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No. 56, 90 | |||||||
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Position: | Linebacker Defensive end | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | September 11, 1955||||||
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Compton (Compton, California) | ||||||
College: | New Mexico | ||||||
NFL draft: | 1977 / Round: 1 / Pick: 21 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Robin Cole (born September 11, 1955) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers and later with the New York Jets. He played college football for the New Mexico Lobos.
Cole was the seventh of ten children born to Obediah and Georgia Mae Cole. He attended high school at Compton High School, graduating in 1973. His cousin, Willie Davis, was a Hall of Fame defensive end for the Green Bay Packers who won five NFL titles and the first two Super Bowls. [1]
He furthered his education at the University of New Mexico where he became an All American and the first person to be a first round draft pick out of the university. [2]
He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 21st overall pick in the first round of the 1977 NFL draft. At Pittsburgh, he was a part of the Steel Curtain defense, replacing Andy Russell as right outside linebacker. He played linebacker and defensive end for twelve seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers. [2]
Cole played in two Super Bowls – Super Bowl XIII and Super Bowl XIV. Mr. Cole was in the starting lineup in Super Bowl XIV in January 1980 and was elected to the Pro Bowl in 1984. He was runner up for MVP in Super Bowl XIV, finishing behind Terry Bradshaw. [3]
He played one season, 1988, with the New York Jets.
Since leaving the NFL after the 1988 season, Cole has served as a public speaker to corporate groups, business sales teams, sports teams, churches, schools and prisons. He has been a keynote speaker and emcee for many events, drawing on a message of inspiration and motivation as a cancer survivor. [4]
Cole is an entrepreneur and trained at the Ford Motor Institute to be a dealer. He and his brother Erick also operated a cheesecake company, Unforgettable Sweets, in Canton Township, Pennsylvania, which opened in 2005. [5]
In addition, he has served on several charitable boards, including the American Heart Association, The March of Dimes, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and others. He is a lifetime member of the NAACP.
Cole was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2004, a disease that afflicted him and his two brothers, and eventually led to the death of father Obediah at age 50, and Obediah's twin brother – Robin's uncle – Ahab. [6] [7] As a result of the diagnosis (which Cole survived), he became the co-founder and president of the Obediah Cole Foundation, [6] which has also been cited as the Robin Cole Foundation for Prostate Cancer. [8]
He is the father of five children and grandfather of six. He lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife, Judith, and their daughter, Mya.
Super Bowl IX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Minnesota Vikings to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1974 season. The game was played on January 12, 1975, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Steelers defeated the Vikings by the score of 16–6 to win their first Super Bowl championship.
Super Bowl X was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1975 season. The Steelers defeated the Cowboys by the score of 21–17 to win their second consecutive Super Bowl. They were the third team to win back-to-back Super Bowls. It was also the first Super Bowl in which both participating teams had previously won a Super Bowl, as the Steelers were the defending champions and the Cowboys had won Super Bowl VI.
Super Bowl XIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1978 season. The Steelers defeated the Cowboys by the score of 35–31. The game was played on January 21, 1979, at the Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, the fifth and last time that the Super Bowl was played in that stadium.
Super Bowl XIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1979 season. The Steelers defeated the Rams by the score of 31–19, becoming the first team to win four Super Bowls. The game was played on January 20, 1980, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and was attended by a Super Bowl record 103,985 spectators. It was also the first Super Bowl where the game was played in the home market of one of the participants, as Pasadena is 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Downtown Los Angeles.
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