Robert Edward Bercich (born November 9, 1936) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

in the

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 ...

(NFL) for 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 divisi ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

Early years

Bercich attended

Argo Community High School Argo Community High School is a public four-year high school located in Summit, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. The district draws students from the communities of Summit, Bedford Park, Bridgeview, Justice, Willow Springs, and a portion ...

, before moving on to

. As a sophomore, he was moved between halfback and

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

. He became a starter at

as a junior and split time with Park Baker.

Professional career

New York Giants

The

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

selected Bercich in the fifteenth round (179th overall) of the

1959 NFL Draft The 1959 National Football League draft had its first four rounds held on December 1, 1958, and its final twenty-six rounds on January 21, 1959. Both sessions were held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. With the first overall pick in the dra ...

with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over. He was also drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers in the second round of the

1960 AFL Draft The 1960 American Football League draft was held on November 23–24, 1959, in Minneapolis, shortly after the organization of the league, and lasted 33 rounds. An additional draft of 20 rounds was held by the AFL on December 2. Teams were requ ...

. He was released on September 5,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

Dallas Cowboys

On September 8,

, he was claimed off waivers by the

. He became the first starter (6 starts) at

strong safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

in franchise history, while splitting time with

Gary Wisener Gary Gayle Wisener (August 24, 1938 – December 7, 2020) was an American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He also was a member of the Houston Oilers in the American Football League, during their seco ...

(3 starts) and Fred Doelling (3 starts). He finished with 46 tackles (19 solo), 2 interceptions and 11 passes defensed. In

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

, he suffered a concussion during the seventh game against the

and did not play another contest in the season. The next year, he missed the pre-season with a knee injury and was released before the start of the 1962 season.

Personal life

His son

Pete Bercich Peter James Bercich (born December 23, 1971) is a former professional American football linebacker in the National Football League. He played college football for the University of Notre Dame. He played five seasons for the NFL's Minnesota Viki ...

played and coached in the

NFL 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 major ...

for 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 expansion ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bercich, Bob 1936 births Living people People from Cook County, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois American football safeties Michigan State Spartans football players Dallas Cowboys players