Bobby Joe Conrad—Three Names, One Fine Player
Following training camp in 1958 and two early preseason games, the Chicago Cardinals got a call from the New York Giants, looking to upgrade their defensive secondary. So head coach Pop Ivy, always the master at tinkering with his club, took a look at his roster and made a deal with the Giants.
Essentially, the clubs traded starting defensive backs—Lindon Crow to the Giants in exchange for Dick Nolan to the Cardinals—with an added twist. In addition to the Crow-for-Nolan deal, the Cardinals sent end and kicker Pat Summerall to the Giants, and in return Ivy would receive an interesting rookie draft pick, Bobby Joe Conrad of Texas A&M.
On paper it may have seemed like the Giants got the better end of the deal—an established defensive back and a pass receiver who also doubled as a kicker. But in true Ivy form, known for his intricate offenses and a coach who “thinks outside the box,” the Cardinal coach sensed something beyond the surface in Conrad, and his hunch proved correct!
The lanky Conrad hung on through the preseason and earned a roster spot. As a rookie defender, Conrad intercepted four passes, returned 19 punts for 129 yards, and was impressive as a kicker with six-of-17 field goals and 33-of 35 extra points for 51 points.
So maybe, just maybe, this fifth-rounder with two first names would stick around for a while, so let’s take a look at his roots.
Robert Joseph Conrad, born February 6, 1941, and started his football career along the banks of the Bosque River in Clifton, Texas. As an all-state quarterback, he guided the Clifton High School Cubs to district championships in 1952 and 1953 and during his senior season scored 207 points and led Clifton to the state semi-finals
Such a talent surely was destined to stay close to home at the college level, which he did at Texas A&M from 1955-57 under legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. Conrad played quarterback, halfback, fullback, and end for the Aggies and was a member of the school’s 1956 Southwest Conference championship team.
The professional arena caught its first glimpse of his talents in the 1958 College All-Star Game when he kicked four field goals and intercepted a pass in a 35-19 upset of the 1957 NFL Champion Detroit Lions.
Obviously, this kid had something extra, and Ivy was beginning to find it.
After his rookie season with the Cardinals, Conrad switched back to offense, a side of the football he handled superbly at Texas A&M. Joe Childress, a three-year veteran and returning starting halfback, was forced out of the lineup with a rib injury during the preseason and Conrad received his chance.
The home-opener would prove to be his coming out party. With Soldier Field hosting the Cardinals for their ’59 home schedule, 21,892 fans turned out for the Sunday afternoon contest.
The Cardinals held a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter, then pushed the lead to 14-0 after a perfect execution of one of Ivy’s patented double reverses. Conrad scored his first touchdown on a double handoff when quarterback King Hill handed the ball to running back John David Crow, who handed the ball to Conrad. The lanky sophomore burst through a seam between the left guard and tackle and roared 35 yards for a touchdown.
Later in the game, as the Cards enjoyed a 28-7 early in the third quarter, Conrad took a pitchout from Hill and scooted around left end 56 yards for the Cards’ fifth touchdown of the game. Later in the contest, reserve quarterback M.C. Reynolds saw action and found Conrad in the end zone for a five-yard scoring play.
When the final gun sounded, the Cards dusted the Redskins for a 49-21 victory. And though surprising to the Redskins and fans in attendance, but certainly not Card coach Pop Ivy, Conrad scored 25 points on three touchdowns and seven extra points as the Cardinals gained a whopping 569 yards on offense.
Cooper Rollow, revered writer for the Chicago Tribune, offered the following depiction:
“The Cards’ colorful double winged ‘T” attack drew repeated cheers from the Soldier Field assemblage as a succession of intricate handoffs, double reverses, and delayed pitch backs were employed with remarkable results.”
Conrad, who first wowed the football world with his amazing showing in the College All-Star Game, shrugged off his fine performance. “I was just lucky out there. Everything was done for me—great blocking and quarterbacking.”
Overall, in his first offensive game, Conrad scored 25 points on touchdown runs of 35 and 55 yards, caught a four-yard touchdown pass, and converted seven extra points—quite a debut!
Ivy then moved Conrad to flanker, and he became one of NFL’s leading pass receivers in the 1960s in addition to handling the placekicking duties his first three campaigns. In 11 seasons with the Cardinals, Conrad caught 418 passes for 5,828 yards with 38 touchdowns, including a stretch of catching a pass in 94 consecutive games and five straight games with a scoring catch.
At one four-year stretch from 1962-65, he caught 62, 73, 61, and 58 passes for over 3,500 yards and 25 touchdowns, highlighted by a 1963 season of a team-record 73 pass receptions for 967 yards and 10 touchdowns to lead the NFL. Conrad played in the 1965 Pro Bowl and was named team most-valuable-player in 1962 and 1965.
And through it all, Conrad did not miss a single contest in his 148-game Cardinal career and retired in 1969 as the third active receiver in the NFL behind Bobby Mitchell and Tommy McDonald—both eventual inductees to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Cardinal head coach Pop Ivy had a hunch about the kid with three names, and he was right!
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=2726
Following training camp in 1958 and two early preseason games, the Chicago Cardinals got a call from the New York Giants, looking to upgrade their defensive secondary. So head coach Pop Ivy, always the master at tinkering with his club, took a look at his roster and made a deal with the Giants.
Essentially, the clubs traded starting defensive backs—Lindon Crow to the Giants in exchange for Dick Nolan to the Cardinals—with an added twist. In addition to the Crow-for-Nolan deal, the Cardinals sent end and kicker Pat Summerall to the Giants, and in return Ivy would receive an interesting rookie draft pick, Bobby Joe Conrad of Texas A&M.
On paper it may have seemed like the Giants got the better end of the deal—an established defensive back and a pass receiver who also doubled as a kicker. But in true Ivy form, known for his intricate offenses and a coach who “thinks outside the box,” the Cardinal coach sensed something beyond the surface in Conrad, and his hunch proved correct!
The lanky Conrad hung on through the preseason and earned a roster spot. As a rookie defender, Conrad intercepted four passes, returned 19 punts for 129 yards, and was impressive as a kicker with six-of-17 field goals and 33-of 35 extra points for 51 points.
So maybe, just maybe, this fifth-rounder with two first names would stick around for a while, so let’s take a look at his roots.
Robert Joseph Conrad, born February 6, 1941, and started his football career along the banks of the Bosque River in Clifton, Texas. As an all-state quarterback, he guided the Clifton High School Cubs to district championships in 1952 and 1953 and during his senior season scored 207 points and led Clifton to the state semi-finals
Such a talent surely was destined to stay close to home at the college level, which he did at Texas A&M from 1955-57 under legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. Conrad played quarterback, halfback, fullback, and end for the Aggies and was a member of the school’s 1956 Southwest Conference championship team.
The professional arena caught its first glimpse of his talents in the 1958 College All-Star Game when he kicked four field goals and intercepted a pass in a 35-19 upset of the 1957 NFL Champion Detroit Lions.
Obviously, this kid had something extra, and Ivy was beginning to find it.
After his rookie season with the Cardinals, Conrad switched back to offense, a side of the football he handled superbly at Texas A&M. Joe Childress, a three-year veteran and returning starting halfback, was forced out of the lineup with a rib injury during the preseason and Conrad received his chance.
The home-opener would prove to be his coming out party. With Soldier Field hosting the Cardinals for their ’59 home schedule, 21,892 fans turned out for the Sunday afternoon contest.
The Cardinals held a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter, then pushed the lead to 14-0 after a perfect execution of one of Ivy’s patented double reverses. Conrad scored his first touchdown on a double handoff when quarterback King Hill handed the ball to running back John David Crow, who handed the ball to Conrad. The lanky sophomore burst through a seam between the left guard and tackle and roared 35 yards for a touchdown.
Later in the game, as the Cards enjoyed a 28-7 early in the third quarter, Conrad took a pitchout from Hill and scooted around left end 56 yards for the Cards’ fifth touchdown of the game. Later in the contest, reserve quarterback M.C. Reynolds saw action and found Conrad in the end zone for a five-yard scoring play.
When the final gun sounded, the Cards dusted the Redskins for a 49-21 victory. And though surprising to the Redskins and fans in attendance, but certainly not Card coach Pop Ivy, Conrad scored 25 points on three touchdowns and seven extra points as the Cardinals gained a whopping 569 yards on offense.
Cooper Rollow, revered writer for the Chicago Tribune, offered the following depiction:
“The Cards’ colorful double winged ‘T” attack drew repeated cheers from the Soldier Field assemblage as a succession of intricate handoffs, double reverses, and delayed pitch backs were employed with remarkable results.”
Conrad, who first wowed the football world with his amazing showing in the College All-Star Game, shrugged off his fine performance. “I was just lucky out there. Everything was done for me—great blocking and quarterbacking.”
Overall, in his first offensive game, Conrad scored 25 points on touchdown runs of 35 and 55 yards, caught a four-yard touchdown pass, and converted seven extra points—quite a debut!
Ivy then moved Conrad to flanker, and he became one of NFL’s leading pass receivers in the 1960s in addition to handling the placekicking duties his first three campaigns. In 11 seasons with the Cardinals, Conrad caught 418 passes for 5,828 yards with 38 touchdowns, including a stretch of catching a pass in 94 consecutive games and five straight games with a scoring catch.
At one four-year stretch from 1962-65, he caught 62, 73, 61, and 58 passes for over 3,500 yards and 25 touchdowns, highlighted by a 1963 season of a team-record 73 pass receptions for 967 yards and 10 touchdowns to lead the NFL. Conrad played in the 1965 Pro Bowl and was named team most-valuable-player in 1962 and 1965.
And through it all, Conrad did not miss a single contest in his 148-game Cardinal career and retired in 1969 as the third active receiver in the NFL behind Bobby Mitchell and Tommy McDonald—both eventual inductees to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Cardinal head coach Pop Ivy had a hunch about the kid with three names, and he was right!
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=2726
