Bobby Joe Conrad

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Bobby Joe Conrad
No. 40
PositionsWide receiver
Defensive back
Halfback
Placekicker
Personal information
Born (1935-11-17) November 17, 1935 (age 89)
Clifton, Texas, U.S.
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight194 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High schoolClifton
CollegeTexas A&M
NFL draft1958: 5th round, 58th overall pick
Career history
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Awards and highlights
Career NFL statistics
Receptions422
Receiving yards5,902
Receiving touchdowns38
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Bobby Joe Conrad (born November 17, 1935) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies.

Early years

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Conrad was born on November 17, 1935, in Clifton, Texas.[1] He attended Clifton High School, where he was an All-State quarterback, while leading the team to back-to-back District Championships in 1952 and 1953.[2] He was the first player from Clifton High to be named All-State. He was also named All-District and District Most Valuable Player both of those years.[3] As a senior, he scored 207 points and took Clifton to the state semifinals where they lost to the eventual state champion Ranger High School.[2] In 2006, he was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame.[3]

College football

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He accepted a football scholarship from Texas A&M University to play under head coach Bear Bryant. He was a two-way player at halfback and end, although he also played quarterback and fullback.[3] He never was a full-time starter,[citation needed] and was a member of the school's 1956 SWC Championship team.[2][3]

During his college career (1955-57), Conrad had a 4.9 yards per carry rushing average, in 106 attempts.[4] One of his teammates was 1957 Heisman Trophy winner John David Crow, who had 1,465 yards in 295 attempts over the same period.[5][6][7] He and Crow would go on to play as teammates in the NFL from 1958-64.[8][1]

Conrad participated in the 1958 Chicago College All-Star Game and although he had never attempted a kick in college, he was able to make 4 field goals, 3 conversions, set the game scoring record with 15 points and also intercepted one pass in the 35–19 upset of the 1957 NFL Champion Detroit Lions.[9][10][2][11]

In 1976, he was inducted into the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame.[12] In 2002, he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.[13][2]

Professional career

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New York Giants

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The New York Giants traded for the Baltimore Colts fifth round draft pick in 1958, and then selected Conrad in the fifth round (58th overall) of the 1958 NFL draft.[14][6] On May 10, he was traded along with safety Dick Nolan to the Chicago Cardinals, in exchange for End Pat Summerall and halfback Lindon Crow.[15]

Chicago / St. Louis Cardinals

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In 1958 as a rookie, he was a starter at defensive back and had 4 interceptions and one fumble recovered. Three of his interceptions came in a single game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and quarterback Bobby Layne. On special teams, he made 6 out of 17 field goals and returned 19 punts for 129 yards (6.8-yard average).[1][6]

In 1959, he was moved to the backfield with college teammate John David Crow. He had 74 carries for 328 yards (including a 56-yard run on September 27, 1959), 14 receptions for 142 yards, 6 touchdowns, made 6 out of 9 field goals, 18 kickoff returns for 388 yards and 16 punt returns for 133 yards (8.3-yard average).[1] On September 27, 1959, he rushed for 140 yards on only 11 carries, with two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown.[16]

In 1961, he was moved to flanker pairing him with Sonny Randle,[17] while registering 30 receptions for 499 yards and 2 touchdowns.[1] In 1962, he collected 62 receptions (third in the league) for 954 yards (ninth in the league) and 4 touchdowns.[1][18]

In 1963, he led the league with 73 receptions and received All-NFL honors, being named first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI), and second-team All-Pro by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA). He also had 967 receiving yards (sixth in the league) and 10 touchdowns.[19][20][1]

In 1964, he posted 61 receptions (fourth in the league) for 780 yards and 6 touchdowns, receiving Pro Bowl honors. The UPI named him second-team All Pro.[21][1][22] In 1965, he had 58 receptions for 909 yards and 5 touchdowns.[1]

On June 26, 1969, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a fifth round draft choice (No. 127-Barry Pierson).[23][24]

He left as the seventh all-time pass receiver in the NFL with 422 receptions (418 with the Cardinals) and had a string of 148 consecutive games played. He was the Cardinals all-time leading receiver at the time he was traded.[1][23] After believing he came within a game of breaking Don Hutson's NFL record for consecutive games with a reception, it was discovered that Don Hutson's record was counted erroneously. Conrad set the record for most consecutive games with a reception; 94 contests from 1961 to 1968.[25]

He is considered one of the top Cardinals receivers in the team's over 100-year history, and one of its 100 greatest players.[26][27]

Dallas Cowboys

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On September 20, 1969, the Dallas Cowboys put injured wide receiver Bob Hayes on the "move list" and activated Conrad.[28] He played in 8 games, recording 4 receptions for 74 yards.[1]

NFL career statistics

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Legend
Led the league
Bold Career high
Year Team Games Receiving
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
1959 CRD 12 12 14 142 10.1 25 3
1960 STL 12 4 7 103 14.7 24 0
1961 STL 14 13 30 499 16.6 50 2
1962 STL 14 14 62 954 15.4 72 4
1963 STL 14 14 73 967 13.2 48 10
1964 STL 14 14 61 780 12.8 53 6
1965 STL 14 14 58 909 15.7 71 5
1966 STL 14 14 34 388 11.4 40 2
1967 STL 14 14 47 637 13.6 53 2
1968 STL 14 14 32 449 14.0 80 4
1969 DAL 8 0 4 74 18.5 34 0
156 135 422 5,902 14.0 80 38

Personal life

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He moved back to Clifton after retiring, and worked for the Federal Land Bank, Farmers Home Administration and/or the Texas Land Bank. He was also a judge in Bosque County for eight years.[6][23]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Bobby Joe Conrad Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Bobby Joe Conrad". Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d "Texas High School Football Hall of Fame Inductees: Bobby Joe Conrad". www.texasfootball.com. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  4. ^ "Bobby Joe Conrad College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  5. ^ "John David Crow". Heisman. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d Troup, T. J. (2007). ""I WAS A 3rd DOWN MAN"". The Coffin Corner. 29 (5): 7–10.
  7. ^ "John David Crow College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  8. ^ "John David Crow Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  9. ^ "WONDERFUL WORLD OF SPORT". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 9, no. 8. August 25, 1958.
  10. ^ Johnson, Chuck (August 16, 1958). "Grid All-Stars slay inept Detroit Lions". Milwaukee Journal. p. 12.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ "Throwback Thursday - Great Moments in All-Star History". www.cfbhall.com. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  12. ^ "Bobby Conrad (1976) - Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame". Texas A&M Athletics - 12thMan.com. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  13. ^ "Texas Sports Hall of Fame Inductee List". Archived from the original on April 7, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  14. ^ "1958 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  15. ^ "Grid Giants, Cards Trade Four Players (Pittsburgh Press)". May 11, 1958. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  16. ^ "Washington Redskins at Chicago Cardinals - September 27th, 1959". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  17. ^ "1961 St. Louis Cardinals Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  18. ^ "1962 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  19. ^ "1963 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  20. ^ "1963 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  21. ^ "1964 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  22. ^ "1964 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  23. ^ a b c Underwood, Bob (November 17, 2022). "Forgotten Big Red Stars: Bobby Joe Conrad". THE BIG RED ZONE. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  24. ^ "1970 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  25. ^ Hudson, Maryann. "Receiver’s 94-Game Streak Was a Mere Slip of the Pen," Los Angeles Times, Tuesday, December 24, 1991. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  26. ^ Harner, Andrew (October 28, 2020). "Best Wide Receivers in Arizona Cardinals History". SI. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  27. ^ Staff. "Arizona Cardinals' Top 100 players of all-time". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  28. ^ Oneonta Star. September 22, 1969. p. 16. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
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