Robert Lee Pollard (December 30, 1948) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

who played for 11 seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

—where he played four seasons as a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

—and the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Texas Southern Tigers The Texas Southern Tigers represent Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas, in intercollegiate athletics. They field sixteen teams including men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, and track and field; women's-only bowling, socce ...

and the

Weber State Wildcats The Weber State Wildcats are the varsity athletic teams representing Weber State University in Ogden, Utah in intercollegiate athletics, sponsoring 16 teams. The Wildcats compete in NCAA Division I FCS and are charter members (1963) of the Big ...

and was selected by the Saints in the eleventh round of the

1971 NFL draft The 1971 NFL draft was held January 28–29, 1971, at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City, New York. The Boston Patriots, who did not officially change their name to New England Patriots until after the draft, used the first overall pick ...

Early life

Pollard attended the black

Hebert High School Hebert High School was a traditionally black high school in the South Park Independent School District in Beaumont, Texas, US. It was founded in the early 20th century to serve the black community, and became an accredited high school in 1923. In ...

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...

College career

He began his

career in 1966 with the

, as he wanted to stay close to his family. After a year and a half, he decided to transfer to the

even though he had been a starter at Texas Southern because he felt that the school was trying to take his scholarship away in order to offer it to talented out of state players.

Professional career

He was selected by the

with the 262nd overall pick of the

. Pollard was named Saints defensive captain from 1976 to 1977 and was inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame in 1995. In 1977, the Saints traded Pollard and guard Terry Stieve, to the

for

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

er guard

Conrad Dobler Conrad Francis Dobler (''Pronounced:'' DOH-blur) (October 1, 1950 – February 13, 2023) was an American professional American football, football player who was a guard (gridiron football), guard for 10 seasons in the National Football League ...

and wide receiver

Ike Harris Isaiah "Ike" Harris (born November 27, 1952) is a former American football wide receiver in the NFL for the St. Louis Cardinals (1975–77) and the New Orleans Saints (1978–81). Harris played college football at Iowa State University. In 1 ...

. He finished his career with the Cardinals in 1981. Although

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackle (football move), tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the l ...

s were not officially recorded prior to 1982, he has been credited with 57 unofficial sacks during his career.

After football

In 1971, Pollard was one of sixteen pro football players from Beaumont to be given the Keys to The City.

Personal life

His son,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

, had a brief NFL career as a defensive end with the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

and the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollard, Bob 1948 births Living people Players of American football from Beaumont, Texas American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Weber State Wildcats football players New Orleans Saints players St. Louis Cardinals (football) players