William Kermit Jobko (October 7, 1935 – December 18, 2004) was an

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

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

who played nine 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 Rams (1958–1962), the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

(1963–1965) and the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

(1966). He played college football at

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

Early years

He attended Bridgeport High School (OH). He accepted a football scholarship from Ohio State University, where he became a starter on the offensive line for the 1954 and 1957 national championship teams. In 1957, he received All-American and team's most valuable player honors.

Professional career

Jobko was selected by the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

in the 7th round (80th overall) of the 1958 NFL draft. 1966 was his last year as a linebacker because he developed high blood pressure and was forced to retire for health reasons.

Personal life

In 1968, he served as the Falcons' assistant linebackers coach under head coach Norb Heckerin. In 1969, he was hired as a Falcons college scout. From 1978 to 1989, he was the Falcons director of pro personnel. Jobko died of an

abdominal aortic aneurysm Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a localized enlargement of the abdominal aorta such that the diameter is greater than 3 cm or more than 50% larger than normal. An AAA usually causes no symptoms, except during rupture. Occasionally, abdo ...

on December 18, 2004.

External links

Bill Jobko, former NFL player and scout, dies at 69
1935 births 2004 deaths Players of American football from Snellville, Georgia American football linebackers Ohio State Buckeyes football players Los Angeles Rams players Minnesota Vikings players Atlanta Falcons players People from Bridgeport, Ohio Players of American football from Belmont County, Ohio Deaths from abdominal aortic aneurysm Atlanta Falcons scouts Atlanta Falcons coaches Atlanta Falcons executives 20th-century American sportsmen {{linebacker-1930s-stub