Robert J. Gallery (born July 26, 1980) 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 wi ...

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

who played for eight seasons 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 majo ...

. 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

for the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 co ...

, and received unanimous All-American recognition. He was selected by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

second overall in the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 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 April 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

. He also played for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

Early years

Gallery was born in

Manchester, Iowa Manchester is a city in Delaware Township, Delaware County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,065 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Delaware County. Manchester is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 20 and ...

. He attended East Buchanan High School in

Winthrop, Iowa Winthrop is a city in Buchanan County, Iowa, United States. The population was 823 at the time of the 2020 census. History Winthrop was platted in 1857. Geography Winthrop is located at (42.472419, -91.735713). According to the United States ...

, and starred in

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 ...

, basketball, and track. In football, he played

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. Lik ...

and

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, ...

, and also handled punting and kickoff duties. He was an all-conference honorable mention selection as a sophomore before being named first-team all-conference as a junior and senior. Gallery helped his high school team to a three-year record of 24-8, including a 19-2 record in district play. He was a ''

Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the juncti ...

'' Class 1A first-team all-state selection as a senior. In addition to his athletic accomplishments, Gallery earned the rank of

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

College career

Gallery went to the

, and played for the

Iowa Hawkeyes football The Iowa Hawkeyes football program represents the University of Iowa in college football. The Hawkeyes compete in the West division of the Big Ten Conference. Iowa joined the Conference (then known as the Western Conference or Big Nine) in 1899 ...

team from 1999 to 2003. His older brother, Nick, had been an All-Big Ten punter for the Hawkeyes, and his younger brother, John, later became a punter for the Hawkeyes. After red-shirting in 1999, Gallery had three catches for 52 yards as a starting tight end as a freshman before moving to the tackle position. He started six games at the right tackle position as a freshman. As a sophomore, Gallery started every game at left tackle and made vast improvements throughout the year. He helped Iowa lead the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

in scoring in 2001 as Iowa qualified for their first bowl game in four years. As a junior in 2002, Gallery started all 13 games at left tackle and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection. He helped lead Iowa to their first Big Ten title in 12 years and their first undefeated conference season in eighty years. He also won the team's Hustle Award. In 2003, Gallery led Iowa to another ten-win season and was voted as Iowa's co-captain and co-MVP for the season. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection for the second straight year and named the Big Ten Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year. He was recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American as a senior in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

. He was awarded the 2003

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Am ...

, making him the third lineman from Iowa to win the award (

Alex Karras Alexander George Karras (July 15, 1935 – October 10, 2012) was an American football player, professional wrestler, sportscaster, and actor. He was a four-time Pro Bowl player with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), w ...

and

Cal Jones Calvin Jack Jones (February 7, 1933 – December 9, 1956) was a college football player for the University of Iowa. Jones is one of only two Iowa football players (along with Nile Kinnick) to have his jersey number retired by the school. Jon ...

being the other two). He was also a three-time academic All-Big Ten selection at Iowa. Gallery graduated with a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Iowa. As part of his pre-professional training, he taught at two local elementary schools.

Professional career

2004 NFL Draft

Gallery was selected with the second overall pick in the

by the

. He was regarded as "the best lineman to come out of college in years", with a perfect 9.0 Draft Prospect Rating, the highest for any offensive lineman.

Oakland Raiders

In 2004, Gallery started 15 games at right tackle and gave up three sacks. In 2005, he started all 16 games at right tackle and gave up 3.5 sacks. The Raiders moved him to left tackle at the beginning of the 2006 preseason. In the Raiders' first game of the 2006 regular season, Gallery was part of an offensive line that gave up nine sacks (at least three of which were charged to him) to the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

. He played in 13 games during the season and gave up 10.5 sacks, placing him fourth in the league for most sacks given up, despite missing three games. In 2007, Oakland coaches moved Gallery to left guard. Although Gallery had generally been considered a bust at the left tackle position for which he was drafted and had limited success at the right tackle position, he performed much better as a left guard.

Seattle Seahawks

On July 27, 2011, Gallery agreed to join the Seattle Seahawks on a three-year deal worth a reported $15 million. He was released after one season.

New England Patriots

On March 19, 2012, Gallery signed with 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 ...

on a one-year deal Gallery announced his retirement from professional football on August 4, 2012.

References

External links

Iowa Hawkeyes Bio

Oakland Raiders Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallery, Robert 1980 births Living people All-American college football players American football offensive tackles Iowa Hawkeyes football players New England Patriots players Oakland Raiders players People from Buchanan County, Iowa Players of American football from Iowa Seattle Seahawks players People from Manchester, Iowa Ed Block Courage Award recipients