Conrad Dobler, a former Arizona Cardinals guard who spent six seasons with the team in St. Louis and was regarded as the league's dirtiest player at the time, passed away on Monday in Pueblo, Colorado, the team reported. He was 72.
Keep reading to find out more.
Throughout his ten-year career with the Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, and New Orleans Saints, Cobler was one of the best offensive guards in the NFL. From 1975 to 1977, the "troublemaker," as he was frequently referred to and hilariously referred to himself in a Miller Lite commercial, was selected for three straight Pro Bowls.
They allowed just eight sacks in 1975, which was a league-low, thanks to Dobler's willingness to use any strategy necessary to keep Jim Hart, the quarterback, upright.
Dobler said to Sports Illustrated in 1977, "I'll do anything I can get away with to protect my quarterback," including holding, gouging the eyes, whipping the legs, and biting.
Dobler, an undersized sixth-round selection out of Wyoming in 1972, made three straight Pro Bowls with St. Louis from 1975–77 before playing his final two seasons with the Saints and Bills. He was undersized at 6-foot-3 and 254 pounds.
He enjoyed playing the bad guy, and in a 1987 Miller Lite commercial where he was dubbed "Famous Troublemaker," he enraged viewers by debating the beer's catchphrase "Tastes great/Less filling."
Dobler gained notoriety by punching "Mean" Joe Greene, a star defensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and by kicking rival Merlin Olsen of the Los Angeles Rams.
Dobler started 125 of the 129 NFL games in which he participated.
In the wake of the Black 14 incident, the Pokes weren't particularly successful during Dobler's tenure, but the team did go 3-0 against Colorado State in Border War games.
Dobler, who was the subject of a well-known Miller Lite advertisement in the 1980s, struggled in both physical and mental health problems as a result of his playing career.
Dobler, a fifth-round selection in 1972, played for the Cardinals for his first six seasons before spending time with the New Orleans Saints and Buffalo Bills. He retired in 1981.
Michael Bidwill, the owner of the Cardinals, said in a statement that the player was "the kind of tough, physical, and fierce player that you love to line up with as a teammate and hate to line up against as an opponent." Conrad "was a big reason for the success of the Cardiac Cards of the 1970s on the field."
Memorial services will be held in Kansas City, Missouri, later.
After an accident in 2001, his wife Joy became paralyzed and passed away in 2018.
He leaves six children and 11 grandchildren behind.
