ORANGE COUNTY SPORTS HALL OF FAME: THE NEW INDUCTEES : Changing Uniforms : Youngblood Trades Sacks for Suits as Ram Executive

Walk into the Rams’ offices, spot Jack Youngblood in a business suit and you get the feeling you’re looking at one of those what’s-wrong-with-this-picture puzzles. There are no upside down pictures on the walls, but there’s an uneasy feeling that something is not quite right.

Now there’s no question that Youngblood looks good in a coat and tie. The muscular build, the tan, the square jaw, those pale blue eyes . . . heck, he looks good in anything .

But that body belongs in a muddied uniform. And the chiseled face was destined to be framed by a helmet cocked high against the forehead. The guy should have a quarterback under his arm, not a briefcase.

For 14 seasons with the Rams, Youngblood reveled in playing football. He was the prototype defensive end: quick, graceful, strong and smart. He played in seven Pro Bowls and twice was named National Football Conference defensive player of the year.

His prowess was outweighed only by his durability. He played in a team-record 201 consecutive games. One of those was Super Bowl XIV, in which he played with a broken leg and without medication.

In 1984, however, a lower back injury forced Youngblood to miss a game for the first time in 14 years. In August of 1985, he chose to retire rather than risk further injury and the possibility of performing below his self-established level of excellence.

So long, pads, cleats, tape and good ol’ No. 85.

Hello, Botany 500.

When Youngblood called a press conference to announce his retirement, Ram owner Georgia Frontiere said he was the “heart and soul” of the team and promised him a spot in the front office.

Nobody was too sure what that position would be, Youngblood included. But he embraced his new career with the same zeal he used to bear hug opposing quarterbacks. Youngblood told reporters:

“I intend to give input, manage situations and create situations that can help this football team become the dynasty we should be.”

It took a while, but Youngblood says he has finally is comfortable wearing suits. At this moment, however, he’s really in his element: T-shirt, shorts, chewing tobacco and a couple of hundred pounds worth of weights in his hands.

He still works out regularly, but you don’t have to see him in the weight room to know it. He also works regularly now (there’s no off-season in the front office), and his duties still are varied. He does a little marketing here, some public relations work there, even a bit of scouting.

He has yet to create any situations, however, that have transformed the Rams into a dynasty.

“I don’t have the magic that I thought,” he said, punctuating the statement with a resonant laugh.

“No, it’s not as magical as I envisioned. There are lots of frustrations. I was a perfectionist as a player, but in this line of work you have to re-focus that type of attitude and say, ‘I’m going to do the best I can and hope that the rest will take care of itself.’

“But at least I feel like I belong in a coat and a tie, now. I feel very comfortable in that role. And I really do appreciate the opportunity that Georgia Frontiere has given me. She’s allowed me to come into the front office and find my niche . . . something I’m good at.”

Youngblood, self-made player, understands the rewards of hard work.

Youngblood didn’t enter the NFL as a superstar though he left as one. Playing came easy for him, but not that easy.

He figured the discipline and work ethic would carry him through what he likes to call his second life. It certainly helped, but so far it hasn’t turned out the way he hoped.

First came a try at sports broadcasting, where he thought he’d become the next Vin Scully without much effort.

“There again, it didn’t happen the way I thought,” he said. “It wasn’t the Cinderella story that I thought it might have been. I had to learn a lot. There are a lot of things about that business that take time and work, just like playing.

“I thought I could just walk into the booth and talk about the game the way a player sees it. But television is strange media. It speaks for itself to a certain degree. The trick is to elaborate around the picture that the audience sees, and it’s not as easy as it appears.”

Youngblood auditioned for CBS and NBC and did some work for ESPN, but he was not in great demand. Last season, he served as a color commentator on Ram broadcasts.

“I had a tremendous experience working with Bob Starr, Dick Bass and Steve Bailey,” he said. “I hope I get the chance next season.”

He may not be a John Madden yet, but if broadcasting success can be achieved by dedication and hard work, you’ll be seeing and hearing more of Youngblood.

“If you drive by my house at 1:30 in the morning, and see somebody talking into a mirror, don’t think it’s a crazy man,” he said. “It’s just me.”

Youngblood wasn’t the first to struggle with the transition from athlete to businessman, but that didn’t make it any easier.

He had dedicated his life to playing football and the fact that no one even so much as suggested he think about retiring compounded his ambivalence about the decision.

“I was torn,” he said. “I went back and forth and after I announced my retirement, I was really depressed. I had worked on building the strength in my back all that off-season and I was in great shape. In fact, I could still go out there and play today at an acceptable level to a lot of people, but not to me, not up to my criteria.

“I will always miss competing at that level. You’re out there and you know that you’re the only people in the world doing that. I’m fine now. Until they play the Star Spangled Banner before a playoff game with San Francisco. Then I want to be down there. Then I want to go get Joe Montana.”

Despite the advice of the Rams’ doctors, Youngblood decided against surgery after suffering a herniated disc in a game against Tampa Bay in 1984. He thought the rehabilitation period would be too long. Montana’s speedy recovery from disc surgery hasn’t changed his mind, either.

“Maybe I should go have the surgery and make a glaring comeback . . . the real big encore,” he said.

He was only kidding, of course. Otherwise, Ram Coach John Robinson, master of ceremonies at Monday night’s Orange County Sports Hall of Fame banquet, might have to change his speech when he introduces Youngblood as one of four inductees.

And it really doesn’t matter if Youngblood’s wearing a tuxedo, a banker’s suit or the jeans-and-boots Western wear he always chooses for more casual occasions.

Football fans will always remember him in blue, gold and white. And they’d bet that if you ripped open his shirt, that uniform would be underneath.

JACK YOUNGBLOOD

Age: 37.

Hometown: Monticello, Fla.

Residence: Orange.

Accomplishments:

Played 14 seasons and 202 games for the Rams, third most in club history.

Played in 201 consecutive games, a Ram record.

Three-time winner of Rams’ most valuable player award.

Selected to play in the Pro Bowl seven times (1973-79).

Twice named National Football Conference defensive player of the year (1975-76).