| No. 89, 88 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Punter | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | (1936-05-07)May 7, 1936 Vernon, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Died | May 28, 1993(1993-05-28) (aged 57) Gainesville, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school | College(Bartlesville, Oklahoma) | ||||||||||
| College | Oklahoma (1955–1956) Florida (1957–1959) | ||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1959: 9th round, 102nd overall pick | ||||||||||
| AFL draft | 1960 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Bobby Joe Green (May 7, 1936 – May 28, 1993) was an American professionalfootball player who was apunter for 14 seasons in theNational Football League (NFL) with thePittsburgh Steelers and theChicago Bears. He playedcollege football for theFlorida Gators.
Green was born inVernon, Texas, in 1936.[1] He attendedCollege High School inBartlesville, Oklahoma,[2] and he played high school football for the College High Wildcats.
Green accepted an athletic scholarship to attend theUniversity of Florida inGainesville, Florida, where he was a punter andhalfback for coachBob Woodruff'sGators teams from1958 and1959.[3] As a senior in 1959, he kicked fifty-fourpunts for an average distance of 44.9 yards—still the Gators' single-season record.[3] Woodruff ranked him andDon Chandler as the Gators' best kickers of the 1950s.[4] His 82-yard punt against theGeorgia Bulldogs in 1958 remains the longest punt by a Gator in the modern era.[3] Green was also asprinter andhigh jumper on theFlorida Gators track and field team. He was later inducted into theUniversity of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great."[5]
Green also appeared onOklahoma's 1956 National Championship roster.[6]
Green was selected in the ninth round (102nd pick overall) of the1959 NFL draft by theSan Francisco 49ers,[7] and played fourteen seasons for thePittsburgh Steelers and theChicago Bears.[8] He played for the Steelers in1960 and1961, and then was traded to the Bears, for whom he played from1962 to1973.[8] Green was a member of the Bears'1963 NFL Championship team, and was selected to thePro Bowl after the1970 season.[1] Green was one of the last NFL players to play without a face mask and can be seen doing so in the late 1960s.
During his fourteen-season NFL career, Green appeared in 187 games, kicking 970 punts for 41,317 yards (an average of 42.6 yards per kick).[1] He also completed six of ten passing attempts for 103 yards.[1]
Green returned to Gainesville, Florida after his professional football career ended, and started a specialty advertising business.[9] Green also served as a volunteer kicking coach for the Florida Gators under head football coachesCharley Pell andGalen Hall from1979 to1989.[9] In May 2019 Green was rated #97 on the Chicago Bears top 100 list.[10]
Green died as a result of aheart attack in his Gainesville home on the morning of May 28, 1993; he was 57 years old.[9] He was survived by his wife Martha Jane and their son and daughter.[9]
