espn did a piece on him in their sportscenter show today. i had always known he was a rb on the great steelers teams but never knew what he had been through. i am almost ashamed of myself for not knowing that he had not only been in vietnam but had been wounded and then had a grenade blow up at his feet. and THEN came back and rehabbed to end up being a great nfl player. they also talked about how the nfl would do whatever they did to try and make sure that their guys didnt end up in the front lines of the war. however that didnt always work..... AND he was a notre dame guy. i am ashamed of myself and for once i will give credit to espn. they just dont make em like THAT anymore.
Bob Kalsu was the only active pro football player to die in Vietnam. You can read about it in the SI Vault. The story originally appeared in the July 23, 2001 issue.
Bleier went to Notre Dame with and was friends with a friend of mine's father. So I heard about his war injuries thru them. He made an incredible TD reception against the Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII
Bleier's story was very well-known at the time, since he was a starter on the great Steelers teams. The unusual aspect was that at the time most professional athletes were in the Reserves, so while they might go off for a few weeks during the season, they wouldn't go to Vietnam. They named a street for him in his home town (Appleton, WI) in 2007 - the very appropriate Rocky Bleier Run.
yeah that was kinda crazy statjet, to imagine pro athletes getting sent off but hey it happened to many in wwii, its just the matter that things have changed so much at this point. i dont understand the post plinko, what is the unfortunate name? thats pretty cool murrell, i enjoy hearing stories about how it was back when. i really enjoy the history and the amazing stories from a time before every damn thing in the world was on tv or the internet. cool cakes i am going to check that out! mick it wasnt a long piece but it was interesting just because i didnt know very much about him. i was glad i caught it.
Always one of my favorite Steelers. There was a bad movie about Rocky many years back. Probably best if that one stays in the back of someone's closet.
