimized by a couple of big plays by the Vikings . The Rams came up short , losing 24 – 13 , bringing the storied career of the Rams finest defensive tackle to an end . Olsen made the Pro Bowl a record 14 times , only missing it in his final year . He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982 in his first year of eligibility ; he selected his college position coach Tony Knap as his presenter . In 1999 , Olsen was ranked 25th on " The Sporting News " ' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players . Post - retirement . Olsen enjoyed continued success after the NFL as a broadcaster , actor and businessman . Broadcaster . Olsen served as a television color commentator , teaming with Dick Enberg on NBC ' s coverage of the AFC throughout the 1980s . He and Enberg also teamed for the Super Bowl XXIII , Rose Bowl Game broadcast beginning with the 1980 Rose Bowl through the 1988 Rose Bowl . In 1989 , Olsen was replaced by Bill Walsh as NBC ' s lead NFL color commentator . For the 1989 season , Olsen worked with Charlie Jones on NBC ' s broadcasts . In 1990 and 1991 , he moved to CBS Sports doing NFL games with Dick Stockton . Actor . Olsen developed a successful career as an actor . When " Little House on the Prairie " actor Victor French left to star in his own comedy " Carter Country " in 1977 , Olsen was tapped to play Michael Landon ' s new sidekick Jonathan Garvey for several years . One memorable quote from his character ' s son during the series , " My pa doesn ' t know anything about football ! " was when Jonathan was to coach a boys football team . A couple of years later , Landon cast Olsen as the eponymous " Father Murphy " , which lasted for two seasons . In the " Highway to Heaven " episode 2 . 12 ( " The Good Doctor " ) , the main character Alex tells Mark Gordon ( Victor French ) that " All I could see was the flowers and the beard . I thought you were Merlin Olsen . " This is an inside joke since all three actors , Merlin Olsen , Michael Landon , and Victor French were in the TV series " Little House On the Prairie " earlier in their careers . Olsen ' s last acting work was in the short - lived 1988 TV series " Aaron ' s Way " , in which he played the lead role . He was also in the John Wayne movie " The Undefeated " as Little George along with teammate Roman Gabriel . Pitchman . Olsen was also the commercial spokesman for FTD Florists for many years . A part - time resident of the Coachella Valley , Olsen was the longtime radio and television spokesman for Palm Desert - based El Paseo Bank . Olsen also appeared in many Sigma Chi fraternity promotional campaigns ; Merlin , along with his brother Phil , was a Life Loyal Sig , Significant Sig ( given to members for distinguishing acts outside the fraternity ) and a member of the Order of Constantine ( given for service to the Fraternity ) . Olsen donated one of his cleats , which were bronze d , to be used during the annual football rivalry between two Las Vegas high schools , Eldorado High School and Chaparral High School , which both opened in 1973 . Each year , Olsen presented the " trophy " in the ceremony at the rivalry game . Olsen often co - hosted the Children ' s Miracle Network telethon s , a humanitarian organization founded in 1983 by Marie Osmond and John Schneider . Awards . He was named the Walter Camp Man of the Year in 1982 and Athlete of the Century for the state of Utah . During halftime of a basketball game between Utah State , Olsen ' s alma mater , and Saint Mary ' s on December 5 , 2009 , it was announced that the playing surface inside Romney Stadium , home stadium for Utah State ' s football program , would be named Merlin Olsen Field in Olsen ' s honor . Because of Olsen ' s illness , Utah State decided not to wait until the 2010 football season to hold the ceremony ; he was able to attend the game , but did not speak . A sculpture of Olsen was unveiled in a plaza south of the stadium during an official dedication ceremony in Fall 2010 . Olsen was voted to the California Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2010 , along with Bill Walton , Dwight Stones , and Jim Otto , among others . Personal life . He married fellow USU student Susan Wakley on March 30 , 1962 , and they had three children : Kelly , Jill , and Nathan , and four grandchildren . Olsen was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter - day Saints . Mesothelioma diagnosis and death . He was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in 2009 , and underwent three courses of chemotherapy . In December 2009 he filed a lawsuit against NBC Studios , NBC Universal , and 20th Century Fox for allegedly exposing him to the asbestos which he claimed had caused his cancer . Olsen died on March 11 , 2010 at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte , California , at the age of 69 .