Oscar Edwards

Oscar Edwards ( 1953/1954) is an American educator, businessman, and former defensive back for the UCLA Bruins. Nicknamed "Dr. Death," Edwards was known as a hard-hitting player during his time in college. After graduating, he became an advisor to small businesses and an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM education.

Early life Oscar Edwards was born into a family of nine children. His parents divorced when he was 6 years old, and he was raised by his mother. Edwards worked as a child to support his family financially. His brother, Cleveland Edwards, inspired him to participate in athletics in high school. Cleveland, who was being held at Soledad State Prison, died after being shot in a 1970 prison riot. He played both basketball and football. He wore tennis shoes for his first three weeks of practice while waiting to purchase actual used football shoes. While in high school his team primarily ran a wishbone formation, which led to Edwards growing tired of playing offense in favor of defense.

College career Edwards spent his first two years of university at Riverside City College, a local junior college. He arrived at a time when head coach Al Fages needed to rely on support from the first year members of the team. While a freshman, Edwards broke a bone in his chest during a game and had to be taken away by ambulance during halftime. The injury bruised his heart.

When Edwards transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1974, he was redshirtted his first year. He was surprised by the decision, as he didn't know he'd be sitting out until the start of the school year.

While at UCLA, his coaches described him as the best strong safety in the Pacific 8. and he was named to the first team defense of the Associated Press Pacific-8 and All-West Coast teams in 1976. He was named a first team All-American defensive back by United Press International later that same year.

Nickname During his time at UCLA, Edwards was nicknamed "Dr. Death". The nickname came from his style of physicality and hard hitting tackles, with Edwards saying he was "out to punish people anytime, anywhere."

In May 1977, the Los Angeles Rams signed Edwards as a defensive back. He was injured before the season began and was waived shortly afterwards.

Educational career After his ill-fated NFL career, Edwards attempted to finish his economics degree with UCLA.

After graduation, Edwards became the vice president of a management consultant company. He went on to earn his Masters in Business Administration from UCLA in 1981 before doing doctoral studies at Grand Canyon University. Edwards has served as CEO and president of Higher Growth Strategies, a business that focuses on advising small businesses and non-profits on their management. He has taught classes at Long Beach City College and Los Angeles City College.

Personal life Edwards married in 1982. While in college, he volunteered at a youth detention center, a teenage rehabilitation camp, and for Special Olympics. He denounced his old playing style in 2023 after seeing the impacts of football on his two sons.