Virgil I. Robinson Jr. (born November 2, 1947, in

Inverness, Mississippi Inverness is a town in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,019 at the 2010 census. As the town had the largest cotton gin in the Delta, it served as a gathering place for farmers from the region when they brought th ...

) is a former

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 ...

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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. He also was a member of the Houston Texans /

Shreveport Steamer The Shreveport Steamer were a professional American football team in the World Football League. The franchise began the 1974 season in Houston, Texas, as the Houston Texans (no connection to the current NFL team of the same name), playing the ...

in the World Football League. He played college football at

Grambling State University Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African American Herita ...

Early years

Robinson attended

L.B. Landry High School LB, lb or lb. may refer to: Businesses and organizations * L Brands, an American clothing retailer * Lane Bryant, a plus-size clothing retailer * Laurier Brantford, a satellite campus of Wilfrid Laurier University in Brantford, Ontario, Canada * ...

. He accepted a football scholarship from

. He was Grambling's leading rusher in 1970, with 884 yards. That same year, he was named a first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference running back.

Professional career

Robinson was selected by

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 club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

in the 2nd round (46th overall) of the

1971 NFL Draft The 1971 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1971, at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City, New York. The Boston Patriots, who did not officially change their name to New England Patriots until after the draft, used th ...

. The Packers acquired that draft pick from the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...

in exchange for running back Travis Williams and a 4th round draft pick. Despite being their 2nd round draft choice, he was cut by the Packers before the 1971 season after attempts to use him at both running back and cornerback during preseason. The

then signed him off waivers. He played for the Saints as a running back and kick returner in 1971 and 1972. He was placed on the Saints'

taxi squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

after playing 3 games in 1972. He signed with 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 ...

before the 1973 season but quit the team before playing a regular season game for them. In March 1974, he was selected by the

Jacksonville Sharks The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional Indoor American football, indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Beginning in 2017, the Sharks began play as charter members o ...

in the first round (5th overall) of the WFL Pro Draft. He was later traded to the Houston Texans, which would become the

. Robinson ran for 647 yards in his career on 189 attempts, scoring 3 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 27 passes for 156 yards and 1 receiving touchdowns.

Post-football life

Robinson was named to the Grambling Legends Hall of Fame in 2016. Sean Isabella, "Grambling Legends return to help induct 2016 class", The ''News-Star'', July 9, 2016. Available online: https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/sports/college/louisiana-tech/2016/07/08/grambling-legends-return-help-induct-2016-class/86873004/ / Retrieved February 20, 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Virgil Players of American football from Mississippi 1947 births Living people People from Inverness, Mississippi Grambling State Tigers football players New Orleans Saints players Houston Texans (WFL) players Shreveport Steamer players