Robert Gale "Bobby" Cifers (September 5, 1920 – July 1, 2001) was a professional

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 ...

halfback and punter 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

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, and 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 ...

. Cifers died in a Nashville, Tennessee hospital of an unknown cause. A star player at the University of Tennessee, he was the 14th overall pick in the

1944 NFL draft The 1944 NFL draft was held on April 19, 1944, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Perhaps as a tip of the hat to wartime sensibilities, the 1944 draft was officially called the "1943 Preferred Negotiations List" by the league. ...

. He was taken in the second round by the Detroit Lions with the 14th overall pick. He missed the 1943–1945 seasons to fight in World War II as part of the United States Army Air Corps. During that time he played football for

Randolph Field Randolph Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Bexar County, Texas, ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the United ...

in 1944 (which finished ranked #3 in college football and won the Treasury Bond Bowl) and the AAFTC Skymasters in 1945, which played in and lost the Legion Bowl. His first NFL season was with the Lions in 1946, during which he led the league in punting average as a rookie. On November 24, 1946, he set the record for the highest punting average in an NFL game when he averaged 61.75 yards for four punts against the Chicago Bears. He played halfback and defensive back for the Pittsburgh Steelers for two seasons in 1947 and 1948 and then finished his NFL career with the Green Bay Packers in 1949.

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* 1920 births 2001 deaths People from Church Hill, Tennessee Players of American football from Tennessee American football halfbacks Tennessee Volunteers football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Detroit Lions players Green Bay Packers players {{runningback-1920s-stub