Posted on 12/24/2013 9:21:31 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
With his full gray beard, bandana, camouflage clothes and dark glasses, Phil Robertson looks like a rocker from ZZ Top gone rogue.
Yet Robertson, who first found wealth as the inventor of the Duck Commander duck calls and then fame as the patriarch of a clan of Louisiana duck hunters on A&Es Duck Dynasty reality series, is no backwoods bumpkin. Hes a multi-millionaire with a masters degree in education. Hes also perhaps the best athlete ever to come out of the little town of Vivian, La.
In the 1960s, Robertson, now 66, was the starting quarterback at Louisiana Tech for two seasons ahead of Terry Bradshaw. His teammates and a coach recall him as a talented, outdoors-obsessed character who walked away from his final year of eligibility to spend more time hunting and fishing, but had the talent to play in the NFL:
Robertson: As a little kid, looking back on it, I could always throw farther than all the other kids. The point is, a good arm, my man -- youre born with that. You cant teach someone how to do that. Its either there or its not, you know what Im saying?
Alan Robertson (Phils oldest son): When Dad was in high school he was a baseball pitcher and a javelin thrower. He basically was all-state in both. That shows you the arm strength was there, not just in football, but the other sports as well.
E.J. Lewis, defensive backs coach: He had a good presence in the pocket. He knew what he was doing back there. He had a good arm. I mean that booger could chuck that football. He was a good football player, a natural.
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.go.com ...
Guess you can't always judge a person by their looks.
>> Hes a multi-millionaire with a masters degree in education.
He also admits to ‘participating’ in the excesses of the 60s. He’s quite an ordinary yet exceptional fellow.
Merry Christmas, 2DV and FRiends!
Bradshaw says he was pretty good, but what would he know?
I didn’t know he was originally from Vivian. I thought he was from points a little further east, given the La. Tech and West Monroe connections. That’s some pretty spooky swamp country, over by Vivian/Mooringsport and that whole Caddo Lake vicinity. Driving some of those small rural roads around there at sunset can be rather creepy and unsettling.
It's called "facial profiling."
Phil Robertson is what my parents would call “good stock”. And they’d say that his kids come from good stock.
And they’d be right.
Damn.... That image just killed what was gonna be a great thread.
There was an article on ESPN a year ago that Joe Montana, Bradshaw and Robertson met up by accident at LAX and all they talked about was football while everyone around them went nuts. Bradshaw stated that if Robertson wasn’t into hunting, his spot would be in jeopardy at the school they both went to. Robertson was so serious into hunting that he even hung his trophies to dry in his dorm.
Sorry, just trying to make a point about (sometimes) be able to judge someone by their looks.
Funny here’s a guy that just walked away from it all..then still made it as a millionaire..how many people do that
And doesn’t have the concussions and arthritis that many players will deal with as they age.
The ducks he played against weren’t much of a challenge as it’s hard to hold a football under a wing and run. Aflac!
Here’s an interview Terry Bradshaw did with Jay Leno. Phil Roberton is brought up in it.
http://toprightnews.com/?p=281
Yup..years ago, after work we used to toss around the pigskin and I had a sales rep who could effortless toss the ball 60, even 70 yards...on the mark...
Too bad he was dumb as a box of rocks...
http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/18740/how-good-was-phil-robertson-at-football
How good was Phil Robertson at football?
snip
Phil Robertson: I had the arm. The ability was there. Bradshaw probably had me
a little more on distance. I was about a 65-yard man.
I remember at some point,
Bradshaw and I would get out there and he would throw like 70-plus.
End snip
The above ESPN article is long but has many quotes from various people that had contact
with Phil including Bradshaw, coaches, etc.
"Terry Bradshaw, backup quarterback (from his 2001 book, Its Only a Game): The quarterback playing ahead of me, Phil Robertson, loved hunting more than he loved football. Hed come to practice directly from the woods, squirrel tails hanging out of his pockets, duck feathers on his clothes. Clearly he was a fine shot, so no one complained too much."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.