Bobby Joe Conrad
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| Positions | Wide receiver Defensive back Halfback Placekicker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | November 17, 1935 Clifton, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 194 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Clifton | ||||||||
| College | Texas A&M | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1958: 5th round, 58th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Bobby Joe Conrad (born November 17, 1935) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies.
Early years
[edit | edit source]Conrad was born on November 17, 1935, in Clifton, Texas.[1] He attended Clifton High School, where he was an All-State quarterback, while leading the team to back-to-back District Championships in 1952 and 1953.[2] He was the first player from Clifton High to be named All-State. He was also named All-District and District Most Valuable Player both of those years.[3] As a senior, he scored 207 points and took Clifton to the state semifinals where they lost to the eventual state champion Ranger High School.[2] In 2006, he was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame.[3]
College football
[edit | edit source]He accepted a football scholarship from Texas A&M University to play under head coach Bear Bryant. He was a two-way player at halfback and end, although he also played quarterback and fullback.[3] He never was a full-time starter,[citation needed] and was a member of the school's 1956 SWC Championship team.[2][3]
During his college career (1955-57), Conrad had a 4.9 yards per carry rushing average, in 106 attempts.[4] One of his teammates was 1957 Heisman Trophy winner John David Crow, who had 1,465 yards in 295 attempts over the same period.[5][6][7] He and Crow would go on to play as teammates in the NFL from 1958-64.[8][1]
Conrad participated in the 1958 Chicago College All-Star Game and although he had never attempted a kick in college, he was able to make 4 field goals, 3 conversions, set the game scoring record with 15 points and also intercepted one pass in the 35–19 upset of the 1957 NFL Champion Detroit Lions.[9][10][2][11]
In 1976, he was inducted into the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame.[12] In 2002, he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.[13][2]
Professional career
[edit | edit source]New York Giants
[edit | edit source]The New York Giants traded for the Baltimore Colts fifth round draft pick in 1958, and then selected Conrad in the fifth round (58th overall) of the 1958 NFL draft.[14][6] On May 10, he was traded along with safety Dick Nolan to the Chicago Cardinals, in exchange for End Pat Summerall and halfback Lindon Crow.[15]
Chicago / St. Louis Cardinals
[edit | edit source]In 1958 as a rookie, he was a starter at defensive back and had 4 interceptions and one fumble recovered. Three of his interceptions came in a single game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and quarterback Bobby Layne. On special teams, he made 6 out of 17 field goals and returned 19 punts for 129 yards (6.8-yard average).[1][6]
In 1959, he was moved to the backfield with college teammate John David Crow. He had 74 carries for 328 yards (including a 56-yard run on September 27, 1959), 14 receptions for 142 yards, 6 touchdowns, made 6 out of 9 field goals, 18 kickoff returns for 388 yards and 16 punt returns for 133 yards (8.3-yard average).[1] On September 27, 1959, he rushed for 140 yards on only 11 carries, with two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown.[16]
In 1961, he was moved to flanker pairing him with Sonny Randle,[17] while registering 30 receptions for 499 yards and 2 touchdowns.[1] In 1962, he collected 62 receptions (third in the league) for 954 yards (ninth in the league) and 4 touchdowns.[1][18]
In 1963, he led the league with 73 receptions and received All-NFL honors, being named first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI), and second-team All-Pro by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA). He also had 967 receiving yards (sixth in the league) and 10 touchdowns.[19][20][1]
In 1964, he posted 61 receptions (fourth in the league) for 780 yards and 6 touchdowns, receiving Pro Bowl honors. The UPI named him second-team All Pro.[21][1][22] In 1965, he had 58 receptions for 909 yards and 5 touchdowns.[1]
On June 26, 1969, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a fifth round draft choice (No. 127-Barry Pierson).[23][24]
He left as the seventh all-time pass receiver in the NFL with 422 receptions (418 with the Cardinals) and had a string of 148 consecutive games played. He was the Cardinals all-time leading receiver at the time he was traded.[1][23] After believing he came within a game of breaking Don Hutson's NFL record for consecutive games with a reception, it was discovered that Don Hutson's record was counted erroneously. Conrad set the record for most consecutive games with a reception; 94 contests from 1961 to 1968.[25]
He is considered one of the top Cardinals receivers in the team's over 100-year history, and one of its 100 greatest players.[26][27]
Dallas Cowboys
[edit | edit source]On September 20, 1969, the Dallas Cowboys put injured wide receiver Bob Hayes on the "move list" and activated Conrad.[28] He played in 8 games, recording 4 receptions for 74 yards.[1]
NFL career statistics
[edit | edit source]| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1959 | CRD | 12 | 12 | 14 | 142 | 10.1 | 25 | 3 |
| 1960 | STL | 12 | 4 | 7 | 103 | 14.7 | 24 | 0 |
| 1961 | STL | 14 | 13 | 30 | 499 | 16.6 | 50 | 2 |
| 1962 | STL | 14 | 14 | 62 | 954 | 15.4 | 72 | 4 |
| 1963 | STL | 14 | 14 | 73 | 967 | 13.2 | 48 | 10 |
| 1964 | STL | 14 | 14 | 61 | 780 | 12.8 | 53 | 6 |
| 1965 | STL | 14 | 14 | 58 | 909 | 15.7 | 71 | 5 |
| 1966 | STL | 14 | 14 | 34 | 388 | 11.4 | 40 | 2 |
| 1967 | STL | 14 | 14 | 47 | 637 | 13.6 | 53 | 2 |
| 1968 | STL | 14 | 14 | 32 | 449 | 14.0 | 80 | 4 |
| 1969 | DAL | 8 | 0 | 4 | 74 | 18.5 | 34 | 0 |
| 156 | 135 | 422 | 5,902 | 14.0 | 80 | 38 | ||
Personal life
[edit | edit source]He moved back to Clifton after retiring, and worked for the Federal Land Bank, Farmers Home Administration and/or the Texas Land Bank. He was also a judge in Bosque County for eight years.[6][23]
References
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- ^ Hudson, Maryann. "Receiver’s 94-Game Streak Was a Mere Slip of the Pen," Los Angeles Times, Tuesday, December 24, 1991. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
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