Posted on 02/22/2005 5:37:14 PM PST by Borges
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Former punter Reggie Roby, a 16-year NFL veteran and three-time Pro Bowl selection, died today after being found unconscious at home by his wife. He was 43.
Melissa Roby found her husband with no pulse. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him at home and in the ambulance, but he was pronounced dead in the emergency room at St. Thomas Hospital, according to a statement released by the family.
The cause of death is unknown, the statement said.
Roby was a sixth-round pick in 1983 out of Iowa by the Miami Dolphins, where he played from 1983-92. He also played for the Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston/Tennessee Oilers and San Francisco 49ers, where he wrapped up his career with a final season in 1999.
He led the AFC in 1991 with an average punt of 45.7 yards, and he still holds the Pro Bowl record with 10 punts in the 1985 game.
"He was an outstanding punter for us and his booming kicks often helped us win the field position battle," Don Shula, who coached Roby, said in a statement released by the Dolphins.
"Often on walkthroughs in domed stadiums the day before the game, he always would try to hit to top of the dome with a punt. He sometimes succeeded, which illustrates just how strong a leg he had. Reggie helped define the position and even after he retired, every time I saw a long, high punt, it always reminded me of one of his kicks."
Roby even wore a watch during games to help time his punts. Former Miami defensive end and linebacker Kim Bokamper credited Roby with being one of the first two-step punters who changed the speed of getting a punt off.
"He could really turn around a field," Bokamper said. "As a defensive player, at times he could be your best friend by pinning a team back. It's a testament to the type of player he was how long he lasted in the league. He was really at the cusp of the new era of punters."
Roby ran into financial problems in 1993 and he filed for personal bankruptcy. The Dolphins released him less than two weeks later even though his career average of 43.3 yards per punt was then ninth best in NFL history.
Roby landed with the Washington Redskins for two seasons, and he earned a Pro Bowl berth in 1994. He spent 1995 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was with the Oilers for their final season in Houston in 1996 and their first in Tennessee in 1997 and then wrapped up his career in 1999 in San Francisco.
Roby, who had six children, was the marketing and development director for Backfield in Motion, a nonprofit group mixing athletics and academics to help boys in the inner city.
"Reggie was just a kid at heart," said Michael Brown, Backfield in Motion's chief executive officer. "Reggie was the ultimate package as far as I was concerned. In this type of work that we are in, there is no question that it was his calling."
A sad Browns ping.
Hard to believe. I always marvelled at his two step punt.
The guy could knock the air right out of a football.
5 bucks says drugs and/or heart attack after years of drug use. (Steroids being counted as a drug here).
RIP Reggie.
A kicker on steroids? That's a new one. You jumped to some nasty conclusions with no facts to back them up.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1348770/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1348769/posts
Football players dropping like flies in their 40's is plenty of areason to speculate. I'm not sure why a kicker has any less interest in having strong leg muscles then any other football players is in having strong arm and chest muscles.
Sorry I stopped by a sports thread. I know that all logic goes out the window when it comes to people who attach their self esteem to sports figures.
With all respect for his ability and for him as a person, we used to joke that because he could punt the ball so hard, that he could do instant sex-change operations with one kick.
RIP. As punters go, Reggie was da man.
Argh! Those didn't come up in the search! Sorry.
It does seem like a disportionate nmumber of former pro football players die at a very young age.
Knowing the effects of steroids, one cannot help but conclude that steroids contribute to that deathrate. Other things are involved, of course, but one thing certainly is.
Logic requires one to argue from the general to the specific, not the other way around.
Being an old 49'ers fan, I taped and watched the 82(?) Superbowl with Miami many times. Though in that game he didn't "turn it over" until the second half, you could see pure poetry in his body movements. He went on in later seasons to practice his magic with the Niners. Sad day for old school football fans.
Give me a break. 40 something year old football player dies. I speculate that it could be related to drugs. FR is a forum that is full of speculation. You happen to be a fan of this guy because he is good at kicking a football. You know nothing about him, but he's good at kicking a football so you assume that he must be an angel and anyone who speculates that 40 something year old football player dying might = drugs is somehow enganging in nasty rumour mongering. Once again, I am sorry I waded into the world of sports where all thought and reason comes second to hero worship
My wife (a football fan) always wondered out loud what a retired punter does. What does he put on his resume? "Well, I can kick unwanted folks out of bars and workplaces. If you dump your boyfriend, I can kick him to the curb for you."
Former football players likely don't exercise the way they did when they played. It could be for other medical reasons. The root cause of Reggie White's death was sleep apnea, something that is usually associated with obese people.
Roby was the man. I remember him as a teenager when he played for Iowa under Hayden Fry during the glory days of revived Iowa football. He was in his own league back then.
Always heard he was the consumate gentleman. Way too young to go.
Roby was a graduate of the University of Iowa.
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