Richard Adam Bielski (born September 7, 1932) is a former

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 ...

player and coach. He played professionally 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) for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

, and

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

. Bielski played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

Early years

Bielski was named an All-Maryland Scholastic Association fullback in Patterson Park High School. He accepted a football scholarship with the

, where he played as a fullback,

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

, and

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

. In

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

he was a preseason

All-America 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 ...

n candidate, but injuries affected his level of play during the season. Still, he was able to finish his college career averaging more than five yards per carry. At the end of the year, he was selected to play in the

Chicago College All-Star Game The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League (NFL) champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. It was also known as the C ...

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

, and the

North-South Shrine Game ''North-South'' ( hy, Հյուսիս-Հարավ) or ''Four Buddies and the Bride'' is an Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNb ...

, where he was voted the outstanding player of the game.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Bielski was selected by the

in the first round with the ninth overall pick of the 1955 NFL Draft, becoming the highest-drafted

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 ...

from Maryland. During his first years, he made a team record two 50-yard field goals. In 1958, he was converted into an

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

. After the 1959 season, the Eagles left him off their list of players who were exempt from the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft.

Dallas Cowboys

Bielski was acquired by the

in the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft. He was involved in the record for the shortest

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 ...

pass in league history, after catching an

Eddie LeBaron Edward Wayne LeBaron Jr. (January 7, 1930 – April 1, 2015) was a Korean War veteran and an American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the Col ...

pass from the 2-inch line against the Redskins on October 9, 1960. He had 4 receptions for 38 yards. In

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

he earned his only

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

berth, with career highs of 26 receptions for 377 yards and three

s. He also took over the

duties from Allen Green for the final five games of the season. During the 1962 offseason, needing help on defense, the Cowboys traded Bielski to the

in a three-team deal. The Colts sent a third round draft pick (#33, used to select Mike Fracchia) to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, and in return the Cardinals sent

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

/ punter Jerry Norton to the Cowboys.

Baltimore Colts

In 1962, Bielski played as a placekicker and backup tight end. In 1963, he retired at the end of the season. In a nine-year career he had 107 receptions for 1,305 yards, 229 rushing yards and 12

s. He also kicked 58 extra points and 26

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

Coaching career

In 1964, he was hired by the

as the wide receivers coach under head coach Don Shula. In 1973, he was named the wide receivers coach with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. In 1977, he returned as the wide receivers coach for the

. In 1983, he was hired as the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

for the

Washington Federals Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

in 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 ...

. In 1984, he was the team's head coach for the final 17 games of the season, going 3–14.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bielski, Dick 1932 births Living people American football ends American football fullbacks American football placekickers Baltimore Colts coaches Baltimore Colts players Dallas Cowboys players Maryland Terrapins football players Philadelphia Eagles players United States Football League coaches Washington Redskins coaches Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Baltimore