Paul Harvey Robinson (born December 19, 1944) 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

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 ...

for two seasons in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL) and four 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). 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

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

Early life

Robinson was born on December 19, 1944, in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. He was the third youngest of 12 children of Leslie Robinson Sr. (1907–1987) and Levada Mallard Robinson (1909–1956), both of

Crockett, Texas Crockett is a city and the county seat of Houston County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,332. Houston County is the oldest county and Crockett the fifth-oldest city in Texas. History The town was name ...

, who were married in 1926. In 1951, the family moved to

Marana, Arizona Marana () is a List of municipalities in Arizona, town that mostly lies in Pima County, Arizona, Pima County with a small portion in Pinal County, Arizona, Pinal County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is located northwest of Tucson, Arizona, ...

(principally located in

Pima County Pima County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona, one of 15 List of counties in Arizona, counties in the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1 ...

) where Leslie worked as a farm contractor. Robinson attended

Marana High School Marana High School is one of three high schools operated by the Marana Unified School District for the town of Marana, Arizona. It was established in 1975. History The school is the successor to the previous Marana High School (built in 1953), ...

, where he starred in basketball and football, but he especially excelled at track. He was a state champion

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...

and sprinter, and set records in high hurdles and the

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a #bar, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...

. As a senior, he was the second leading scorer on a basketball team that was the runner up for the state championship, led the football team in scoring, and was first team Class B all-state at halfback. He was an honor student as well as an athlete, and was named Marana's Athlete of the Year in May of 1963.

College

Robinson graduated from high school in 1963 and attended

Eastern Arizona College Eastern Arizona College (EAC), is a community college in Graham County, Arizona, United States. The main campus is in Thatcher, with satellite locations in Gila County and Greenlee County. It is the oldest community college in Arizona and the ...

, a two-year

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

Thatcher, Arizona Thatcher is a town in Graham County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the town is 4,865. It is part of the Safford Micropolitan Statistical Area. Thatcher is the home of Eastern Arizona College (EAC), ...

. In track, he reached the nationals in intermediate hurdles; but he did not play football at Eastern Arizona. He received a track scholarship to the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

and ran track for two years for the Wildcats. But when his track scholarship ended, Robinson turned to football out of necessity for one season to obtain a new scholarship to be able to complete school and graduate. He had not played football since high school. Future NFL player

Ron Gardin Ron Gardin (September 25, 1944 – April 2025) was an American professional American football, football player who was a defensive back and kick returner in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arizona Wildcat ...

, then a collegian at Arizona and later Robinson's roommate, had seen Robinson at track tryouts a season earlier, and realizing Robinson's potential encouraged him join the football team. Robinson became the team's number two running back his senior year. However, he was injured during that senior year, and only had 80 rushing attempts for 306 yards.

Professional football career

To his own surprise, after playing only one year of college football, Robinson was chosen in the third round (82nd overall) of the 1968 NFL/AFL Draft by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. The legendary

Paul Brown Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 – August 5, 1991) was an American American football, football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), the National Football League (NFL), and the American Football League (AFL). ...

chose him in the draft. Robinson received a $15,000 bonus and $15,000 salary, and used part of the money to buy his father in Arizona a new home, and to get his father out of working in the cotton fields. In his first year as a professional, he gained 1,023 yards rushing to lead the league, and also led the league with eight rushing

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

and 238 rushing attempts. His was fifth in the league in rushing average, but first among runners with over 175 carries. He also caught 24 passes for 128 yards and one touchdown. Robinson was the only rookie coming directly from college in AFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards. In 1934,

Beattie Feathers William Beattie "Big Chief" Feathers (August 20, 1909 – March 11, 1979) was an American football player and coach of football and baseball. He played college football and college basketball at the University of Tennessee and had a seven-year c ...

' of the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

gained 1,004 yards rushing in his rookie season in only 11 games. Since that time, Robinson became the second man to gain over 1,000 yards in his first year in professional football in the U.S., after

Cookie Gilchrist Carlton Chester "Cookie" Gilchrist (May 25, 1935 – January 10, 2011) was an American football fullback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was named the AFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) ...

did it for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

in 1962. Robinson and Feathers were the only rookies coming directly out of college to lead their leagues in rushing. Gilchrist came to the Bills after six years in the Canadian Football League. Robinson is the only running back in professional football history to gain over 1,000 yards in a season for a first-year expansion team. He was the 1968

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and ''

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'' AFL Rookie of the Year and finished second in the MVP voting to

Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943), nicknamed "Broadway Joe", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seaso ...

. He was named first team All-Pro by the

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, ''

'' and

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, among others. He was named to the 1968 and 1969 AFL All-Star Team, and led the 1968 Western AFL All-Star team to victory over the Eastern All-Stars, scoring two touchdowns. He also scored the first-ever Bengals regular-season touchdown on September 6, 1968. His two-yard run gave the Bengals a 7–0 lead over the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

at San Diego, although the Bengals lost 29–13. Robinson injured his knee the following off-season, and was never the same again. In his second season, 1969, he gained 489 yards in 160 attempts for a 3.1 yards-per-carry average and four touchdowns. He rebounded his third season, 1970, for 622 yards in 149 attempts for a 4.2 average and six touchdowns. In 1971, he gained 213 yards on 49 carries for a 4.3 average with one touchdown. In 1972, in four games with the Bengals, he gained 94 yards in 21 attempts, a 4.5 average. On October 24, 1972, he was traded along with running back Fred Willis to the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

for wide receiver

Charlie Joiner Charles Joiner Jr. (born October 14, 1947) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 18 seasons in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL), primarily with the San Diego Charger ...

and linebacker Ron Pritchard. For the Oilers, he played in eight games, gaining 355 yards on 86 attempts for a 4.1 average and three touchdowns. His final year in the NFL was 1973 for the Oilers, when he gained 151 yards on 34 attempts for a 4.4 average and two touchdowns. For his career, he gained 2,947 yards on 737 carries for a 4.0 average with 24 touchdowns. He caught 90 passes for 612 yards (a 6.8 average) for two touchdowns. He returned 40 kicks for 924 yards, a 23.1 average, and he returned two punts for one yard. In 1974, he played for the

Birmingham Americans The Birmingham Americans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the four-team Central Division of the World Football League (WFL). The Americans, founded in late December 1973, played in t ...

of the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

, where he helped the Americans win the WFL’s only championship game before the team folded during the offseason.Birmingham Americans history
at WorldFootballLeague.org

Personal life

Paul Robinson was married to the late Arlene (Hines) Robinson. They had three daughters and also a son, Paul Harvey "PJ" Robinson Jr., who died in 2009. His brother Cleo was also a high school hurdler at Marana, played on its first state champion football team, and later served as a football official for decades in the

Pac-12 conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

. Paul is also the

granduncle An uncle is usually defined as a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent, as well as the parent of the cousins. Uncles who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an un ...

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 ...

running back

Bijan Robinson Bijan Robinson ( ; born January 30, 2002) is an American professional football running back for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns, where he won the Doak Walker Award and ...

, Cleo's grandson, who gained 976 rushing yards in his rookie season (coming in fifth in rookie of the year voting), and 1,456 yards in his second season (2024), with 3,350 yards from scrimmage in two years. Robinson currently resides in

Safford, Arizona Safford (Western Apache language, Western Apache: Ichʼįʼ Nahiłtį́į́) is a city in Graham County, Arizona, Graham County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population of the city is 10,1 ...

. Robinson operated a nightclub in Safford, the Blue Magic, which had been the only black owned business in Safford. Before the club, he also did work in mines and was a substitute teacher. He served as an assistant coach at Eastern Arizona, and ultimately became a probation officer in

Graham County, Arizona Graham County is a county in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,533, making it the third-least populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Safford. Graham County composes the ...

. In 2007, he received the Pride of Safford Award from city officials. In 1991, Robinson was inducted into the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame.

References

External links