Reggie Roby
Encyclopedia
Reginald Henry "Reggie" Roby (July 30, 1961 – February 22, 2005) was an American football
punter in the National Football League
and a three-time Pro Bowl
er. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins
in the sixth round of the 1983 NFL Draft
out of the University of Iowa
. He also played for the Washington Redskins
, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
, the Houston/Tennessee Oilers
, and the San Francisco 49ers
, retiring in 1999 after 16 seasons. Roby, who was also a standout pitcher
on the Waterloo East High School
team, was drafted by Major League Baseball's
Cincinnati Reds
. Roby instead chose to attend college. Despite the fact that he had experience at quarterback
and possessed a strong arm, Iowa Hawkeyes
head coach Hayden Fry
made the 6'-4", 250 pound Roby a punter and kick off specialist, also using him for long range field goals.
Roby helped popularize the now-standard two-step approach and often wore a watch to gauge his hangtime.
He was one of a handful of African American
kickers in National Football League history.
Reggie Roby died of unrevealed causes at his Nashville
home.
championship with Ohio State
. Roby set an NCAA
season record with a 49.8-yard average. In 1982, he led the nation with a 48.1-yard average. His career average of 45.4 yards ranks among college football's
best and is still a school record.
Reggie was also given the kick off duties and routinely kicked the ball through the uprights at Iowa, a total of 26 times. He was 28-34 for PAT's and was 11-27 in FG attempts, mostly from long range.
, Roby punted the ball a team record 77 yards, but the punt was returned 70 yards. He completed the only pass attempt of his career, a 48-yarder to John Booty
in 1995. Roby was selected as a punter for the NFL's 1980s All-Decade Team.
Roby played sixteen seasons in the NFL and had 992 punts for 42,951 yards. His career yards per punt average was 43.3, with a net average of 34.0. He had 298 punts beyond the 20-yard line and 112 touchbacks
.
In 1993, Roby's financial difficulties led to him filing for bankruptcy
. The Miami Dolphins had cut him after the 1992 season largely because a corollary of this filing would have meant he could have become a free agent and left Miami at any point of the following season, but he continued to play professionally until 1998 and later became marketing and development director for Backfield in Motion, a non-profit group mixing athletics and academics to help inner city boys.
in their Nashville home. To date, the cause of death remains unannounced. He left behind six children, Brittany, Bry, Julian, Dominic, Sophia, and Jovita.
In the days after his death, former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula
praised Reggie Roby: "He was an outstanding punter for us and his booming kicks often helped us win the field position battle".
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
punter in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
and a three-time Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
er. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the sixth round of the 1983 NFL Draft
1983 NFL Draft
The 1983 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983...
out of the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
. He also played for the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
, the Houston/Tennessee Oilers
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
, and the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, retiring in 1999 after 16 seasons. Roby, who was also a standout pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
on the Waterloo East High School
Waterloo East High School
East High School in Waterloo, Iowa is a public high school consisting of approximately 1300 students in grades 9-12.- History :The school was originally founded at its current site in 1874, with the present building being built in 1918. In 1939, the Music and Industrial Arts wing was added, and...
team, was drafted by Major League Baseball's
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
. Roby instead chose to attend college. Despite the fact that he had experience at quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
and possessed a strong arm, Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa Hawkeyes football
The Iowa Hawkeyes football team is the interscholastic football team at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have competed in the Big Ten Conference since 1900, and are currently a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
head coach Hayden Fry
Hayden Fry
John Hayden Fry is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Southern Methodist University , North Texas State University, now the University of North Texas , and the University of Iowa , compiling a career college football record of 232–178–10...
made the 6'-4", 250 pound Roby a punter and kick off specialist, also using him for long range field goals.
Roby helped popularize the now-standard two-step approach and often wore a watch to gauge his hangtime.
He was one of a handful of African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
kickers in National Football League history.
Reggie Roby died of unrevealed causes at his Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
home.
College career
Before Reggie Roby arrived, the University of Iowa football team had not had a winning season in twenty years. With Roby, the 1981 team earned its first Rose Bowl invitation in twenty-three years on the strength of a 6-2 conference record (8-4 overall) and co-Big TenBig Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
championship with Ohio State
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
. Roby set an NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
season record with a 49.8-yard average. In 1982, he led the nation with a 48.1-yard average. His career average of 45.4 yards ranks among college football's
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
best and is still a school record.
Reggie was also given the kick off duties and routinely kicked the ball through the uprights at Iowa, a total of 26 times. He was 28-34 for PAT's and was 11-27 in FG attempts, mostly from long range.
Professional career
As a professional, his 38.7 net average led the league in 1986, and his 45.7 average yards led the NFL in 1991, and he set a Pro Bowl record with 10 punts in the 1985 game. His 58.5-yard single-game average on September 28, 1986 remains a Dolphin team record. At Rich StadiumRalph Wilson Stadium
Ralph Wilson Stadium is a football stadium, located in the town of Orchard Park, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. It is the home for the Buffalo Bills, of the NFL...
, Roby punted the ball a team record 77 yards, but the punt was returned 70 yards. He completed the only pass attempt of his career, a 48-yarder to John Booty
John Booty (defensive back)
John Fitzgerald Booty is a former American football defensive back in the National Football League for the New York Jets, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Phoenix Cardinals, the New York Giants, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers...
in 1995. Roby was selected as a punter for the NFL's 1980s All-Decade Team.
Roby played sixteen seasons in the NFL and had 992 punts for 42,951 yards. His career yards per punt average was 43.3, with a net average of 34.0. He had 298 punts beyond the 20-yard line and 112 touchbacks
Touchback
In American football, a touchback is a ruling which is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead behind or above a goal line and the team who is attacking that goal line is responsible for the ball being there. Responsibility is determined by which team gave the ball the impetus...
.
In 1993, Roby's financial difficulties led to him filing for bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. The Miami Dolphins had cut him after the 1992 season largely because a corollary of this filing would have meant he could have become a free agent and left Miami at any point of the following season, but he continued to play professionally until 1998 and later became marketing and development director for Backfield in Motion, a non-profit group mixing athletics and academics to help inner city boys.
Death
On February 22, 2005, Reggie Roby's wife, Melissa, found him without a pulsePulse
In medicine, one's pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the heartbeat by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed against a bone, such as at the neck , at the wrist , behind the knee , on the inside of the elbow , and near the...
in their Nashville home. To date, the cause of death remains unannounced. He left behind six children, Brittany, Bry, Julian, Dominic, Sophia, and Jovita.
In the days after his death, former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula
Don Shula
Donald Francis "Don" Shula is a former American football cornerback and coach.He is best known as coach of the Miami Dolphins, the team he led to two Super Bowl victories, and to the National Football League's only perfect season. Shula was named 1993 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated....
praised Reggie Roby: "He was an outstanding punter for us and his booming kicks often helped us win the field position battle".