Robert Harold Walston (October 17, 1928 – October 7, 1987) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver and placekicker for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and was selected in the 14th round of the 1951 NFL Draft. From 1966 to 1967, he coached receivers and kickers for the Miami Dolphins.
 Walston on a 1952 Bowman football card | |||||||||||
| No. 83 | |||||||||||
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| Position: | End Kicker | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | October 17, 1928 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Died: | October 7, 1987 (aged 58) Elk Grove Village, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| College: | Georgia | ||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1951 / Round: 14 / Pick: 166 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| As a coach: | |||||||||||
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| As an administrator: | |||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||||
Professional career edit
Walston doubled as receiver and kicker for the Philadelphia Eagles for twelve seasons. His best receiving season was in 1954, when he caught 41 passes for 750 yards, garnering 18.3 yards per reception, scoring five touchdowns. The next season, he would have only 581 yards on 31 receptions, but he scored 11 touchdowns as the Eagles once again went 7-4-1. He also scored 114 points during the season, the most in the NFL that season and most by an Eagle until 1984. His best kicking season was in 1957, when he made 75% of his field goals and was 1st in percentage in the league, with 9 of 12 field goals made. Despite this, his Eagles went 4-8.
Three seasons later, however, the Eagles had a resurgence in the 1960 season, and Walston went 14 out of 20 in field goal kicking (70 percent) and was first in the league once again, with 39 out of 40 in extra points as the Eagles made their first playoff appearance since 1949. In his lone playoff appearance, he caught three passes for 38 yards while making a 17-yard field goal and two extra points as the Eagles won the 1960 NFL Championship Game, their first title since 1949. In his final season, the Eagles finished 3-10-1. He caught four touchdowns that season, his most since 1954, although his kicking game declined, as he had his second worst kicking percentage.
Walston scored 881 points in his career, and at the time of his retirement had scored more points in the NFL than anyone other than Lou Groza. He retained the Eagles franchise points record until it was broken by kicker David Akers in 2007.[1]
NFL career statistics edit
| Year | Team | GP | Field Goals | Extra Points | Rec TD | Total Points | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FGM | FGA | FG% | Lng | XPM | XPA | XP% | |||||
| 1951 | PHI | 12 | 6 | 11 | 54.5 | 44 | 28 | 31 | 90.3 | 8 | 94 |
| 1952 | PHI | 12 | 11 | 20 | 55.0 | 35 | 31 | 31 | 100.0 | 3 | 82 |
| 1953 | PHI | 12 | 4 | 13 | 30.8 | 27 | 45 | 48 | 93.8 | 5 | 87 |
| 1954 | PHI | 12 | 4 | 10 | 40.0 | 20 | 36 | 39 | 92.3 | 11 | 114 |
| 1955 | PHI | 12 | 2 | 3 | 66.7 | 25 | 6 | 7 | 85.7 | 3 | 30 |
| 1956 | PHI | 12 | 6 | 13 | 46.2 | 39 | 17 | 18 | 94.4 | 3 | 53 |
| 1957 | PHI | 12 | 9 | 12 | 75.0 | 35 | 20 | 21 | 95.2 | 1 | 53 |
| 1958 | PHI | 12 | 6 | 14 | 42.9 | 36 | 31 | 31 | 100.0 | 3 | 67 |
| 1959 | PHI | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 33 | 34 | 97.1 | 3 | 51 |
| 1960 | PHI | 12 | 14 | 20 | 70.0 | 39 | 39 | 40 | 97.5 | 2 | 105 |
| 1961 | PHI | 14 | 14 | 25 | 56.0 | 42 | 43 | 46 | 93.5 | 0 | 97 |
| 1962 | PHI | 14 | 4 | 15 | 26.7 | 36 | 36 | 38 | 94.7 | 4 | 48 |
| Total | 148 | 80 | 157 | 51.0 | 44 | 365 | 384 | 95.1 | 46 | 881 | |
Coaching and administrative career edit
After working in the front office with the Eagles for a few years, he became the special teams coach of the Miami Dolphins for their inaugural 1966 season and the 1967 season. He also served as a personnel director for the Chicago Bears from 1968 to 1975, overseeing the drafting of college players along with scouting, and being an assistant to Bears president George Halas, Jr. He resigned on December 7, 1974, after Jim Finks became general manager.[2] He later served as a scout for the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League, from 1978 to 1980 and scouted for the United States Football League from 1983 to 1985. Walston is one of only four players named to the National Football League 1950s All-Decade Team not yet inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Walston died at age 58, on October 7, 1987, at Alexian Brothers Medical Center, Elk Grove Village.[3] Twenty-seven years after his death, he was named to the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame on September 22, 2019.[4]
References edit
- ^ Didinger, Ray (September 19, 2019). "Didinger: Bobby Walston gets his due". Philadelphia Eagles.
- ^ Strauss, Michael (December 7, 1974). "People in Sports". The New York Times. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
- ^ "Ex-bears Aide 'Bobby' Walston, 58 - tribunedigital-chicagotribune". articles.chicagotribune.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02.
- ^ "Bobby Walston to be inducted into Eagles Hall of Fame on Fantennial Weekend". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. August 8, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
