Bobby Douglass

Robert Gilchrist Douglass (born June 22, 1947) is a former American football quarterback in the NFL, who played most of his career with the Chicago Bears, who drafted him in the second round of the 1969 NFL Draft. During his career, he also played for the San Diego Chargers, the New Orleans Saints, the Oakland Raiders, and Green Bay Packers. Douglass retired after the 1978 season, after playing 10 seasons in the NFL.

Douglass was raised in El Dorado, Kansas, where his father was a football coach and attended the University of Kansas. Douglass was a two-time All-Big Eight Conference (1967–68) selection and an All-American in 1968. During his senior season, Douglass directed the Jayhawks to a 9–2 record, a share of the Big Eight Conference title and a spot in the 1969 Orange Bowl. He passed for 1,316 yards and 12 touchdowns during his final year as a Jayhawk and finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting that season.

In 1972, playing for the Chicago Bears, Douglass set the record for most rushing yards by a QB in one season. The record stood for 34 years. In a 14-game 1972 season, he ran for 968 yards and 8 touchdowns on 141 carries. Four QBs (three in the CFL, one in the NFL) have since run for over 1,000 yards. With Douglass starting, the Chicago Bears had only a 13–31–1 record.

In five seasons from 1971–1975, Douglass played in 47 games and amassed 2,040 rushing yards. During that span, he averaged 43.4 rushing yards per game played—the second highest rushing yards per game average over a five-season span for a QB. Randall Cunningham ranks first with 43.5 yds/g over a five-season span from 1986–1990).

However, Douglass had little success as a passer, going 507-for-1178 for 36 touchdowns and 64 interceptions with a quarterback passer rating of only 48.5 during his 11-season NFL career.

After his NFL career was over, Douglass briefly played minor league baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization. In 1979 he pitched four games for the Iowa Oaks where he had 7 innings pitched, issued 13 walks and failed to record a strikeout.

Douglass was married to former Playboy model Carol O'Neal.

Douglass was arrested on charges of trespassing on April 13, 2011.

1. ^ "Bobby Douglass, Post 81 American Legion". El Dorado Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved 25 March 2013. 
2. ^ KU Athletics Football (March 10, 2011). "Former Kansas Quarterback Bobby Douglass Up for Induction to College Football Hall of Fame". Official Website for the University of Kansas Athletics Department. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 
3. ^ Yellon, Al (August 31, 2010). "Bobby Douglass: A Bears Quarterback Who Was One Of A Kind". SB Nation Chicago. Retrieved October 25, 2011. 
4. ^ "Bobby Douglass baseball stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 25, 2011. 
5. ^ Fuller, Ruth (April 14, 2011). "Ex-Bear QB Douglass charged with trespassing". Chicago Breaking News. Retrieved April 16, 2011.