Bob Kuechenberg
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| Position: | Guard | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | October 14, 1947 Gary, Indiana | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| College: | Notre Dame | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 1969 / Round: 4 / Pick: 80 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 1983 | |||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||
Robert John Kuechenberg (born October 14, 1947 in Gary, Indiana) is a former National Football League offensive lineman for the Miami Dolphins for fourteen seasons between 1970 and 1983, spending the 1984 season on injured reserve. He was a mainstay in a line that included Hall of Famers Jim Langer, Larry Little, and Dwight Stephenson and played in six Pro Bowls in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was selected as one of the top 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame from 2002–2006, and one of the top 17 finalists from 2007–2009, but missed the cut every year. He was inducted into the Miami Dolphin's Honor Roll on December 15, 1995. Bob is the brother of former Chicago Bears linebacker Rudy Kuechenberg.
College career
Kuechenberg attended college at the University of Notre Dame where he played both the offensive and defensive lines. But before college Kuechenberg attended Hobart High School, located in Hobart, Indiana 10 minutes from Gary, and 30 minutes from Chicago. Kuechenberg played football for the Hobart Brickies in his high school years.
Professional career
Kuechenberg was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles as a fourth-round pick in the 1969 NFL Draft. He quit shortly after training camp started and played a season of semi-pro football with the Chicago Owls in the Continental Football League. Kuechenberg signed with the Dolphins as a free agent in 1970. He became a starter that season as the Dolphins finished 10-4 and made the playoffs for the first time in club history. The next season, 1971, helped the Dolphins make it to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 24-3. In that game Kuechenberg's opponent was Hall of Famer Bob Lilly.
| "I first played against Kuechenberg in Super Bowl VI, and I realized he was one of the best offensive linemen I had ever seen” |
| Bob Lilly |
The next two seasons the Dolphins won the Super Bowl (going 17-0 in 1972) and his play was noticed by New York Post writer Paul Zimmerman who named Keuchenberg on his All-pro ballot. The following season, 1974, was named All-AFC by Pro Football Weekly and was named to his first Pro Bowl. He was named 1st team All-Pro in 1975 and in 1978 and was named All-AFC three times. He was Second-team All-pro in 1977.
Kuechenberg has also been critical of his former teams. One such critique prompted then-current Miami All-Pro, Jason Taylor, to comment, "It's another chapter in the grumpy Kuechenberg story. It's Kuechenberg. He gets up every year and complains about something. If it ain't one thing, it's another. He needs a hug and a hobby. It's ridiculous."[1]
Bob Kuechenberg was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986
References
- ^ Maske, Mark (November 2, 2006). "J. Taylor Sticks Up For Beleaguered Dolphins". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
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