Forgotten Superstars: Conrad Dobler

      An all-time favorite of mine passed away recently at the age of 72 in Pueblo Colorado, the self-professed "Dirtiest Player in the Game" Conrad Dobler.

Dobler had struggled with his health in recent years and his family has donated his brain to Boston University for their studies on CTE, a condition that cannot be definitely diagnosed until after death and is often linked to football players and other athletes that deal with contact injuries.

Conrad Dobler was the player that you loved if he played for your team and hated if he didn't and while his tactics on the field with his "questionable tactics" that he often referred to as "exploring a gray area"

Watching Dobler's "highlights" on the occasional NFL Films feature shows him doing one thing- anything in and outside the rulebook to keep his man from getting to the quarterback.

For all of Dobler's behavior on the field. when I would see Dobler speak, I always thought of Dobler embracing the image but not as a pure bad guy.

Instead, Dobler seemed to play the role of a Burt Reynoldsish lovable rogue that left you thinking that this was a pretty good guy that was also a rugged football player.

Dobler was selected as an All-Pro three times and was once referred to by teammate Dan Dierdorf as one of the best pass-blocking guards in the history of the game.

Dobler's feud with Merlin Olsen continued past their playing days with Olsen placing Dobler's name on a tombstone when Olsen was filming his television program "Father Murphy" as an inside joke.

Dobler once said that he caused Olsen to worry more about Dobler than about playing the game, causing Olsen to lose his poise and that's what bothered Olsen the most.

Conrad Dobler's tactics may have been questionable but you cannot deny that he made every team he played for better.

The St.Louis Cardinals won their only two division championships in their twenty-eight years when Conrad Dobler was protecting Jim Hart, the New Orleans Saints had their only .500 season in their first twenty-one seasons with Dobler, and the Buffalo Bills won a division title with Dobler on the offensive line.

After football, Dobler wrote a book "They Call Me Dirty", appeared in several Miller Beer commercials that parodied his on-field image, and would make appearances on the memorabilia show circuit, including signing a helmet in the TRS collection.

Dobler's post-football life wasn't all easy though as he would deal with the brain issues that so many players face, nine knee REPLACEMENTS ( not surgeries-replacements!). When his wife, Joy, fell out of a hammock, she would become a paraplegic requiring round-the-clock care and their combined medical costs would wipe out all of their savings.

Conrad Dobler may have been a controversial figure in football in the 1970s but he certainly was a memorable figure as well.

Cleaning out the inbox

The cleaning of the inbox continues as I offer notes from the sports world in this segment and soon will sift through the non-sports notes later in the week.

Former "dirtiest player in the game" Conrad Dobler shares his battles with health issues from the game with 7220Sports.com, which is a site that covers Wyoming sports.
Wyoming was the alma mater of Dobler and the long article discusses Dobler's college and pro career, the tragic accident suffered by his recently deceased wife in 2001 and his current cognitive issues along with how it affects his family.
It's a really interesting read about how football can leave you impaired, yet still, be willing to go back and do it all over again.

Retrosimba.com writes something that I had never heard before as they write that the then St.Louis Cardinals were twice offered Jim Brown for their running back of the time John David Crow.
Crow, who won the Heisman at Texas A&M in 1957, had rushed for over 1,000 yards in 1960, but still finished 200 yards behind Brown for the rushing title.
The supposed discussions were noted by various newspapers at the time as mentioned in the article and one of them was the good old Hagerstown Herald-Mail, who talked to Bears quarterback Billy Wade ( I have no idea how or why Wade would be chatting with the Herald-Mail) for his thoughts on the proposed trade.
Wade was quoted as saying the Cardinals made the right choice in turning the trade down and keeping Crow, which might have been why Billy Wade never ran an NFL front office.

The San Francisco Chronicle writes of the story of Giants announcer Mike Krukow and his service dog Patriot.
I've written before of the Giants TV team of Krukow, Duane Kuiper, and Amy Gutierrez playing a key role in my Giants fandom starting because they are so good at what they do and I've written of Krukow's condition, inclusion-body myositis and his susceptibility to falling in the past, but I've never mentioned Patriot as Krukow's service dog.
The story is mainly about Krukow and why he needs the help that Patriot provides, but there is plenty about the service program, how Patriot was trained and his integration into the Krukow family.
As for Gutierrez, she recently did an interview with "Sportsastoldbyagirl" and discusses her entrance into television, the ups and downs of being a female in a male-dominated business and her top memories covering the Giants.

The New York Times writes of the pain and problems that catchers receive (no pun intended) from foul tips that are diverted and smack off the facemask.
When you consider how hard pitchers throw in today's game and then mix in the speed from a swinging bat, the Times equates the impact of those foul tips to taking a punch from a strong boxer.
An interesting point was comparing catchers to other sports players, who can return to the game if removed for an injury, while catchers cannot.
That's very true and the article mentioned that baseball had considered a rule that would allow a catcher to leave the game under those conditions and return later if the player would be judged to be fine after an evaluation.

ESPN writes of the continuing decline in fighting in the NHL.
Between the changes in the style of the game and players that were once kept on the roster to be an enforcer are no longer able to be kept on a roster because the luxury of a one-dimensional player doesn't exist in making a roster in today's game, fighting penalties have and will likely continue to fall over the next few years.
Fighting at the junior hockey level has decreased even more due to rules that lead to suspensions for players that fight more than a certain amount and perhaps that reason alone will continue to see fighting lessen as players learn to play hockey without having to fight.
I miss fighting, always enjoyed it, but it's not a mandatory part of the game and I can live without it, as it dries up as time goes by.

We wrap up with The Athletic's article on the 1994 Indians and how they lost a shot at a playoff run due to the strike that canceled the postseason and ended what would have been the Indians first playoff berth since 1959.
The Indians were almost sure to be the wild-card team and with only a one game deficit between the Indians and first place Chicago in the Central Division, the Indians could have easily won the division.
Still, the young players that led the 1994 Indians into contention, would be the same players that took Cleveland to the 1995 World Series and their development was the biggest part of that and the ensuing playoff contenders in the late 90s.

Lots of notes finished but plenty still to go and the next cleaning will be from the non-sports side!