Reggie Roby

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Reggie Roby

Date of birth	July 30, 1961
Place of birth	Waterloo, Iowa
Date of death	February 22, 2005 (age 43)
Place of death	Nashville, Tennessee
Position(s)	Punter
College	Iowa
NFL Draft	1983 / Round 6/ Pick 167
Career Highlights
Pro Bowls	3
Honors	NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
Stats
Statistics	DatabaseFootball ESPN
Team(s)
1983-1992 1993-1994 1995 1996-1997 1998	Miami Dolphins Washington Redskins Tampa Bay Buccaneers Houston/Tennessee Oilers San Francisco 49ers

Reginald Henry Roby (July 30, 1961 — February 22, 2005), was an American-born National Football League punter and a three-time Pro Bowler. 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 head coach Hayden Fry made the 6'-4", 250 pound Roby a punter exclusively.

1 College career
2 Professional career
3 Death
4 Legacy
5 Family
6 External links

[edit] College career

Before he arrived, the Iowa Hawkeyes football squad had not had a winning season in 20 years. With Roby, the 1981 team earned its first Rose Bowl invitation in 23 years on the strength of being co-Big Ten champions 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.

[edit] 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 Stadium, 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 Josh Booty in 1995. Roby was selected as a punter for the NFL's 1980s All-Decade Team.

Roby finished his 16 NFL seasons with 992 punts for 42,951 yards, with 298 punts in the 20 and 112 touchbacks. His career yards per punt average was 43.3, with a net average of 34.0.

In 1993, Roby's financial difficulties led to him filing for bankruptcy, but he rebounded and later became marketing and development director for Backfield in Motion, a non-profit group mixing athletics and academics to help inner city boys.

Reggie Roby helped popularize the now-standard two-step approach, and often wore a watch to gauge his hangtime.

[edit] Death

On February 22, 2005, Roby was found at his Nashville, Tennessee home without a pulse by his wife, Melissa. To date, the cause of death remains unannounced, but it is speculated that it was a heart attack. He left behind six children.

In the days after Roby's 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."

[edit] Legacy

Arguably, one of Roby's few peers as an NFL punter was Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders legend Ray Guy. Like Roby, Guy was also a standout baseball player drafted as a pitcher — coincidentally by the Cincinnati Reds. In Guy's case, he was drafted twice by the Reds and also by the Kansas City Royals and the Atlanta Braves. Their careers overlapped for three seasons. Many pundits and fans believe that both Reggie Roby and Ray Guy are worthy of induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.