Bob Breunig
Encyclopedia
Robert Paul Breunig is a former American football
linebacker
for the Dallas Cowboys
of the National Football League
from 1975 to 1984. He played college football
at Arizona State University
and was drafted
in the third round of the 1975 NFL Draft
.
Breunig attended Alhambra High School
in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was a prep football All-American and a state wrestling
champion.
In 1971 he remained in the state of Arizona by committing to Arizona State, although being heavily recruited by USC
. It was reported that he chose ASU over USC just before the midnight deadline that year.
Breunig earned a starting job as a sophomore and lead the Sun Devils in tackles with 91, while earning All-Western Athletic Conference first honors. In one game against Air Force
, he had 19 tackles.
He led the team in tackles again as a junior with 117 and as a senior with 145, earning All-Western Athletic Conference honors both seasons.
He was part of the Sun Devils 1972 WAC title, and of consecutive Fiesta Bowl
wins in 1972 and 1973.
He teamed with Larry Gordon
in 1974, to form arguably the best line-backing corps in Arizona State University
history.
His senior season earned him first team All-America
honors from the Football Coaches of America, the Sporting News and Time Magazine. The Associated Press
and the United Press International
selected him to their All-America
second teams. He was also an All-Western Athletic Conference pick.
He was only the third Arizona State University defensive player to earn first-team All-America honors at that point in the school's history.
Following the 1974 season, Breunig was named ASU's Most Valuable Player in 1974 and was selected for the East-West Shrine Game, the Hula Bowl and the Coaches All American All Star Games.
Breunig ranks third all time in career solo tackles (206) and fifth in career tackles (353) at ASU.
He also was a Western Athletic Conference
wrestling champion at heavyweight for the Arizona State University.
In 1996 the Arizona Republic named him to the "All Time" Arizona State University Team.
In 1999 he was chosen as the Butkus Silver Anniversary Award Winner.
in the third round in 1975, as a 6 ft. 3 in., 242 lbs linebacker
.
Breunig was one of 12 drafted rookies who made the team that year - hence the "Dirty Dozen" nickname for the 1975 draft- and helped the Cowboys reach Super Bowl X
. The "Dirty Dozen" rookie class didn't include linebacker
Mike Hegman
who was drafted that year but did not arrive until 1976. Jim Zorn
also was a member of the "Dirty Dozen", but was cut before the season started so Preston Pearson
(traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers
) could join the Cowboys.
Breunig started his career in the NFL as Dave Edwards backup at strongside linebacker.
In 1976 he replaced Edwards after he retired.
In 1977 he was converted to middle linebacker, to replace the retired Lee Roy Jordan
, making him just the third player in Cowboy history to man the position on a full-time basis.
Breunig became a defensive captain and a perfect fit for Landry's complicated "Flex" defense.
Was the team's leading tackler for six seasons, including 1981 when he broke the team's single season tackling record.
He started 117 straight games, but in 1984, he missed half the games because of back problems, and played in pain during the other half, which led to his retirement.
He played 10 seasons for the Cowboys, appeared in 21 playoff games, including six NFC championships and three Super Bowls. He was an All Pro 4 times and a three time NFL Pro Bowl Selection.
He finished his career with 466 unassisted tackles, second only to Jordan in Cowboy history.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
for the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
from 1975 to 1984. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
and was drafted
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
in the third round of the 1975 NFL Draft
1975 NFL Draft
The 1975 National Football League Draft was held on January 28–29, 1975.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
.
Early days
Robert Paul Breunig was born on July 4, 1953 in Inglewood, California.Breunig attended Alhambra High School
Alhambra High School (Phoenix, Arizona)
Alhambra High School is part of the Phoenix Union High School District. The campus is located at 3839 West Camelback Road, northwest of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Alhambra's enrollment is 2900 students, just under 80 percent of whom are Hispanic...
in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was a prep football All-American and a state wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
champion.
In 1971 he remained in the state of Arizona by committing to Arizona State, although being heavily recruited by USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
. It was reported that he chose ASU over USC just before the midnight deadline that year.
Breunig earned a starting job as a sophomore and lead the Sun Devils in tackles with 91, while earning All-Western Athletic Conference first honors. In one game against Air Force
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
, he had 19 tackles.
He led the team in tackles again as a junior with 117 and as a senior with 145, earning All-Western Athletic Conference honors both seasons.
He was part of the Sun Devils 1972 WAC title, and of consecutive Fiesta Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
wins in 1972 and 1973.
He teamed with Larry Gordon
Larry Gordon
Larry Gordon was a former American football linebacker who played seven seasons in the National Football League for the Miami Dolphins...
in 1974, to form arguably the best line-backing corps in Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
history.
His senior season earned him first team All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
honors from the Football Coaches of America, the Sporting News and Time Magazine. The Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
and the United Press International
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
selected him to their All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
second teams. He was also an All-Western Athletic Conference pick.
He was only the third Arizona State University defensive player to earn first-team All-America honors at that point in the school's history.
Following the 1974 season, Breunig was named ASU's Most Valuable Player in 1974 and was selected for the East-West Shrine Game, the Hula Bowl and the Coaches All American All Star Games.
Breunig ranks third all time in career solo tackles (206) and fifth in career tackles (353) at ASU.
He also was a Western Athletic Conference
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
wrestling champion at heavyweight for the Arizona State University.
In 1996 the Arizona Republic named him to the "All Time" Arizona State University Team.
In 1999 he was chosen as the Butkus Silver Anniversary Award Winner.
Professional career
He was drafted by the Dallas CowboysDallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
in the third round in 1975, as a 6 ft. 3 in., 242 lbs linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
.
Breunig was one of 12 drafted rookies who made the team that year - hence the "Dirty Dozen" nickname for the 1975 draft- and helped the Cowboys reach Super Bowl X
Super Bowl X
Super Bowl X was an American football game played on January 18, 1976 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1975 regular season....
. The "Dirty Dozen" rookie class didn't include linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
Mike Hegman
Mike Hegman
Michael William Hegman is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League who played for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Tennessee State University....
who was drafted that year but did not arrive until 1976. Jim Zorn
Jim Zorn
James Arthur "Jim" Zorn is an American quarterbacks coach in the National Football League. He was formerly the quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens and now holds that same position with the Kansas City Chiefs...
also was a member of the "Dirty Dozen", but was cut before the season started so Preston Pearson
Preston Pearson
Preston James Pearson is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League who played for the Baltimore Colts , the Pittsburgh Steelers , and the Dallas Cowboys . Before his NFL career, he played for the University of Illinois, where he excelled at basketball...
(traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
) could join the Cowboys.
Breunig started his career in the NFL as Dave Edwards backup at strongside linebacker.
In 1976 he replaced Edwards after he retired.
In 1977 he was converted to middle linebacker, to replace the retired Lee Roy Jordan
Lee Roy Jordan
Lee Roy Jordan is a retired American football linebacker. After attending the University of Alabama, playing under head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, he spent 14 years in the National Football League playing for the Dallas Cowboys between 1963–1976...
, making him just the third player in Cowboy history to man the position on a full-time basis.
Breunig became a defensive captain and a perfect fit for Landry's complicated "Flex" defense.
Was the team's leading tackler for six seasons, including 1981 when he broke the team's single season tackling record.
He started 117 straight games, but in 1984, he missed half the games because of back problems, and played in pain during the other half, which led to his retirement.
He played 10 seasons for the Cowboys, appeared in 21 playoff games, including six NFC championships and three Super Bowls. He was an All Pro 4 times and a three time NFL Pro Bowl Selection.
He finished his career with 466 unassisted tackles, second only to Jordan in Cowboy history.