Robert Bray Mitinger (February 13, 1940 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania – September 25, 2004 in State College, Pennsylvania) was a professional

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player,

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and civic leader.

Professional career

Although drafted in the third-round by the National Football League's Washington Redskins, the , 235 lb., Mitinger chose instead to sign with the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

of the upstart

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

. He was named the 1962 Chargers' team Rookie of the Year. He played 42 games at linebacker for the Chargers for seven seasons (1962–1964, 1966, 1968), including their 51–10 rout of the

Boston Patriots Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

at Balboa Stadium in the 1963 AFL championship, the high point of the team's 44-year history. Mitinger's pro career was interrupted by a stint in the United States Army from 1966 to 1967. Stationed at West Point, New York, he coached the Army freshman football team. In 1968, he returned to the Chargers for his final season.

College

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

, Mitinger was a two-way All-American player—the consummate 60-minute man, playing tight end and defensive end for Nittany Lions head coach, Rip Engle. He was part of the

team that upset No. 10-ranked Alabama in the 1959 Liberty Bowl—the school's first bowl victory. He also helped Penn State to victories over Oregon in the 1960 Liberty Bowl and No. 13-ranked Georgia Tech (30–15) in the 1961

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...

and was selected to compete in the 1962 Hula Bowl. After Penn State defeated

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30–15 in 1962,

coach

Marv Levy Marvin Daniel Levy (; born August 3, 1925) is an American former football coach and executive who was a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for seventeen seasons. He spent most of his head coaching career with the Buffalo Bills, lea ...

called Mitinger "the best college football player in the United States". Mitinger was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at Penn State, class of 1962.

High school

Mitinger attended Greensburg-Salem High School in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

After football

In 1966, Mitinger earned a law degree at the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...

, which he attended in the AFL off-season, and for the 1968 and 1969 seasons worked with the players' union (the AFL Players Association) as their attorney. In 1970, he returned to State College, Pennsylvania where he practiced law for 30 years, starting his own law firm in 1984. He was also an instructor of business and real estate law at

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

from 1971 to 1994.

Personal

Mitinger lost his AFL championship ring while attending law school. In 1999, a

Chula Vista, California Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh largest city in Southern California, the List of largest California cities by population, fifteenth largest city ...

man discovered the ring in his deceased mother's jewelry box and placed an ad on eBay, seeking to contact Mitinger. His mother had been a member of the law school's maintenance staff and had found the ring in the drain of the school's swimming pool. The appearance of the ring on the auction site led to the eventual return of the ring. "It renews my faith in humanity", Mitinger told '' The San Diego Union-Tribune''. He died September 27, 2004, at the Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College, Pennsylvania from complications from

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...

. He was 64. The

Robert B. Mitinger Award The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. The Nittany Lions compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference, which they joined in 1993 afte ...

, named in his honor, is presented to Penn State Nittany Lions football players who personify courage, character and social responsibility. It was first awarded in 2004.

External links

Comprehensive Bob Mitinger obituary
gopsusoprts.com

San Diego Union-Tribune, September 30, 2004
Robert Mitinger bio
at Mitinger & De Boef (law firm), {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitinger, Robert 1940 births 2004 deaths Deaths from stomach cancer American football defensive ends American football tight ends American football linebackers Players of American football from Pennsylvania Army Black Knights football coaches Penn State Nittany Lions football players Pennsylvania State University faculty People from Greensburg, Pennsylvania San Diego Chargers players United States Army soldiers Pennsylvania lawyers Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania American Football League players 20th-century American lawyers