Robert Apisa (born June 4, 1945) is an American actor and former football fullback. 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 ...

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

Early years

Apisa, one of eleven children, was born in

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

. His parents moved the family to

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

when he was seven. He didn't start playing football until entering the ninth grade at

Farrington High School Governor Wallace Rider Farrington High School is a public secondary school (grades 9-12) located in the Kalihi district of Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The school is part of the Farrington-Kaiser-Kalani Complex Area of the Honolulu ...

. He also practiced

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and track.

Career

College career

He accepted a football scholarship from

. He was named a starter at fullback as a sophomore, registering 126 carries for 715 yards (second on the team and third in the conference), a 5.7-yard average and 10 touchdowns. At the end of the season, he was limited with injuries, but still was able to become the first player of Samoan ancestry to be named

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. He required off-season knee surgery. On November 19, 1966, he was a part of the contest played against the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

called " The Game of the Century", which ended in a 10–10 tie. It was also the first ever live television sports broadcast in Hawaii. He had 140 rushing yards and one touchdown against the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. He suffered a knee injury in the seventh game against

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

and missed most of the remaining contests. He posted 86 carries for 445 yards (5.2-yard avg.) and 9 touchdowns. As a senior, he struggled to recover from off-season knee surgery. He tallied only 50 carries for 183 yards during the season. Besides being a notable blocker, he finished his college career as the school's all-time leading rushing fullback with 1,343 yards. He was a part of 2 national championship teams (

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

and

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

). In 2017, he was inducted into the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2018, he was inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Apisa was selected by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

in the ninth round (245th overall) of the

1968 NFL/AFL draft The 1968 NFL/AFL draft was part of the common draft, in the second year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players. It took place at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City on January 30–31, 1968. The Minnesota Vikings ac ...

. He was waived on July 30.

Acting

After retiring from professional football, Apisa spent more than 33 years working as a character actor and stunt coordinator in television series and films.

Personal life

Apisa's grandson, Jacob Isaia, is an

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

man for

and

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

Bob Apisa's journey from American Samoa to Michigan State Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apisa, Bob 1945 births Living people Sportspeople from Pago Pago Players of American football from American Samoa American football fullbacks Michigan State Spartans football players American stunt performers American male television actors American sportspeople of Samoan descent Actors of Samoan descent Pacific Islander American players of American football