Virgil I. Robinson Jr. (born November 2, 1947) is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints. He also was a member of the Houston Texans / Shreveport Steamer in the World Football League. He played college football at Grambling State University.
| No. 46, 47 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Running back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | November 2, 1947 Inverness, Mississippi, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | L.B. Landry (Algiers, New Orleans), Louisiana | ||||||||
| College: | Grambling State | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1971 / round: 2 / pick: 46 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Early years
editRobinson attended L.B. Landry High School. He accepted a football scholarship from Grambling State University. He was Grambling's leading rusher in 1970, with 884 yards. That same year, he was named a first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference running back.[1]
Professional career
editRobinson was selected by Green Bay Packers in the 2nd round (46th overall) of the 1971 NFL draft. The Packers acquired that draft pick from the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for running back Travis Williams and a 4th round draft pick.[2] Despite being their 2nd round draft choice, he was cut by the Packers before the 1971 season after attempts to use him at both running back and cornerback during preseason.[3] The New Orleans Saints then signed him off waivers.[4] He played for the Saints as a running back and kick returner in 1971 and 1972. He was placed on the Saints' taxi squad after playing 3 games in 1972.[5] He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers before the 1973 season but quit the team before playing a regular season game for them.[5][6][7][8]
In March 1974, he was selected by the Jacksonville Sharks in the first round (5th overall) of the WFL Pro Draft. He was later traded to the Houston Texans, which would become the Shreveport Steamer. Robinson ran for 647 yards in his career on 189 attempts, scoring 3 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 27 passes for 156 yards and 1 receiving touchdowns.[9][10][11][12]
Post-football life
editRobinson was named to the Grambling Legends Hall of Fame in 2016.[13]
References
edit- ^ Nick DeRiso, "G-RIFFIC TALENT", April 17, 2006. The News-Star. As posted on Grambling Story Archive, 2006. Available online: http://gramblingfootball.blogspot.com/2006/08/gramblings-80-years-of-football.html . Retrieved February 20, 2021.
- ^ "Green Bay Swaps Williams". The Pocono Record. January 29, 1971. p. 15. Retrieved January 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Remmel, Lee (September 14, 1971). "9 Rookies and 9 Second-Year Men Survive Packers' Final Cut". The Post-Crescent. pp. B6–B7. Retrieved January 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Karras a 'Free' Agent'". The Racine Journal Times. September 16, 1971. p. C1. Retrieved January 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Steelers Sign Virgil Robinson". The Post Crescent. March 31, 1973. p. B3. Retrieved January 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Livingston, Pat (April 25, 1973). "Enter 'The Flyer'". Pittsburgh Press. p. 66. Retrieved January 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Defense Prevails". The Evening Standard. July 30, 1973. p. 16. Retrieved January 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Musick, Phil (August 26, 1973). "Camp of Dreams and Nightmares". The Pittsburgh Press. p. D5. Retrieved January 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Virgil Robinson Statistics on JustSportsStats.com".
- ^ "Virgil Robinson - The Pro Football Archives".
- ^ "Virgil Robinson".
- ^ "Office of the Governor, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, State of Louisiana - VIRGIL ROBINSON, JR".
- ^ Sean Isabella, "Grambling Legends return to help induct 2016 class", The News-Star, July 9, 2016. Available online: https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/sports/college/louisiana-tech/2016/07/08/grambling-legends-return-help-induct-2016-class/86873004/ / Retrieved February 20, 2021.