Robert Eugene Sykes (March 15, 1927 – August 4, 2020) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

fullback in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. He played college football at

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

Early life and education

Born in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, Sykes graduated from St. Aloysius College (now Brother Martin High School) in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. After high school, Sykes served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

as a private first class during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Following his military service, Sykes returned to California to enroll at

Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) is a public community college in Santa Rosa, California with an additional campus in Petaluma and centers in surrounding Sonoma County. Santa Rosa Junior College was modeled as a feeder school for the Universi ...

, where he played on the football team in 1948 and 1949. He then transferred to San Jose State College (now University), where he played for the

San Jose State Spartans football The San Jose State Spartans football team represents San José State University in NCAA Division I FBS college football as a member of the Mountain West Conference. History Early history (1893–1970) San Jose State first fielded a footbal ...

team in 1950 and 1951.

Pro football career

Undrafted in the

1952 NFL draft The 1952 National Football League Draft was held on January 17, 1952, at Hotel Statler in New York. Selections made by New York Yanks were assigned to the new Dallas Texans. This was the sixth year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick d ...

, Sykes signed with the

as a free agent. In four games with one start at fullback, Sykes had four carries for 10 yards and one reception for five yards.

Post-football life

After retiring from football, Sykes owned a Dodge dealership in

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

, Bob Sykes Dodge.Advertisement
in ''San Francisco Examiner'', September 20, 1963, p. 15. Sykes died in

Laguna Niguel, California Laguna Niguel () is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The name Laguna Niguel is derived from the words "Laguna" (Spanish for "lagoon") and "Niguili" (the name of a Native American village once located near Aliso Creek). As of ...

, on August 4, 2020, aged 93.

References

1927 births 2020 deaths Players of American football from Oakland, California American football fullbacks San Jose State Spartans football players Washington Redskins players Players of American football from New Orleans Santa Rosa Bear Cubs football players American automobile salespeople United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Military personnel from California United States Army Air Forces soldiers {{runningback-1920s-stub