Jack Reynolds earned the nickname “Hacksaw” the hard way. After a tough loss at Tennessee, he took a hacksaw to an old car and cut it in half to burn off his frustration. The Rams liked the intensity enough to take him 22nd overall in 1970. He spent his first few seasons coming off the bench on a veteran defense before winning the starting middle linebacker job in 1973. Once he got there, he stayed there. Reynolds was a tough, instinctive player who diagnosed runs quickly and filled gaps with force. He wasn’t the biggest or fastest linebacker, but he rarely missed assignments and played with a constant edge.

The Rams of the mid-to-late 1970s were regular contenders, and Reynolds was a steady presence in the middle of the defense. He earned Pro Bowl selections in 1975 and 1980. In between those honors, he helped the team win the NFC West multiple times and reach the playoffs almost every year. He played in Super Bowl XIV after the 1979 season. Individual awards were limited, yet teammates and coaches trusted him in the biggest games. He finished with 145 games for Los Angeles and started the large majority of them once he took over the job.

The Rams released him after the 1980 season. He signed with San Francisco and won two Super Bowls there, but that chapter came after he left Los Angeles. As a Ram, he was a two-time Pro Bowler who had started for most of a decade and helped the franchise stay competitive through the 1970s. The early years were quiet. The middle stretch brought the Pro Bowls and the playoff runs. The end was abrupt.

Reynolds left behind a reputation for toughness and reliability. He was the middle linebacker who showed up every week, made the calls, and hit people. The Super Bowls came later with another team, but the bulk of his career and the nickname that stuck were built in Los Angeles.