NFL to war back to NFL
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Rocky Bleier in the 1968 NFL draft, but Rocky was drafted into the US Army for the Vietnam War after the season. Unfortunately, he was injured by enemy fire while serving in Vietnam the following year. At one point, a doctor told Bleier he could never play football again due to the injuries, which included being hit by a rifle bullet and shrapnel damage from a grenade. After many surgeries, he lost over 30 pounds from his playing weight, and it was painful for him even to walk.
Rocky would join the Steelers again in 1970 but couldn't play that season. However, he would recover enough to play on special teams the next year. The Steelers waived him twice before Rocky became a starter in 1974. He would help the Steelers win four Super Bowls and rushed for 1,036 yards in 1976.
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Whether it's a broken arm, a twisted knee, a sprained ankle, we've all experienced it on one level or another, and then you kind of learn some lessons. And one of those is that, in time, these injuries heal and then you go back out and play again. So that was always my mindset.
Rocky Bleier
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References
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Rocky Bleier recalls Vietnam War, 40 years after it ended
The date was Aug. 20, 1969, and Bleier, a national champion at Notre Dame and a 16th-round pick of the Steelers in the 1968 NFL Draft, was in his fourth month in Vietnam after being drafted into the Army on Dec. 4, 1968. Bleier, who like many others had been assigned 1-A classification after he graduated from college, received the news with two games remaining in a rookie season that saw him appear in 10 contests and gain 107 total yards.
Fox Sports
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Rocky Bleier's War
What was war like for a football player turned combat infantryman?
Sports Illustrated
