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Date of birth: (1928-10-07)October 7, 1928
Place of birth: Newark, New Jersey, United States
Date of death: March 28, 2008(2008-03-28) (aged 79)
Place of death: Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Career information
Position(s): Safety
NFL Draft: 1950 / Round: 6 / Pick: 67
Organizations
Playing stats at NFL.com

Richard Herbert Rich (October 7, 1928, in Newark, New Jersey – March 28, 2008) was an All-Pro American football safety in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts, Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants.[1]

Early and personal life[]

Rich was born in Newark, New Jersey, and was Jewish.[2][3] He graduated from Miami Beach High School in Florida.[3]

He was married to the former Carla Blocker, and they had a son, Jonathan, and two daughters, Terry and Tracey.[3] The family lived in Nashville, Tennessee.[4]

College[]

He played college football at Vanderbilt University, as well as basketball and baseball, and was president of his class.[5][3] In football, he earned All-SEC honors at tailback, rushing for 1,282 yards during the 1948-49 seasons.[3]

Professional career[]

Rich was drafted in the sixth round of the 1950 NFL Draft, and played defensive back and returned punts during his career.[3] In his rookie season he averaged 23 yards on 12 punt returns, an NFL record that stood for over 50 years.[3][6][7][8] He was a two-time All-Pro defensive back.[3]

In 65 career games, he had 29 career interceptions, including three for touchdowns.[3] In 1992, he was elected to the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. Rich also became Vanderbilt's seventh "SEC Football Legend".[3]

After football[]

Rich was a 1954 graduate of Vanderbilt Law School.[3] After his football career ended, Rich was an attorney in Nashville.[5] He was president of the Nashville Jewish Community Center in 1971-72, and was a board member of Temple Ohabai Sholom in Nashville.[3]

Rich died at 79 years of age in 2008.[5]

See also[]

References[]

External links[]


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