From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thomas Henry Nobis, Jr. (born
September 20,
1943 in
San Antonio, Texas) is a former
American football player. He attended San Antonio
Jefferson High School where he was an all-state
offensive guard and
middle linebacker. He played
college football for the
University of Texas at Austin and professionally, in the
NFL,
for the
Atlanta Falcons.
College years
Tommy Nobis is one of college football’s all-time
greatest linebackers. In his tenure with the
Texas Longhorns (1963-1965)
he averaged nearly 20 tackles a game and, as the only
sophomore starter, was an important participant on the
Longhorns’
1963
National College Football Championship team, which
defeated
Heisman Trophy winner
Roger Staubach in the
Cotton Bowl. Nobis was a two time
All-American and made the All-Southwest
Conference team three times. In the 1965
Orange Bowl, Nobis made one of the most famous tackles
in the game’s history. On fourth-and-inches, and clinging to
a 21-17 lead, he led his teammates to a game saving halt of
top ranked
Alabama’s
QB
Joe Namath. Tommy Nobis was an iron man, playing (and
starring) on both defense and offense for his entire college
career. Aside from being an All-American linebacker, he also
played guard on the offensive side of the ball and was often
the primary blocker on
touchdown runs. Famed Texas coach
Darrell K. Royal called him "the finest two-way player I
have ever seen." A knee injury slowed him during the latter
part of his senior season, but he still was able to perform
at a high level and won a number of major individual awards
including the
Knute Rockne Award, best lineman, the
Outland Trophy, best interior lineman, and the
Maxwell Award for college football’s best player. Nobis
also finished seventh in the Heisman voting to
USC’s
Mike Garrett. He appeared on the cover of both
Sports Illustrated and
TIME Magazine.
NFL career
In
1965, Tommy Nobis became the first player ever drafted
by the expansion Atlanta Falcons as well as the first
linebacker to be chosen first overall when he was taken
with the #1 pick in the
1966
NFL Draft on
November 27,
1965. The
Houston Oilers also drafted him in the
AFL Draft. This presented a dilemma and also sparked a
debate that reached as far as outer space when
Frank Borman, an
astronaut aboard
Gemini 7, talked back to earth with the message, “tell
Nobis to sign with Houston.” Tommy Nobis instead signed with
Atlanta on
December 14,
1965 and became the first ever member of the Atlanta
Falcons. This culminated in the nickname “Mr. Falcon”.
Tommy Nobis joined the Falcons for their inaugural season
in
1966. That season he won the league’s NFL Rookie of the
Year, was voted to the
Pro Bowl and amassed an unprecedented 294 combined
tackles which still stands today as the team’s all-time
single-season record. In eleven professional seasons he led
the Falcons in tackles nine times, went to five Pro Bowls
(one in
1972 after two knee surgeries), was named All-Pro twice
and was chosen for the NFL's "All-Decade Team" for the
1960's.
Miami Dolphins great,
running back
Larry Csonka commented, "I'd rather play against
Dick Butkus than Nobis," and Falcon’s coach
Norm Van Brocklin once pointed to Nobis’ locker and
proclaimed, “There’s where our football team dresses.”
Nobis is a member of the Atlanta Falcons’ Ring of Honor
and his # 60 was the first number retired by the team. No
other Falcons player has ever worn the number.
Pro Hall of Fame Career?
Nobis enjoyed a successful NFL career that many believe
is worthy of
Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. Former NFL player
and coach
Dan Reeves, while head coach of the Falcons, remarked,
"As a
running back for eight seasons in the NFL, I certainly
took my share of hits. Unfortunately I remember some of
them, particularly the ones from Falcons linebacker Tommy
Nobis. 'Mr. Falcon,' as he is known in this part of the
country, should be considered a worthy candidate for the
Hall of Fame.” Reeves based his assertion on the fact that
while playing in Atlanta, prior to the days of mass media
coverage, Nobis was overlooked because of the “Falcons lack
of success during his tenure”. He states, “I played and
coached on some great teams while I was with
Dallas. Those teams consisted of Hall of Fame members
like
Bob Lilly,
Roger Staubach and
Tom Landry. I feel that Nobis' contributions on the
field merit those of the Cowboys Hall of Fame players.”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Columnist and Hall of Fame
voter
Furman Bisher wrote, "There isn't much more one can say
about Tommy Nobis. In the glow of a winning team, where he
would have been a star on the isolated camera, he would
already have been residing in Canton. It's not a Falcons
thing, it's a Nobis thing, and here is a man who lives up to
all the ideals I would establish for admission to the Pro
Football Hall of Fame."
After the NFL
Number 60 is also revered at
Texas where, in
2004, another Longhorn All-American linebacker,
Derrick Johnson, decided to wear the jersey in his final
collegiate home game to
honor Nobis.
Tommy Nobis was inducted into the Texas Longhorn Hall of
Honor in
1976. He was named to Sports Illustrated’s All-Century
Team (1869-1969)
and is a member of the
College Football Hall of Fame, the State of Texas Hall
of Fame, the
Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, the San Antonio Sports Hall
of Fame, and the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame.
Tommy Nobis is currently the Falcons Vice President of
Corporate Development and has been a member of the
organization, in the front office and on the field, for over
35 years.
Apart from football Nobis is the founder and a Board of
Directors member of the
Tommy Nobis Center that began in
1975. The center provides youth and adults, with
disabilities, job training and employment services. He won
the
Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. award for his work with the
Georgia
Special Olympics and has been named the NFL Man of the
Year.
