Conrad Dobler obit

Former Cardinals Pro Bowl Guard Conrad Dobler Passes Away

Was part of offensive line that allowed just eight sacks in entire 1975 season

 

He was not on the list.

Former Cardinals guard Conrad Dobler, who embraced his reputation as Sports Illustrated once wrote as the "NFL's dirtiest player" even as it overshadowed his excellence as a Pro Bowler, passed away Monday at the age of 72.

Dobler told SI in the famous article that "I'll do anything I can get away with to protect my quarterback," and that brought him success on a Cardinals offensive line that set records in keeping quarterback Jim Hart from being sacked very often in the mid-1970s.

Dobler was a fifth-round pick of the Cardinals in 1972 and actually released at the end of the preseason before being re-signed three games into the season. From there, Dobler used the motivation of feeling disrespected to carve out a 10-year career, including the first six with the Cardinals. He also played with the Saints and Bills.

"Our hearts go out to the family, friends and former teammates of Conrad Dobler," Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said. "He was the kind of tough, physical and fierce player that you love to line up with as a teammate and hate to line up against as an opponent. On the field, Conrad was a big reason for the success of the Cardiac Cards of the 1970s. Away from it, he brought authentic joy and caring to everyone who had the privilege of being his friend and that is what I will remember most."

Dobler was a Pro Bowler from 1975-77, and started 77 of 80 games with the Cardinals. The offensive line allowed only eight sacks the entire 1975 season, a remarkable record, and just 40 total in his three Pro Bowl seasons.

Dobler was a key member of the Cardinals' teams that won at least 10 games from 1974-76 under Hall of Fame coach Don Coryell. He also leaned into his persona in famous beer commercials after his career was over.

After playing college football at the University of Wyoming, Dobler was selected in the fifth round of the 1972 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. He played right offensive guard for the Cardinals from 1972 to 1977, next to hall-of-famer Dan Dierdorf at right tackle. In those years, the Cardinals had solid offensive lines, especially for pass blocking; they allowed just eight sacks in 1975, then a record (though helped by quick releases from quarterback Jim Hart). Dobler was an important cog of this success, making three consecutive Pro Bowl appearances from 1975 to 1977.

Dobler quickly developed a reputation as a nasty player, and he did little to tone down that image. On the contrary, he seemed to revel in it, probably believing that this would intimidate some defensive players, as indicated by the following quote: "I see defensive linemen jump to knock a pass down. When that happened near me, I'd smack 'em in the solar plexus, and that got their hands down real quick." As sportswriter Paul Zimmerman said: "Conrad Dobler was mean dirty. He tried to hurt people in a bad way...he made teams that he played on better. He played hurt, didn't complain, but he was a filthy, filthy player." He made the cover of Sports Illustrated, who heralded Dobler as "Pro Football's Dirtiest Player".

obler, known for such transgressions as punching Joe Greene, spitting on a downed and injured Bill Bergey, and kicking Merlin Olsen in the head, parodied his image in a Miller Lite beer commercial by getting a section of fans to argue about why they drank the beer. Olsen gained a measure of symbolic revenge by placing Dobler's name on a headstone in a scene from Olsen's TV series Father Murphy. NFL Films placed Dobler's conflicts with Bergey as #9 on the NFL Top 10 list of feuds.

Dobler paid a high price for his NFL career, suffering through numerous operations to repair his battered body. Disabled, Dobler underwent nine knee replacements. Still in need of further surgeries, Dobler, like many other disabled pro football veterans, was unable to gain disability assistance from the NFL.

On April 5, 2007, The Buffalo News reported that as a result of falling out of a hammock in 2001, Dobler's wife Joy became a paraplegic. Substantial medical bills for Joy's care put the Dobler family in such financial hardship that they could no longer pay for their daughter Holli or their son Stephen to attend college. Champion golfer and philanthropist Phil Mickelson heard of the situation on ESPN and volunteered to pay for Holli's education at Miami University and Stephen's at the University of Kansas. On June 21, 2018, Dobler was enshrined into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in Troy, Michigan.

Career history

 

    St. Louis Cardinals (1972–1977)

    New Orleans Saints (1978–1979)

    Buffalo Bills (1980–1981)

 

Career highlights and awards

 

    Second-team All-Pro (1976)

    3× Pro Bowl (1975–1977)

 

Career NFL statistics

Games played:  129

Touchdowns:     1

Fumble recoveries:         9