Akron resident Dave Robinson tells stories about collisions with opponents knocking him unconscious, cuts on his body stinging in the shower after games, and his wife, Elaine, raising their three sons while he was away pursuing his dream as a linebacker for the Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins.
Nearly 40 years after his NFL career ended, Robinson can finally say his sacrifices were rewarded with the ultimate honor.
Robinson, 71, was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. He will be enshrined Aug. 3 in Canton along with fellow senior inductee Curley Culp and five modern-era selections: Warren Sapp, Cris Carter, Jonathan Ogden, Larry Allen and coach Bill Parcells.
“All the hard work and the sacrifice and all of the questions about what was going to happen, none of that matters now,” Robinson said Saturday night by phone from New Orleans, where he celebrated with his son, David. “Now I know it was all worthwhile — all the blood, the sweat, the tears and everything else.”
Robinson had been eligible for election for 34 years, but this was the first time he had been named a finalist. Robinson and Culp were classified as senior candidates, because their careers ended more than 25 years ago. All nominees needed to receive at least 80 percent of the vote by the selection committee, which is composed of 46 media members, to be elected.
Robinson’s 12-year professional career was highlighted by his role in the Packers winning the NFL Championship in 1966 and the first two Super Bowls in 1967 and 1968. A former outside linebacker who played for Penn State before becoming a first-round draft pick of the Packers, Robinson garnered first-team NFL honors from 1967-69 and three Pro Bowl selections.
Robinson, who was born in Mount Holly, N.J., became a football star and earned a civil engineering degree at Penn State before becoming a first-round draft pick of the Packers. In the midst of his NFL career, Robinson got a job with Milwaukee-based Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co. His playing days ended after a two-year stint with the Redskins (1973-74), and his work in Schlitz’s marketing department led to him moving to West Akron in the late 1970s.
No accolades compare to his most recent honor.
“When they put my bust in the hall of fame, my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren can come in someday and say, ‘There’s my grandfather, there’s my great-grandfather,’ ” Robinson said. “I’ll be long gone, but my bust will be there forever. It’s the greatest feeling in the world.”
Robinson considers his induction a tremendous tribute to Elaine, who died in 2007. Two of their sons, Richard and Robert, are also deceased.
“It’s bittersweet because it’s something he wanted to share with my mom and my brothers,” son David Robinson, 49, said by phone. “Like my dad said, the person who really, really deserves it is my mom. She went through a lot of hell raising us and putting up with all the things that went on. I had two hall of fame parents, one who played ball and one who supported him.”
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at http://www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/browns.abj.
