| No. 76 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Offensive tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1943-06-21)June 21, 1943 (age 81) Los Angeles,California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 245 lb (111 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Redwood City (CA) Sequoia | ||||||||
| College: | USC | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1965: 4th round, 53rd pick | ||||||||
| AFL draft: | 1965: 3rd round, 19th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Robert Craig Svihus (born June 21, 1943) is an American former professionalfootballoffensive tackle in theAmerican Football League (AFL) and theNational Football League (NFL) for theOakland Raiders andNew York Jets. He playedcollege football at theUniversity of Southern California
Svihus attendedSequoia High School, where he practiced football,basketball andbaseball.[1]
In football he played at guard and tackle, while being a part of the 1959 and 1960 undefeated teams. As a senior, he received All S.P.A.L. and All Northern California honors.[2]
In 1991, he was inducted into the San Mateo County Sports Hall of Fame.
Svihus accepted a football scholarship from theUniversity of Southern California. As a sophomore in 1962, he was a part of an undefeated team that won theRose Bowl and the National championship.[3]
As a senior in 1964, he became a starter atleft tackle and received second-teamAll-AAWU honors.
Svihus was selected by theOakland Raiders in the third round (19th overall) of the1965 AFL draft and by theDallas Cowboys in the fourth round (53rd overall) of the1965 NFL draft.
He chose to sign with theOakland Raiders, becoming a starter atleft tackle as a rookie, to protectquarterbackTom Flores.[4] He would keep the job until1969, while protectingquarterbackDaryle Lamonica and missing only one game. In1967, he played inSuper Bowl II, a 14–33 loss against theGreen Bay Packers.
In1970 after theAFL–NFL merger, he was replaced at left tackle by futureHall of FamerArt Shell and started only 1 game. On August 26,1971, he was traded to theNew York Jets in exchange for a second round pick (#39-John Babinecz).[5]
Svihus was the starter atleft tackle from1971 to1972, protectingquarterbackJoe Namath.[6] In1973, he only started 4 games after being passed on the depth chart byRobert Woods. He retired on September 10,1974.
Svihus co-wrote a book withWayne Hawkins (Oakland Raidersoffensive guard) andDave Dalby (Oakland Raiderscenter) calledRaider: How Offensive can you be? A 25-year history of the Oakland Raiders. The book was published by Peninsula Publishing inMonterey, California and was written in 1986–1987.[7]