Robin Cole (born September 11, 1955) is a former professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

player. He was the seventh of ten children born to Obediah and Georgia Mae Cole. He attended high school at Compton High, graduating in 1973. He furthered his education at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25, ...

where he became an All American and the first person to be a first round draft pick out of the University. He was drafted by 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 club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

, the 21st pick in the first round of the draft. At Pittsburgh, he was a part of the Steel Curtain defense, replacing Andy Russell as right outside linebacker. He played

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

and defensive end for twelve seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played in two Super Bowls -

Super Bowl XIII Super Bowl XIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

and

Super Bowl XIV Super Bowl XIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

. Mr. Cole was in the starting lineup in Super Bowl XIV in 1980 and was elected to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

in 1984. He was runner up for MVP in Super Bowl XIV. He played one season, 1988, with the New York Jets. Mr. Cole's presentations focus on issues important to corporate groups, business sales teams, sports teams, churches, schools and prisons. He has been a keynote speaker and emcee for many events. Mr. Cole is an entrepreneur and trained at the Ford Motor Institute to be a dealer. In addition, he has served on several charitable boards, including the

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and death ...

The March of Dimes March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to comba ...

, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and others. He is a lifetime member of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

. Cole is the co-founder and president of the Robin Cole Foundation. He is the father of five children and grandfather of six. He lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife, Judith, and their daughter, Mya.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
Players of American football from Los Angeles American football linebackers New Mexico Lobos football players Pittsburgh Steelers players New York Jets players American Conference Pro Bowl players 1955 births Living people Compton High School alumni {{linebacker-1950s-stub