Reggie Roby

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Reggie Roby
Punter
Personal information
Born:(1961-07-30)July 30, 1961
Waterloo, Iowa, U.S.
Died:February 22, 2005(2005-02-22) (aged 43)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:258 lb (117 kg)
Career information
College:Iowa
NFL draft:1983 / Round: 6 / Pick: 167
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Punts:992
Punting yards:42,951
Punting average:43.3
Player stats at NFL.com

Reginald Henry Roby (July 30, 1961 – February 22, 2005) was an American professional

Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston/Tennessee Oilers, and San Francisco 49ers of the NFL.[1] Roby died of a heart attack at his Nashville
home in 2005.

Early years

Roby was born in Waterloo, Iowa. In addition to playing high school football, he was also a standout pitcher on the Waterloo East High School baseball team, and was drafted by Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds. Instead, he chose to attend college.

College career

Roby attended the

Rose Bowl invitation in 23 years on the strength of a 6-2 conference record (8-4 overall) and co-Big Ten 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.

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

John Booty in 1995. Roby was selected as a punter for the NFL's 1980s All-Decade Team. In the Dolphins 1992 divisional round 31–0 win over the San Diego Chargers, he planted 4 of his 8 punts inside the Chargers 20-yard line, including 3 inside the 7. Roby played in Super Bowl XIX with the Dolphins, though he had a below average day, averaging just 39.3 yards per kick and failing to put any of his 7 punts inside the 20. "I was trying to kill the ball, and I kicked it bad", said Roby after the game. "I didn't hit one well. I was scared -- scared to make a mistake. It was the worst game of my life, counting high school, college, counting everything." Dolphins coach Don Shula said following the game "We're supposed to have the best punter in the football, but today, he didn't punt like he was the best."[2] However, it is notable that despite Miami's #1 ranked offense during the 1984 season, which set numerous NFL records, he still made the Pro Bowl
that year.

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

African American
kickers in National Football League history. He was one of the only kickers, to this day, to punt the ball without jumping.

In 1993, Roby's financial difficulties led to his 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.

Career statistics

Legend
Led the league
Bold Career high
Regular season
General Punting
Season Team GP Punts Yards Y/P Net In20 TB
1983 MIA 16 74 3,189 43.1 36.5 26 11
1984 MIA 16 51 2,281 44.7 38.1 15 10
1985 MIA 16 59 2,576 43.7 34.7 19 8
1986 MIA 15 56 2,476 44.2 37.4 13 9
1987 MIA 10 32 1,371 42.8 38.2 8 3
1988 MIA 15 64 2,754 43.0 35.2 18 9
1989 MIA 16 58 2,458 42.4 35.3 18 6
1990 MIA 16 72 3,022 42.0 35.6 20 3
1991 MIA 16 54 2,466 45.7 36.4 17 7
1992 MIA 9 35 1,443 41.2 34.3 11 3
1993 WAS 15 78 3,447 44.2 37.2 25 10
1994 WAS 16 82 3,639 44.4 36.1 21 12
1995 TB 16 77 3,296 42.8 36.2 23 7
1996 HOU 16 67 2,973 44.4 38.0 25 7
1997 TEN 16 73 3,049 41.8 35.6 25 1
1998 SF 14 60 2,511 41.9 34.3 14 6
Career 238 992 42,951 43.3 36.2 298 112

Death

On February 22, 2005, Roby's son, Julian, found him without a pulse in their Nashville home. The cause of death, although not officially reported, was believed to be a heart attack. He left behind four children and his wife Melissa.[4]

In the days after his death, former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula praised Reggie Roby, saying "his booming kicks often helped us win the field position battle."[5]

References

  1. ^ "Reggie Roby Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  2. ^ "CNNSI.com - Super Bowl Archives". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2003.
  3. ^ Cause of death unknown - NFL - ESPN
  4. ^ "Former Punter Roby Dies at 43". Washington Post. February 23, 2005. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  5. ^ Flalkov, Harvey (February 23, 2005). "Reggie Roby: Former Dolphin dead at 43". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
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