Bobby Beathard
refer to caption
Beathard in 2018
Personal information
Born:(1937-01-24)January 24, 1937
Zanesville, Ohio, U.S.
Died:January 30, 2023(2023-01-30) (aged 86)
Franklin, Tennessee, U.S.
Career information
High school:El Segundo (El Segundo, California)
College:Cal Poly
Undrafted:1959
Career history
As a player:
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As an executive:
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com
Executive profile at PFR

Robert King Beathard Jr. (/ˈbɛθərd/ BETH-ərd;[1] January 24, 1937 – January 30, 2023) was an American professional football executive who was a general manager for the Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). Over the course of his 38 years in the NFL, his teams competed in seven Super Bowls (winning four), beginning with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1966, the Miami Dolphins in 1972 and 1973, the Redskins in 1982, 1983, and 1987, and the Chargers in 1994. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

Early life and playing career

Beathard was born in Zanesville, Ohio, before moving to El Segundo, California, at the age of four. He attended El Segundo High School but did not begin playing football until his sophomore year, as a tailback. In college, he accepted a scholarship to play football for LSU, but returned home after summer practices after feeling homesick. He then enrolled at El Camino Junior College for a year before enrolling at Cal Poly, where he played football as a back-up running back and later the starting quarterback and defensive back, leading Cal Poly to back-to-back 9–1 seasons. He went undrafted in 1959 and had pre-season stints with two professional teams, but was unable to find a spot, spending his early post-college years playing semi-pro football and working various non-football jobs.[2]

Executive career

Scout

Beathard joined the Kansas City Chiefs as a part-time scout in 1963. He left the Chiefs for the American Football League before returning to Kansas City in 1966.[3] Beathard then served as a scout for the Atlanta Falcons from 1968 through 1971. He was named director of player personnel for the Miami Dolphins in 1972, succeeding Joe Thomas.[4] From 1972 to 1973, the Dolphins would go 26-2 with two Super Bowl victories, including a perfect season in 1972.[5]

General manager

Beathard was named general manager of the Washington Redskins in 1978. Prominent draft picks for the Redskins under his tenure include Art Monk, Mark May, Russ Grimm, Dexter Manley, Charlie Brown, Darrell Green, Charles Mann, and Gary Clark. Beathard resigned from the team prior to the 1989 NFL Draft and spent that year as a studio analyst with NFL on NBC.[6] In 1990, Beathard became the general manager of the San Diego Chargers. In 1994, the organization won the AFC Championship and appeared in its first Super Bowl. He retired in 2000.[7]

Personal life

Beathard resided with his wife Christine in Franklin, Tennessee.[8] Beathard's younger brother, Pete Beathard, was a quarterback at USC, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Oilers. One of Beathard's sons, Casey Beathard, is a country music songwriter.[9] His other son, Kurt Beathard, is a football coach, formerly the offensive coordinator for Illinois State.[10][11] His grandson, Jeffery "Bobo" Beathard, played four years at Appalachian State University as a wide receiver; while other grandsons, C. J. Beathard and Tucker Beathard, are a quarterback and a singer-songwriter respectively. Another of Beathard's grandsons, Clayton Beathard, was fatally stabbed in a bar fight in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2019.[12]

Beathard participated in the 1984 New York City Marathon.[13] From 2005 to 2009, Beathard was a consecutive 5 time first place winner in the men's age 65 and over group at the World Bodysurfing Championships held annually in Oceanside, California.[14] Beathard was inducted into the Cal Poly Mustangs Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988.[15] He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Chargers Hall of Fame in 2018.[16][17]

Beathard died from Alzheimer's disease at his home in Franklin, Tennessee, on January 30, 2023, at the age of 86.[18]

References

  1. ↑ Brown, Daniel. "49ers Analysis: How rookie C.J. Beathard showed promise of better days ahead," The Mercury News August 20, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2020
  2. ↑ Attner, Paul; Shapiro, Leonard (April 12, 1981). "BOBBY BEATHARD". Retrieved December 25, 2017 – via www.WashingtonPost.com.
  3. ↑ Coleman, Madeline (February 1, 2023). "Super Bowl-Winning NFL Executive Bobby Beathard Dies at 86". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  4. ↑ Wallace, William N. "Cards Get Anderson, Send Lane to Packers," The New York Times, Wednesday, February 23, 1972. Retrieved September 27, 2020
  5. ↑ Belson, Ken (2023-02-01). "Bobby Beathard, Mastermind of N.F.L. Dynasties, Dies at 86". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  6. ↑ Doerschuk, Steve. "Bobby Beathard had to fight his way to Hog Heaven". CantonRep.com. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  7. ↑ "Riding into sunset". The Californian. April 26, 2000 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ↑ "Bobby Beathard". Archived from the original on 2012-03-26. Retrieved 2011-06-28.
  9. ↑ "Casey Beathard". Broadcast Music Incorporated. December 2004. Retrieved 2007-12-28.
  10. ↑ "College coach abruptly quits, puts 'All Lives Matter to Our Lord' sign on office door while leaving". 27 September 2020.
  11. ↑ "Illinois State Athletics". www.goredbirds.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  12. ↑ "Man sentenced in 2019 murder of two outside Nashville bar, one of them a Rhodes student". 7 July 2022.
  13. ↑ Bock, Hal (October 26, 1984). "Marathon Week can be hazardous to health". Times-News. Hendersonville, North Carolina. AP. p. 17. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  14. ↑ "World Bodysurfing Championships - 2006 Contest Results". Archived from the original on 2014-03-29. Retrieved 2014-09-25.
  15. ↑ "Cal Poly". Cal Poly. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Longtime Chargers GM Bobby Beathard Elected to Hall of Fame". Los Angeles Chargers. 2018-02-03. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
  17. ↑ Miller, Jeff (September 7, 2018). "Joey Bosa to miss Chargers' opener with left foot injury". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  18. ↑ Rifkin, Glenn. "Bobby Beathard, Hall of Fame football executive, dies at 86". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
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