Fred Williamson Frederick Robert " Fred " Williamson , nicknamed " The Hammer " ( born March 5 , 1938 ) is an American actor and former professional American football defensive back who played mainly in the American Football League during the 1960s . He has black belts in : Kenpo , Shotokan Karate , and Tae - Kwon - Do . Since 1997 Williamson has had a home in Palm Springs , California . Football career . After playing college football for Northwestern in the late 1950s , he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers . When during training camp he was switched to their defense , his attitude over the switch prompted him to play his position with too much aggression , and the coach of the 49ers asked him to quit " hammering " his players . Thus , " The Hammer " quickly stuck and became his nickname . Williamson played one year for the Steelers in the National Football League in 1960 . Next , he moved to the new American Football League . Williamson played four seasons for the AFL ’ s Oakland Raiders , making the AFL All - Star team in 1961 , 1962 , and 1963 . He also played three seasons for the AFL ’ s Kansas City Chiefs . During his period of playing for the Chiefs , Williamson became one of football ’ s first self - promoters , nurturing the nickname " The Hammer " because he used his forearm to deliver karate - style blows to the heads of opposing players , especially wide receiver s . Before Super Bowl I , Williamson gathered national headlines by boasting that he would knock the Green Bay Packers starting receivers , Carroll Dale and Boyd Dowler , out of the game . He stated " Two hammers to ( Boyd ) Dowler , one to ( Carroll ) Dale should be enough " . His prediction turned out to be an ironic one because Williamson himself was knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter , with his head meeting the knee of the Packers ' running back Donny Anderson and later suffered a broken arm when Chiefs linebacker Sherrill Headrick fell on him . Williamson finished his eight - season pro football career in 1967 with a history of many hard tackles , passes knocked away , and 36 pass interception s in 104 games . Williamson returned his interceptions for 479 yards and two touchdown s . After a short period with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League during the 1968 season , Williamson left from pro football , never to return . Acting career . Following his retirement from football , Williamson tried his hand as an actor much in the mold of star running back Jim Brown . He acted alongside Brown in films such as 1974 ' s " Three the Hard Way " , 1975 ' s " Take a Hard Ride " , 1982 ' s " One Down , Two to Go " , 1996 ' s " Original Gangstas " and 2002 ' s " On the Edge " . He also guest starred with Brown in various television roles . In October of 1973 , Williamson posed nude for " Playgirl " magazine , precluding Brown ' s appearance in 1974 . Williamson ’ s early television roles included a part in the 1968 " " episode " The Cloud Minders " in which he played " Anka " . He also played Diahann Carroll ’ s love interest in the sitcom " Julia " . In an interview for the DVD of " Bronx Warriors " , Williamson stated that his role in " Julia " was created for him when he convinced the producers that the Black community was upset that Julia had a different boyfriend every week . Williamson ' s early film work included numerous 1970 ' s television roles on shows such as " M * A * S * H " and " Tell Me That You Love Me , Junie Moon " . In 1973 he played the role of an African - American mafioso in the film " Black Caesar " and its subsequent sequel , " Hell Up in Harlem " . He also starred in the 1975 blockbuster hit " Boss Nigger " , in which he played the " Title role " . After this he appeared as an actor in several films , most of which are considered to be of the " blaxploitation " genre . In 1974 he starred alongside Peter Boyle and Eli Wallach in the movie " Crazy Joe " . In 1974 , he was selected by the ABC television network as a commentator on " Monday Night Football " to replace Don Meredith , who had left to pursue an acting and broadcasting career at rival network NBC . Williamson was used on a few pre - season broadcasts , but was quickly declared unsuitable by ABC . He was relieved of his duties at the beginning of the regular season , becoming the first MNF personality not to endure for an entire season . He was replaced by the fellow former player ( and fellow Gary , Indiana , native ) Alex Karras . Since that time , Williamson has continued his career as an actor and director , recently appearing in the 2004 feature film version of the 1970s television series " Starsky and Hutch " . During the mid - to - late 1980s and early 1990s , Williamson frequently appeared on television as a spokesman for King Cobra ( “ Don ’ t let the smooth taste fool you . ” ) . . . as did fellow actor / martial artist Martin Kove . In 1994 , Williamson , along with many other black actors from the ' Blaxploitation ' movie era ( namely Antonio Fargas , Pam Grier , Rudy Ray Moore , and Ron O ' Neal ) made a cameo appearance on Snoop Doggy Dogg ' s music video " Doggy Dogg World " , where he appears as himself using his pro - football nickname " The Hammer " . Williamson co - starred with George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino in 1996 ' s " From Dusk Till Dawn " , directed by Robert Rodriguez . He was in the cast of 1978 ' s original " The Inglorious Bastards " , which would later inspire Tarantino ' s 2009 film of similar name . Career as a director and producer . Since the 1970 ' s , Williamson has also been an active directer and producer . His first film as producer was " Boss Nigger " ( 1975 ) , in which he also starred . His second film as producer was in 1976 with " Mean Johnny Barrows " , a significant predecessor of the " Rambo " films which similarly featured a violent Vietnam Vet plot ( however , the novel " First Blood " of which the film " First Blood " was based , was written in 1972 ) . He has since directed over 20 features . In the middle of the 1970s , Williamson relocated to Rome , Italy and formed his own company Po ' Boy Productions , which started to produce actioners including " Adios Amigo " ( 1976 ) and " Death Journey " ( 1976 ) , both of which starred and were directed by Williamson . Although his most recent efforts as director and producer have mainly been " Direct - to - video " , Williamson has continued to remain active with films .