Robert Lee Pollard (December 30, 1948) is 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 ...

former defensive lineman who played eleven seasons 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 ...

(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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

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 (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. 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 r ...

in Beaumont and began his college football career in 1966 at

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,00 ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, as he wanted to stay close to his family. Texas Southern University is considered an Historically Black College and University. After a year and a half, he decided to transfer to

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

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. Bob 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 Terry Allan Stieve (born March 10, 1954 in Baraboo, Wisconsin) is a retired American football offensive lineman. He was drafted out of the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 1976 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. He played for the New ...

, to the St. Louis Cardinals for

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

guard

Conrad Dobler Conrad Francis Dobler (born October 1, 1950) is a former American football guard who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was selected in the fifth round of the 1972 NFL Draft by ...

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 St. Louis in 1981. Although quarterback sacks were not officially recorded prior to 1982, he has been credited with 57.0 sacks during his career. In 1971, Bob Pollard was one of sixteen pro football players from Beaumont to be given the Keys to The City. His son

Robert Pollard Robert Ellsworth Pollard Jr. (born October 31, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter who is the leader and creative force behind indie rock group Guided by Voices. In addition to his work with Guided by Voices, he continues to have a prol ...

had a brief NFL career as a

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 formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

with the San Diego Chargers and Seattle Seahawks.

References

1948 births Living people Players of American football from Beaumont, Texas American football defensive linemen Weber State Wildcats football players New Orleans Saints players St. Louis Cardinals (football) players {{defensive-lineman-1940s-stub