Bob Babich Dead at 74
Bob Babich, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame who played linebacker for the Chargers and Browns in the NFL, passed away recently. He was 74.
Babich died April 3 at his home in Clairemont, California. His death was reported by the National Football Foundation on Wednesday.
Babich, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, attended Miami (Ohio) University and played for coach Bo Schembechler. In 1968, he was a captain and first-team All-American at linebacker, and in 1994, he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. He is the first player from Oxford, Ohio’s Mid-American Conference institution to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
“An exceptional hard hitting linebacker, Bob Babich made his mark in Oxford as one of the best in the country,” National Football Foundation chairman Archie Manning said. “He was great guy to be around with a great sense of humor and full of great stories.”
Babich was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the first round of the 1969 NFL draft. He spent three years with the Chargers and six more in Cleveland, mostly playing middle linebacker.
After his playing days, he operated his own firm for more than two decades in the insurance, financial services and real estate lending industry.
Bob Babich Dead at 74. May his soul rest in Peace