Robert R. "Bobby" Marlow (February 8, 1930 – June 5, 1985)
was an American and Canadian football
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 ...
who played for the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
and the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
's (CFL)
Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Born on February 8, 1930 in
Athens, Alabama
Athens is a city in and the county seat of Limestone County, Alabama, Limestone County, in the U.S. state of Alabama; it is included in the Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 c ...
,
Marlow moved to
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...
at an early age.
He played high school football at
Troy High School before playing college football for the University of Alabama from 1950 to 1952.
In 1950, Marlow's first season with the Crimson Tide, he had 118 rushing attempts, gaining 882 yards for an average of 7.5 per carry, and scored 9 touchdowns. His number of touchdowns doubled to 12 in 1951, as he rushed for 728 yards in 114 carries.
In that year's
Iron Bowl
The Alabama–Auburn football rivalry, better known as the Iron Bowl, is an American college football rivalry game between the Auburn University Tigers and University of Alabama Crimson Tide, both charter members of the Southeastern Conferenc ...
against
Auburn
Auburn may refer to:
Places Australia
* Auburn, New South Wales
* City of Auburn, the local government area
*Electoral district of Auburn
*Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region
*Auburn, South Australia
*Auburn, Tasmania
*Aub ...
, Marlow had 233 rushing yards, breaking the team record; his mark was not bested until 1987. In 1952, he was named to the
All-America Team
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
,
after running for 950 yards in 176 attempts and scoring 10 touchdowns.
It was the third consecutive season that he led Alabama in rushing yards. In Marlow's Crimson Tide career, the team had a win–loss record of 24–10 and won the
1953 Orange Bowl
The 1953 Orange Bowl, part of the 1952 bowl game season, took place on January 1, 1953, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. The competing teams were the Alabama Crimson Tide, representing the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Syracuse Oran ...
. At the end of his college career, Marlow had a school-record 2,560 rushing yards. The record lasted until 1971.
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 Marlow with the eighth overall pick in the first round of the
1953 NFL Draft
The 1953 National Football League Draft was held on January 22, 1953, at Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. Selections made by the folded Dallas Texans were assigned to the new Baltimore Colts.
This was the seventh year that the first ove ...
. However, he did not play in the NFL, and instead signed to play in the CFL.
The Roughriders ultimately signed Marlow. In his career with the Roughriders, he scored 34
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...
s and had 4,291 rushing yards in 833 attempts.
Marlow spent eight seasons in Canada, and later lived in
Elkmont, Alabama
Elkmont is a town in Limestone County, Alabama, Limestone County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 434, down from its record high of 4 ...
and
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, Texas. In 1985, Marlow suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 55.
Marlow was named a member of the CFL's All Star All-Time Team.
See also
*
Alabama Crimson Tide football yearly statistical leaders
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marlow, Bobby
1930 births
1985 deaths
Alabama Crimson Tide football players
American football running backs
Canadian football running backs
People from Athens, Alabama
Players of American football from Alabama
Saskatchewan Roughriders players