Bob Hudson is a former
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
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).
Biography
Hudson was born Robert Dale Hudson on March 21, 1948, in
Hominy, Oklahoma
Hominy (Osage: ''Hą́mąðį'' "night-walker") is a city in Osage County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,565 at the 2010 census, a 38 percent increase over the figure of 2,584 recorded in 2000.
The town was the home of an all-Nat ...
. He played at the collegiate level at
Northeastern State University
Northeastern State University (NSU) is a public university with its main campus in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The university also has two other campuses in Muskogee and Broken Arrow as well as online. Northeastern is the oldest institution of high ...
. At Northeastern State, he set school records for rushing yardage, longest touchdown run (99 yards), highest rushing yards average per season and most carries in a season.
Career
Hudson was drafted by the
Green Bay 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) NFC North, North division. It ...
in the sixth round of the
1972 NFL Draft
The 1972 NFL draft was held February 1–2, 1972, at the Essex House in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Buffalo Bills selected defensive end Walt Patulski.
Player selections
Round one
Round two
...
and played that season with the team. The following two seasons he played with the
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
. During his time with Oakland, Hudson was nicknamed "Headhunter" for his exceptional hits and tackles on the Raiders' special teams. In 1975, his knee was injured in a preseason game against the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
, and the injury wound up ending his football career.
Post-Career
Hudson had difficulty adjusting to his post-NFL life. In a 1990 interview, Hudson said, "The transition a lot of professional athletes go through takes a long time. In my case, it took almost five years. "When you're playing football, it's an artificial high. All you know is sports. When that's taken away, you try to find something to replace it. I tried alcohol and drugs." He was involved in an automobile crash in 1976, during which he was driving 85 miles an hour while drunk. In the wake of the wreck, he decided to return to Oklahoma and turn his life around.
Hudson went on to earn his college degree in Physical Education in 1983, and worked as a substitute teacher in
Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Bartlesville is a city mostly in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 37,290 at the 2020 census. Bartlesville is north of Tulsa and south of the Kansas border. It is the county seat of Washington County. The Can ...
. in 1988, he took a position as the Physical Education Director of the Bartlesville Boys Club. He has used that position to spread an anti-drug abuse message, and has also spoken out against drugs at area churches and schools.
In 1988, Hudson was named to the Northeastern Athletics Hall of Fame.
[Northeastern State University, :"Northeastern Athletics Hall of Fame". Available online: https://goriverhawksgo.com/honors/northeastern-state-athletics-hall-of-fame . Retrieved September 19, 2021.]
See also
*
List of Green Bay Packers players
The following is a list of notable past or present players of the Green Bay Packers professional American football team.
All-time roster
* Green Bay Packers players: A-D
* Green Bay Packers players: E-K
* Green Bay Packers players: L-R
* Green Bay ...
References
1948 births
Living people
American football running backs
Green Bay Packers players
Oakland Raiders players
Northeastern State RiverHawks football players
People from Hominy, Oklahoma
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