Tommy Nobis
| Tommy Nobis | |
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Position (s): Linebacker |
Jersey number (s): 60 |
| born on September 20, 1943 in San Antonio , Texas , USA | |
| died on December 13, 2017 | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1966 - 1976 | |
| NFL Draft : 1966 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st | |
| College : University of Texas at Austin | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Games | 133 |
| Touchdown | 2 |
| Fumble | 13 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| College Football Hall of Fame | |
Thomas Henry "Tommy" Nobis Jr. (born September 20, 1943 in San Antonio , Texas - † December 13, 2017 ), nickname : Mr. Falcon , was an American American football player. He played as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) with the Atlanta Falcons .
Player career
College career
Tommy Nobis attended high school in his hometown . After graduating from school, he studied at the University of Texas at Austin for their football team , the Texas Longhorns , where he played as a linebacker and guard from 1963 to 1965 . As a rookie , he won the national college championship with his team. In the Cotton Bowl Classic game he and his team defeated the United States Naval Academy team 28: 6. In 1964 and 1965, Tommy Nobis was voted All-American . Because of his athletic achievements, his college honored him three times. In his senior year, he won the Outland Trophy , the Maxwell Award and the Knute Rockne Award.
Professional career
Thomas Nobis was first drafted in the first round by the Atlanta Falcons in 1966 . The Houston Oilers , who are based in the American Football League (AFL), also drew him to fifth place in the AFL Draft in the first round. Although Nobis was asked by astronaut Frank Borman during his space flight with the spaceship Gemini 7 to bind himself to the Oilers, he decided to sign a contract with the team from Atlanta . He is the first drafted player of the 1966 newly founded Atlanta Falcons. In the Falcons he was only used as a linebacker in defense . Nobis was already selected as a rookie in the Pro Bowl , his team, however, was not able to reach the play-offs during his entire playing career . Only in 1973 did the Falcons, under Head Coach Norm Van Brocklin, end the season with a positive balance. The team won nine out of 14 games in the regular season - but this record was not enough to make it into the play-offs. After the 1976 season, Tommy Nobis ended his professional career.
After the playing career
Nobis worked in the organization of the Atlanta Falcons since the end of his playing career. In 1975 he founded the Tommy Nobis Center . The organization tries to improve the job opportunities of disabled people. Nobis died on December 13, 2017 at the age of 74 after a long and serious illness.
Honors
Tommy Nobis played five times in the Pro Bowl and was voted All Pro twice . He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame , the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame , the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame, and the Texas Longhorn Hall of Fame, as well as in the NFL 1960s All-Decade Team . The Atlanta Falcons honor him on the Ring of Honor , both the Falcons and the Longhorns have banned his number.
Web links
- Tommy Nobis in the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame
- Tomy Nobis with the Atlanta Falcons
- Tommy Nobis in the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame (PDF; 150 kB)
- Tommy Nobis in the Texas Sports Hall of Fame
- resume
Individual evidence
- ↑ Commitment of Tommy Nobis ( Memento of December 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Annual balance sheet of the Atlanta Falcons 1973
- ^ Former Atlanta Falcons great Tommy Nobis dies at 74 , accessed December 14, 2017
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Nobis, Tommy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Nobis, Thomas Henry Jr. (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 20, 1943 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | San Antonio , Texas, USA |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 13, 2017 |