Andrew Robustelli was one of the greatest players in franchise history who played for the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams during a 14-year NFL career.
Robustelli was selected to seven Pro Bowls and was named first team All-NFL seven times, two Read more...
Andrew Robustelli was one of the greatest players in franchise history who played for the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams during a 14-year NFL career.
Robustelli was selected to seven Pro Bowls and was named first team All-NFL seven times, two with the Rams and five with the Giants. He was also a three-time second-team All-Pro choice. In 1962, the Maxwell Club selected Robustelli as the NFL's top player, an honor then usually given to an offensive player.
Robustelli was born on December 7, 1925 in Stamford, Connecticut, to Lucien Robustelli, an Italian-American and his wife Catherine Robustelli. He attended Stamford High School, where he excelled in football and baseball. At age 18, he enlisted in the United States Navy and served on the USS William C. Cole in the Pacific Theater. After the war, he attended Arnold College, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After college, he was drafted in the NFL by the Los Angeles Rams in the nineteenth round of the 1951 NFL Draft. In June, 1951, he was offered a tryout with the New York Giants football club. The Giants offered Robustelli a $400 contract to play with Class AA Knoxville.
A two-way end at Arnold College, Robustelli was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the nineteenth round of the 1951 NFL Draft and was considered a long shot to make the team. The Rams were impressed with his determination and toughness as a defensive end and he not only made the team, he was an All-Pro in 1953 and 1955. He played for the Rams until he was traded to the New York Giants in 1956.
Robustelli spent nine seasons with the Giants, playing for six conference champions and one NFL championship team. He was a starter on the Giants defense from 1956 until his retirement after the 1964 season.
In Robustelli's first season, the Giants won the NFL championship and after that they won Eastern Division titles in 1958, '59, '61, '62, and '63, losing in the NFL championship game each time, in 1958 and 1959 to the Baltimore Colts, in 1961 and 1962 to the Green Bay Packers and in 1963 to the Chicago Bears.
With the Giants, Robustelli was an All-Pro from 1956 through 1960. He received the 1962 Bert Bell Award as best player in the NFL, one of the few defensive players to do so. He played in 174 NFL games, missing only one in his career. He recovered 22 fumbles in his career (the NFL record when he retired) and intercepted two passes, both going for touchdowns.
Although small for a defensive end at 6'0" and 230 pounds, Robustelli was exceptionally smart, quick, strong and known as a superb pass rusher.Robustelli also holds the distinction of being the only football player to have played in the first two nationally televised NFL games.
Robustelli's wife, Jeanne, died in April. She was 8 4. The couple had nine children, 29 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
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May 31st 2011
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What I write will pale in comparison to the deserved accolades to one of the greatest football players of all time. I just feel it is important for people to know how Andy touched the "little people" like me. Whether it was true or not, the few times I met with him, he made me and my Dad feel like we were old friends. I remember giving Ricky a ride home to Stamford from UConn, or some thing like that, and we wound up eating dinner there. My father was a huge Giants fan and you thought he was dining with the Pope. What a truly nice guy! In today's world of ego-maniacal pro athletes, that is the best thing you can say about someone. I haven't spoken to Ricky since our UConn days but I want him to know I held his Dad in the highest esteem and he will be missed. May God Bless him and his family.
Peter LaVenia ,
June 06, 2011
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