American football player
Pickens in 2008 | |||||
No. 70 | |||||
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Position: | Offensive tackle | ||||
Personal information | |||||
Born: | (1943-02-02)February 2, 1943 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||
Died: | April 12, 2018(2018-04-12) (aged 75) Sandy Springs, Georgia, U.S. | ||||
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||
Weight: | 258 lb (117 kg) | ||||
Career information | |||||
High school: | Evanston (IL) Township | ||||
College: | Nebraska | ||||
NFL draft: | 1966 / round: 3 / pick: 44 | ||||
AFL draft: | 1966 / round: Red Shirt 2 / pick: 15 (by the Kansas City Chiefs) | ||||
Career history | |||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||
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Bob Pickens (February 2, 1943 – April 12, 2018) was a player in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted in the third round of the 1966 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears and played three seasons with the team.
Pickens was also an Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler, competing in Tokyo, Japan, in the heavyweight division at the 1964 Summer Olympics, where he finished sixth. Pickens was the first African-American to compete for the United States in wrestling at the Olympics. He played collegiate football at Nebraska, transferring there after originally attending Wisconsin. Pickens did not wrestle for either university, although he still continued his wrestling at various club organizations. After his pro football career, Pickens became a referee, officiating in the Big Ten Conference and a number of postseason games, including the Rose Bowl. He also served on the Chicago Park District Board for several years.
References
- "Bob Pickens, former Bear who was among first black Olympic wrestlers, dead at 75". Archived from the original on April 22, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- "1966 AFL Draft". Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
- "Bob Pickens". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
- Shalin, Dan. (April 23, 2018). Breaking the U.S. Olympic wrestling color barrier was just one of Bob Pickens' many achievements. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
- Bob Pickens - Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
Chicago Bears 1966 NFL draft selections | |
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Kansas City Chiefs 1966 AFL draft selections | |
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This biographical article relating to an American football offensive lineman born in the 1940s is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
- 1943 births
- 2018 deaths
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- 20th-century African-American sportsmen
- American football offensive tackles
- Canadian football offensive linemen
- American male sport wrestlers
- Olympic wrestlers for the United States
- Wrestlers at the 1964 Summer Olympics
- Chicago Bears players
- Edmonton Elks players
- Nebraska Cornhuskers wrestlers
- Nebraska Cornhuskers football players
- Players of American football from Chicago
- Players of Canadian football from Chicago
- Wisconsin Badgers football players
- American football offensive lineman, 1940s birth stubs