Bob Long

Last updated

Bob Long
No. 80, 86
Position: Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1941-06-16) June 16, 1941 (age 83)
McKeesport, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Washington Twp.
College: Wichita State
NFL draft: 1964  / round: 4 / pick: 44
AFL draft: 1964  / round: 10 / pick: 74
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receiving yards:1,539
Receptions:98
Receiving TDs:10
Rushing yards:304
Games played:61
Games started:29
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Robert Andrew Long (born June 16, 1941) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) who played in the 1960s and 1970s [1] and earned two Super Bowl rings. He attended suburban Pittsburgh's Washington Township High School (near Apollo), and Wichita State University.

Contents

His seven-year pro-career was spent with the Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins and Los Angeles Rams. He was a contributing player of both of Vince Lombardi's NFL teams, the Packers which won Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II and later the Redskins for Lombardi's one year in Washington. Long was inducted into the State of Kansas Hall of Fame in 1965 and the Wichita State Hall of Fame in 1981. [2] In 2008 he was added to the Western Chapter of Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

College career

Long attended the Municipal University of Wichita (now Wichita State University) where he was a three-year letter winner for basketball. After exhausting his basketball eligibility, he switched for football for the 1963 season.

In that one season, he set both the school season record and the school career record for receiving touchdowns with nine. His nine receiving touchdowns tied one other player as the NCAA best for the season and he led the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) that year in several offensive categories (receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, total touchdowns and scoring). For the 1963 season, Long was named MVC All-Conference and honorable mention All America honors. [3] [4]

Professional career

Drafted in the fourth round by the Green Bay Packers in the 1964 NFL Draft and by the San Diego Chargers in the tenth round of the AFL Draft, he signed with the Packers and played on the Green Bay teams that won the NFL Championship in 1965, 1966 and 1967 and won the first two Super Bowls in 1966 and 1967. That Packers team is the only team in NFL history to win three championships in a row in the playoff era. [5]

The Packers traded Long to the Atlanta Falcons in 1968 [6] where he started nine games until he was involved in a car accident and suffered a broken back and internal injuries, ending his season. In the off-season that followed, Long reunited with Lombardi in 1969 with the Washington Redskins after Lombardi reached out to Long to gauge his interest in playing for the Redskins. That season, Long posted career bests for receptions and receiving yards. [7] He spent his final season with the Los Angeles Rams in 1970. For a very brief time, Bob also was doing active National Guardsman Duty during the 1969 Season.

Long, along with Tom Brown, played for both the Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins under Vince Lombardi and are part of the "Lombardi Legends".

In the past, he was active in charity events in the state of Wisconsin. He was involved in the NFLPA Retirees for Wisconsin. He has raised over $1,500,000 for various charities with the Long Journey to the Super Bowl Raffle he once had. He helped contribute in the past to charities, including the Ray Nitschke Foundation, Special Olympics, Task Force Against Family violence and Alzheimers. He also helped bring the first Pizza Hut to northern Wisconsin from 1968 to 1979. Bob Long had a severe stroke in the early 1990s and since then retired from most of his charitable and social activities.

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References

  1. ↑ "Bob Long". pre-football-reference.com. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Bob Long (Football, Basketball, 1959-64)". goshockers.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Bob Long" . Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Bob Long (Football, Basketball, 1959-64)". goshockers.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  5. ↑ "NFL Champions 1920-2018". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Pro Sports Transactions". ProSportsTransactions.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Bob Long says Packer fans never forget Glory Years players". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
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