Editorial

NFL Hall Of Fame Executive Bobby Beathard Dead At 86

BLOG
Bobby Beathard, who was an NFL executive for over three decades, has died. He was 86 years old. [Twitter/Screenshot/Public — @ProFootballHOF]

[Twitter/Screenshot/Public — @ProFootballHOF]

Andrew Powell Sports and Entertainment Blogger
Font Size:

Sad news out of the National Football League.

Bobby Beathard, who was an NFL executive for over three decades, has died. He was 86 years old.

Beathard’s death came Jan. 30 due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease, according to his son Casey who spoke with The Washington Post. He died in his Franklin, Tennessee, home.

Inducted into the 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame as a contributor, Beathard was an executive in the league for five franchises throughout his career, including winning Super Bowls in each Miami and Washington. Altogether, Beathard won 10 division championships and four Super Bowls, and he was also a part of the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins.

I understand that Beathard’s greatest success came in D.C. (shout out to the DMV!) being the general manager who hired Joe Gibbs as the head coach of the-then Redskins, who would go on to win Super Bowls in 1982 and 1987. And I get that he was the one who drafted Hall of Fame types such as Art Monk, Russ Grimm and Darrell Green.

But this death personally hits the hardest with me as a Miami Dolphins fan. The 1972 undefeated season is very important to us, we bring it up and brag about it literally every year. After all, we’re the only undefeated team ever in NFL history, and with not much other glory to brag about, we latch on to that. Can you blame us? (RELATED: Looks Like The Chicago Bears Want To Trade Their No. 1 Overall NFL Draft Pick)

And this is why Beathard’s death sucks so much for me — that undefeated season.

Sad stuff overall, but especially as a Dolphins fan.