Robert Hayden Avellini (born August 28, 1953) is a former
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
. For most of his career, he played for the
Chicago Bears before finishing with the
New York Jets. His nickname was "Slow-Mo."
Professional career
Avellini played
college football at the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
and was a
sixth round
Sixth is the ordinal form of the number six.
* The Sixth Amendment, to the U.S. Constitution
* A keg of beer, equal to 5 U.S. gallons or barrel
* The fraction
Music
* Sixth interval (music)s:
** major sixth, a musical interval
** minor si ...
selection of the Bears in the
1975 NFL Draft
The 1975 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1975, at the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Steve Bartkows ...
. As a rookie with Chicago in
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
, he started four games on a team that finished 4–10, throwing for 942 yards with 6 touchdown passes along with 11 interceptions.
Fully established as the Bears starter in
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 ...
, Avellini started all 14 games, throwing for 1,580 yards, although with 15 interceptions to only 8 touchdowns. Chicago improved to a 7–7 mark. Avellini improved those numbers in
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
, passing for 2,004 yards while once again starting every game for the Bears. His interception rate was rather high, throwing 18 picks compared to only 11 touchdown passes. The Bears showed improvement as they tied the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
for the
NFC Central
The National Football Conference – Northern Division or NFC North is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed the "Black and Blue Division" for the rough and tough ri ...
title at 9–5 and earned a trip to the playoffs as the wildcard team, where they were handily beaten by the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
.
Walter Payton
Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1953Although most sources at the time of his death gave Payton's birth year as 1954, reliable sources subsequently state he was born in 1953. – November 1, 1999) was an American football running back who played ...
’s big season of over 1,800 yards rushing had much to do with their success.
In
1978, the Bears struggled. They started 4–8 with Avellini under center, as he threw for 16 interceptions, while tossing only 5 touchdown passes. This caused coach
Neill Armstrong
Neill Ford Armstrong (March 9, 1926 – August 10, 2016) was an American football player and coach whose career spanned more than four decades at both the college and professional levels. Notably, Armstrong served as the head coach of the ...
to make a switch at quarterback, inserting veteran
Mike Phipps
Michael Elston Phipps (born January 19, 1947) is a former American college and professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. Phipps played college footbal ...
into the starting role. Phipps, for whom Bears had traded their first-round pick in the 1978 draft to acquire from the Cleveland Browns, won 3 out of the final 4 games, to establish himself as the starter for the next season. The Bears surprisingly rolled to a 10–6 record in
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
, tying the record of the division champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Avellini was now the backup. He continued in this capacity, playing behind Phipps,
Vince Evans
Vince is a given name, it is the anglicisation and shortened form of the name Vincent, as well as a surname.
It may refer to:
Given name People
* Vince Agnew (born 1987), American football player
* Vince Cable (born 1943), British politici ...
, and
Jim McMahon until the
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
season, seeing little action on the field.
In 1984, with the Bears starting 2–0, Jim McMahon was injured and
Mike Ditka
Michael Keller Ditka (born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former football player, coach, and television commentator. A member of both the College (1986) and the Pro (1988) Football Halls of Fame, he was UPI NFL Rookie of Year i ...
inserted Avellini as the starter for a road game against the Green Bay Packers. Avellini had started only five games since the end of the 1978 season. The Bears mustered little offense with Avellini at the controls, but still managed to edge the
Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the thi ...
9–7. Chicago struggled the next week as they were soundly beaten by the
Seattle Seahawks 38–9. This resulted in Avellini being cut from the Bears’ roster by Ditka, ending his decade-long tenure with Chicago. Avellini signed with the
New York Jets in mid-November, where he ended his playing career after the 1984 season. The Jets released him before the 1985 season. The Bears, meanwhile, went to the NFC Championship game in 1984 and won
Super Bowl XX in
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
. Avellini made a brief comeback in
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal enter ...
with the Dallas Cowboys, starting three preseason games, but was released as the final cut.
Legal troubles
In May 2009, Avellini was arrested for
driving under the influence and acquitted for the third time. He had been convicted of the offense in 2002. In October 2013, a DuPage County grand jury indicted Avellini on felony drunken driving charges a week after his sixth DUI-related arrest since 2002. On November 19, 2014, Avellini was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his 3rd DUI. Avellini declared bankruptcy on February 27, 2012 listing debts of more than $2.2 million and assets of $1.3 million.
On November 20, 2014, Avellini was sentenced to 18 months in prison for aggravated DUI.
Personal life
Avellini is actively involved in a number of Chicago area charitable organizations and despite his professional real estate career has been on the air at several Chicago radio and television sports shows.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avellini, Bob
1953 births
Living people
Players of American football from New York City
American football quarterbacks
Maryland Terrapins football players
Chicago Bears players