Robert Eugene Kampa (born April 26, 1951 in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

) was an American lineman for two years 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 ...

. In his amateur years, he played at

Gilroy High School Gilroy High School is a co-educational public school located in Gilroy, California, that serves the city of Gilroy. A part of the Gilroy Unified School District, is one of two public comprehensive high schools in the city and has an approximate ...

then attended

Gavilan College Gavilan College is a public community college in Santa Clara County, California. History The college was established in 1919 as the San Benito County Junior College. It operated as such until 1963, when a new community college district was draw ...

before transferring to

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. He was drafted by the

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

in the 3rd round (77th pick overall) of the 1973 NFL Draft. He played for the Bills for one year and the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

in his second year. Kampa ended his career in the NFL and pursued his graduate studies at

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

, earning his teaching credential. Kampa went on to coach football and teach P.E. at his alma mater, before retiring in 2015. He is inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. Bob resides in Santa Cruz County with his wife, Lori, and has two children: Joshua and Katelyn. Excerpt from ''The 1973 Buffalo Bills Roster Included Many More Players Than Just O.J. Simpson'': "The defensive linemen team featured college football superstar Walt Patulski. When he was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1972, he was the number one overall pick for that year. His inclusion on the team, as well as fellow defensive linemen Mike Kadish, Bob Kampa, Jerry Patton, Earl Edwards, and Steve Okoniewski, surely played a big role in the Buffalo Bills' success."

References

1951 births Buffalo Bills players Denver Broncos players Gavilan Rams football players Living people {{Defensive-lineman-1950s-stub