Robert Glenn Baumhower (born August 4, 1955) 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 ...

player who was 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 ...

for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

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). 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

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

under coach

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

from 1973 to 1976 and professionally for Miami under coach

Don Shula Donald Francis Shula ( ; January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American professional American football, football player, coach and executive who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. He played seven s ...

. He later became a restaurateur.

Early life and college

Baumhower attended North Palm Beach Gardens High School in Florida for two seasons before playing at Tuscaloosa High School his senior year. Playing as a defensive tackle in college at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

under coach

, Baumhower helped lead the Crimson Tide to two 11–1 records as well as a 31–4 overall record. He was part of the 1974 team which lost to Notre Dame in the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...

, the 1975 team which defeated

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

in the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

, and the 1976 team which won the

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic Cit ...

over

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. Baumhower was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection in both 1975 and 1976. After the 1976 season, he was invited to play in the

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

college all-star game.

Professional career

Baumhower was drafted by the Dolphins with the 40th overall pick (second round) in the 1977

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

, behind the first round pick, another defensive lineman from the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

, A. J. Duhe of

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

; earning a spot on the 1977 All-Rookie team. Baumhower and Duhe would share the 1977 Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. He was selected five times to the

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 ...

in the NFL. Baumhower and Duhe, who eventually was moved to inside linebacker, formed the heart of the Dolphins' "Killer B's" defense of the late 1970s through mid-1980s, coached by defensive coordinator Bill Arnsparger. Baumhower was flanked on the line by ends Doug Betters and Kim Bokamper, while other stars of the unit included outside linebacker Bob Brudzinski and defensive backs Lyle Blackwood and

Glenn Blackwood Glenn Allen Blackwood (born February 23, 1957) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a Safety (gridiron football position), safety for the Miami Dolphins for ten seasons in the National Football League (N ...

. The unit was ranked first in the NFL in total defense in 1982, when Miami reached

Super Bowl XVII Super Bowl XVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

. The 1983 season may have been Baumhower's best as he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year (Pro Football Weekly), first-team All-Pro (Associated Press), first-team All-AFC (United Press International) and a starter in the Pro Bowl game. He was a first-team All-NFL selection in 1981 and 1983 and first-team All-AFC in 1979, 1981 and 1983. Baumhower would retire after the 1986 season. He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. On December 14, 2008, Baumhower was inducted into The Miami Dolphin Honor Roll during a ceremony at Dolphin Stadium (now

Hard Rock Stadium Hard Rock Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Southeastern United States, located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The stadium is the home field for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes, the Univers ...

Restaurants

Baumhower is also the owner and CEO of Aloha Hospitality, which owns and operates restaurants throughout

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

including the fine dining establishment Dauphin's in Mobile as well as his namesake Baumhower's Victory Grille.

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baumhower, Bob 1955 births Living people Alabama Crimson Tide football players American football defensive linemen Miami Dolphins players American Conference Pro Bowl players American restaurateurs Players of American football from Portsmouth, Virginia