Robin Danial Earl (born March 18, 1955) is a former professional

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, who played as a full back and

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

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). He played seven seasons for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

and two for the Birmingham Stallions 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).

High school

Earl starred as a tailback at

Kent-Meridian High School Kent-Meridian High School is a high school located in Kent, Washington, United States, and part of the Kent School District. Kent-Meridian is one of four high schools in the Kent School District. It serves students in grades nine through twelve w ...

Kent, Washington Kent is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest municipality in greater Seattle and t ...

, southeast of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, despite his frame more typical of a lineman or tight-end. In his senior season of 1972, Earl was voted the state's MVP both on offense and defense, and was also named Washington's Top Scholastic Athlete of the Year. That spring he won the state title in the discus, and his toss of still stands as K-M's all time mark.

College career

At the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

in Seattle, Earl started as a tight end as a freshman in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

, but once again he proved valuable when switched to full back for his final two and a half seasons. He lettered all four years and finished as the Huskies' second all-time leading rusher with 2,351 yards. Voted Most Improved Player after the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

season, Earl was a team captain and MVP as a senior in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

. He also lettered 3 years in track & field as a discus thrower, and qualified for the NCAA Track Championships all three seasons

Professional career

Robin Earl was selected in the third round of the

1977 NFL Draft The 1977 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1977, at the Roosevelt Hotel ...

by the

. He played fullback, blocking for

Walter Payton Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1953Although most sources at the time of his death gave Payton's birth year as 1954, reliable sources subsequently state he was born in 1953. – November 1, 1999) was an American football running back who played ...

for three years before being switched once again to tight end, then finished his nine-year career with the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL. After football, Earl licensed in the state of Illinois (1986) as an Insurance Broker specializing in employee benefits. In 2009, Earl licensed with the Illinois Commerce Commission to sell energy and founded 'Save On Energy 81'. His company currently sells electricity to hundreds of Illinois residences and businesses. In 2014 Earl moved back to the Seattle area and joined the 'Assurance Group' specializing in Medicare sales. In November 2021 Earl who is now semi-retired, moved to the Southern Tucson, Az. area where he still maintains his Insurance & Energy Broker's License.

Currently

Robin has seven children and 8 grandkids. Ryan, Regan, Roth, Robin, Kristin, Preston & Kevin. Resides in a retirement community (Quail Creek) in Green Valley, Arizona.

External links

* 1955 births Living people American football running backs American football tight ends Chicago Bears players Washington Huskies football players Sportspeople from Boise, Idaho Players of American football from Idaho Players of American football from Washington (state) Birmingham Stallions players {{runningback-1950s-stub