Ron Mix was born March 10, 1938 in Los Angeles, attended high school in Hawthorne, and won a football scholarship at the University of Southern California. As an offensive lineman for the Trojans, he was a First Team All American, AP First Team, All Pacific Coast, First Team All Big Five, the winner of the USC Lineman Award, and was elected as the National Jewish College Athlete of the Year.
Two teams selected him in 1960’s draft: The Baltimore Colts of the National Football League and the Boston Patriots of the American Football League, who traded rights to him to the Los Angeles Chargers. Los Angeles offered $12,000 and a $5,000 bonus, more than the Colts did, so he became a Charger.
Mix was praised by his coach Sid Gillman as he “best offensive lineman I’ve ever seen” and over 10 years of play, he was called for only two holding penalties. After the Chargers moved to San Diego, Mix was instrumental in the team winning the 1963 American Football League championship. In 1965, he joined Black athletes in boycotting New Orleans because of its discriminatory practices, saying if the Black players wouldn’t play neither would he. Other White players followed Mix’s lead and the AFL All Start game was moved to Houston.
He was elected eight straight years as a Charger to the AFL All-Star team. He was nicknamed the “Intellectual Assassin” due to his high intelligence and on-field excellence. In the off-seasons, he earned a law degree from the University of San Diego law school. In 1978, he was elected to the Chargers Hall of Fame, in 1979 to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and in 1980 to the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Following his football career, Mix practiced law in San Diego, with many professional athletes among his clients. A former professional basketball player, Kermit Washington persuaded Mix to contribute to charitable foundations run by Washington that supported a school and other causes in Africa. Court records alleged that Washington diverted money from the charity for his personal use, but Mix was unaware of Washington’s illegal diversion of funds. However, Mix took a charitable deduction on his income taxes for the money contributed to Washington’s charities, and was found guilty of filing a false return. The court ruled that as Washington referred clients to Mix, the money was a payment to Washington rather than a charitable contribution. In 2019, Mix was disbarred.
Mix and his wife Patti Lanphier Mix, who were prominent on the San Diego social scene, thereafter lived quietly in San Diego County until Patti’s death in 2021. The couple had three children Carrie Mix, Kathleen Gerber, and Charles Mix.
Tomorrow, March 11: Shemp Howard
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SDJW condensation of a Wikipedia article augmented by other sources.