Robert DeMarco (born September 16, 1938) is an American former football center who played for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for four teams.
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| Position: | Center | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | September 16, 1938 Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 248 lb (112 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | St. Mary (Rutherford, New Jersey) | ||||||||
| College: | Indiana (1957) Dayton (1959–1960) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1960 / round: 14 / pick: 157 | ||||||||
| AFL draft: | 1960 / round: | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Early life
editRaised in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey, DeMarco graduated in 1956 from St. Mary High School in nearby Rutherford, New Jersey, where he played both offense and defense on the school's football team. He transferred to the University of Dayton from Indiana University, graduating in 1961 with degrees in business management and economics.
Professional career
editAfter playing three years of college football with the Indiana Hoosiers and the Dayton Flyers, and with one year of collegiate eligibility remaining, he was selected by the Chicago Cardinals in the 14th round of 1960 NFL draft, the 157th overall selection. DeMarco played in the NFL from 1961 to 1969 for the St. Louis Cardinals, from 1970 to 1971 for the Miami Dolphins, from 1972 to 1974 for the Cleveland Browns and in 1975 for the Los Angeles Rams[1]
DeMarco was named to three Pro Bowls (1963, 1965, 1967) and one first-team All-Pro team (1967) while playing for the Cardinals.[2] In 1967, DeMarco was awarded a game ball after playing with a broken wrist and torn rib cartilage. The Cardinals released DeMarco after the 1969 season and he soon signed a contract with the Miami Dolphins.
DeMarco started every game at center for the Dolphins 1971 that went to the Super Bowl VI but lost his starting job to Jim Langer during the 1972 preseason. He was traded the Buffalo Bills but refused to report and retired. After missing the first two games of the 1972 season, he agreed to be traded to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a draft pick.[3]
He was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.[4]
References
edit- ^ Mills, Ed. "Where are they now? Former NFL star Bob DeMarco of Wood-Ridge" Archived 2017-02-02 at the Wayback Machine, The Record (Bergen County), January 28, 2014. Accessed January 25, 2017. "Growing up in Wood-Ridge, DeMarco was a two-way lineman at St. Mary and played as a sophomore on the Gaels' unbeaten nine-win team in 1953. Following graduation from the Rutherford parochial school in 1956, DeMarco went to Indiana University before transferring to Dayton, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in business management and economics in June 1961."
- ^ "Bob DeMarco Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Disgruntled DeMarco Traded to the Browns". The Newark Advocate. September 27, 1972. p. 28. Retrieved October 10, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Bob DeMarco".