Robert Bleier

  b. 1946 | American football player

At The Bottom

— 1969

Bleier could barely comprehend the damage he'd sustained to the bones, tendons and muscles of his right foot.

The bullet tore through Rocky Bleier’s left thigh, and he collapsed in a heap just before a grenade blast ripped into him.  Writhing in agony in a Vietnamese rice paddy, Bleier could barely comprehend the damage he’d sustained to the bones, tendons and muscles of his right foot.  After he was rescued and evacuated to Thailand, the doctors who treated him were unsure if he’d ever be able to walk normally. One thing was certain:  The rookie running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers was finished as a professional football player.  He’d been drafted with less than two months to go in his first season in the American Football League, and though he would only rush for 39 yards on six carries that year, Bleier expected to play a bigger role on the team the next year.  During his college years at Notre Dame, he had been a team leader and helped lead the Fighting Irish to a National Championship in 1966.  Along the way, the gritty son of a Wisconsin tavern owner had come back from knee surgery to serve as captain during his senior season.  Now, however, his playing days were over — there would be no coming back from this.