Bobby Leroy Hopkins (June 8, 1957 – July 5, 2019) was an

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 ...

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

who played one season for the Tampa Bay Bandits of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). He was also a well-known arm-wrestler, winning 13 world titles.

Early life and education

Hopkins was born on June 8, 1957, in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. He moved to

St. Lucie County, Florida St. Lucie County ( es, Condado de Santa Lucía, link=) is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 329,226. The county's seat is Fort Pierce. St. Lucie County is included in the Port St. Lucie, FL Metrop ...

, when he was 13. He attended Fort Pierce Central High School. He went to college at

Gardner–Webb University Gardner–Webb University (Gardner–Webb, GWU, or GW) is a private Baptist university in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (Southern Baptist Convention). It was founded as Boili ...

and played offensive lineman for their football team, the Runnin' Bulldogs. He was at college from 1977 to 1980.

Football career

In 1981, Hopkins played with an Orlando team in a minor football league. The next year he was signed by the

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of 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), but did not make the roster. Afterwards he returned to the minor leagues and played a season with the Carolina Storm, but was injured for most of the season. In 1983, he was signed by the Tampa Bay Bandits of the

(USFL). He was 6 feet 2 inches tall, and 265 pounds. With the Bandits he made 13 appearances, with 4 starts. His only other statistic was 1 fumble recovery. In 1984, he was with the

Pittsburgh Maulers Pittsburgh Maulers may refer to: * Pittsburgh Maulers (1984), United States Football League team * Pittsburgh Maulers (2022) The Pittsburgh Maulers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Maulers compet ...

, but did not play.

Arm-Wrestling career

During and after his football career, Hopkins was popular as an arm-wrestler. A 1983 newspaper stated that "Hopkins is easy to spot among the 70 players still on the Bandits roster. He's the one with the bulging upper body muscles that burst from his skin-tight T-shirt." It later stated that he could bench press 500 pounds, squat 1,000 pounds, and arm curl 175 pounds. In 1982, he became the Florida champion arm-wrestler. He later would be named national and world champion. He won 13 world titles and 27 national titles.

Later life

He later was a pastor and politician. He died on July 5, 2019, in Fort Pierce, Florida, from a stroke. He was 62 at the time of his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Bobby 1957 births 2019 deaths Tampa Bay Bandits players American football offensive linemen Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football players Players of American football from Baltimore American arm wrestlers