Halfback, Cincinnati
Bengals
Age: 24 (Dec.
19)
College: Arizona
Height: 6’0” Weight: 200
Prelude:
Robinson went
to college on a track scholarship and only played football in his last year. He
was chosen by the expansion Bengals in the third round of the 1968 AFL/NFL
draft, moved directly into the lineup, and scored the first regular season
touchdown in franchise history.
1968 Season Summary
Appeared in all
14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 238
[1]
Most
attempts, game - 26 (for 33 yds.) at NY Jets 12/8
Yards – 1023
[1]
Most yards,
game – 159 yards (on 17 carries) at Oakland 10/27
Average gain
– 4.3 [5]
TDs – 8 [1]
100-yard
rushing games – 4
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 24
Most
receptions, game – 7 (for 30 yds.) at Boston 12/1
Yards – 128
Most yards,
game – 78 (on 4 catches) vs. Houston 11/3
Average gain
– 5.3
TDs – 1
Kickoff
Returns
Returns – 3
Yards – 58
Average per
return – 19.3
TDs – 0
Longest
return – 22 yards
Punt Returns
Returns – 1
Yards – 1
TDs – 0
All-Purpose
yards – 1210 [7]
Scoring
TDs – 9 [6]
Points – 54 [14]
Awards & Honors:
AFL Rookie of
the Year: UPI
1st team
All-AFL: AP, UPI, NEA, NY Daily News, Pro Football Weekly
2nd
team All-AFL: PFWA
1st
team All-Western Division: Sporting News
AFL All-Star
Game
Bengals went 3-11
to finish fifth in the AFL Western Division.
Aftermath:
The
smooth-running Robinson never again matched the production of his rookie year.
His rushing total dropped off to 489 yards in 1969, although he was still
chosen to the last AFL All-Star Game. With a strong second half, he reached 622
yards in ’70 but carried only 49 times for 213 yards in 1971 and was traded to
the Oilers during the ’72 season. Robinson was a backup with Houston in 1973
and left for the Birmingham Americans of the WFL, where he played one final
season in 1974 and led the team in rushing with 599 yards on the way to that
league’s only championship. In the AFL and NFL, Robinson rushed for 2947 yards
on 737 carries (4.0 avg.) and caught 90 passes for 612 more yards, scoring a
total of 26 touchdowns. While his career failed to live up to the early
promise, Robinson remains the only player to rush for a thousand yards for a
first-year expansion team in the AFL/NFL.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were named Rookie
of the Year in the NFL, AFL (1960-69), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized
organization (Associated Press – Offense or Defense, Newspaper Enterprise
Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, or the league
itself – Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year).
