Bob Hudson (born March 21, 1948) is a former

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

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).

Biography

Hudson was born Robert Dale Hudson in

Hominy, Oklahoma Hominy ( – ''night-walker'') is a city in Osage County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,565 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census, a 38 percent increase over the figure of 2,584 recorded in United States Census, 2000, 2000 ...

. He played at the collegiate level at

Northeastern State University Northeastern State University (NSU) is a public university with its main campus in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The university also has two other campuses in Muskogee and Broken Arrow as well as online. Northeastern is the oldest institution of hig ...

. At Northeastern State, he set school records for rushing yardage, longest touchdown run (99 yards), highest rushing yards average per season and most carries in a season.

Career

Hudson was drafted 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 sixth round of the

1972 NFL draft The 1972 NFL draft was the 37th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft was held on February 1 and 2 at the Essex House in New York City, New York. With the first overal ...

and played that season with the team. The following two seasons he played with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

. During his time with Oakland, Hudson was nicknamed "Headhunter" for his exceptional hits and tackles on the Raiders' special teams. In 1975, his knee was injured in a preseason game against 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 ...

, and the injury wound up ending his football career.

Post-Career

Hudson had difficulty adjusting to his post-NFL life. In a 1990 interview, Hudson said, "The transition a lot of professional athletes go through takes a long time. In my case, it took almost five years. "When you're playing football, it's an artificial high. All you know is sports. When that's taken away, you try to find something to replace it. I tried alcohol and drugs." He was involved in an automobile crash in 1976, during which he was driving 85 miles an hour while drunk. In the wake of the wreck, he decided to return to Oklahoma and turn his life around. Hudson went on to earn his college degree in Physical Education in 1983, and worked as a substitute teacher in

Bartlesville, Oklahoma Bartlesville is a city mostly in Washington County and Osage County, Oklahoma. The population was 37,290 at the 2020 census. Bartlesville is north of Tulsa and south of the Kansas border. It is the county seat of Washington County. The Cane ...

. in 1988, he took a position as the Physical Education Director of the Bartlesville Boys Club. He has used that position to spread an anti-drug abuse message, and has also spoken out against drugs at area churches and schools. In 1988, Hudson was named to the Northeastern Athletics Hall of Fame.Northeastern State University, :"Northeastern Athletics Hall of Fame". Available online: https://goriverhawksgo.com/honors/northeastern-state-athletics-hall-of-fame . Retrieved September 19, 2021.

References

1948 births Living people American football running backs Green Bay Packers players Oakland Raiders players Northeastern State RiverHawks football players People from Hominy, Oklahoma Sportspeople from Osage County, Oklahoma 20th-century American sportsmen {{runningback-1940s-stub