Richard Bishop (March 23, 1950 – September 26, 2016) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

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) and

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 ...

(CFL). He 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 Marshalltown Community College in

Marshalltown, Iowa Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at ...

, where he was a First-team NJCAA All-American as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. Following his career at Marshalltown, Bishop played at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

for the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

. He died in Miami, Florida, in 2016.Former Patriots DT Richard Bishop passes away
/ref> Bishop recorded 30.5 sacks, recovered 6

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

s and blocked a

field goal 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 ...

attempt while playing on the defensive line for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

over the 1976–1981 seasons in the NFL. He was a member of the New England Patriots 1980s All-Decade Team. He shared in a sack of Ken Stabler and Dan Manucci, recorded 1 sack of Mike Rae, Ron Jaworski, Ken Anderson, Scott Hunter, Greg Landry, Matt Robinson, Marc Wilson, David Woodley and sacks of Dan Fouts. He had 2 sacks of Joe Ferguson and Jack Thompson and 3 sacks of Pro Football Hall of Famer Bob Griese. He recorded 5 sacks of Bert Jones and 8 sacks of Jets QB Richard Todd. Bishop recovered fumbles by Terry Bradshaw, Mike Hogan, John Riggins, Joe Washington and Richard Todd. He blocked a 40-yard field goal attempt by Mark Moseley in the Patriots 24–22 loss to the Washington Redskins on October 25, 1981. He recorded one safety when he sacked Bob Griese in the Patriots 33–24 win over Miami on October 22, 1978. Bishop participated in 3 sacks of Dan Pastorini in the Patriots 31–14 Divisional Playoff Game loss to Houston on December 31, 1978.

References

1950 births 2016 deaths Players of American football from Cleveland American football defensive linemen Canadian football defensive linemen Glenville High School alumni Louisville Cardinals football players New England Patriots players Miami Dolphins players Los Angeles Rams players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Ottawa Rough Riders players {{ULouisville-stub