BOB HAACK
Linfield Class of 1969
Came to Linfield from Dallas High School,
Dallas, Ore.
6-5 and 265
BASEBALL WAS TO BE HIS GAME
“I was recruited to Linfield by Roy Helser to be a pitcher on the
Linfield baseball team. I played JV baseball, but never played varsity baseball
for Linfield. How I ended up on the football team is an interesting story. (See story at this link
“I also played JV basketball. And, I had a
one-match experience as a heavyweight wrestler on the Linfield wrestling team.
In that sport, one match was all the career I ever wanted.
NFL SCOUTS
“Contact with NFL scouts started after my
sophomore year at Linfield with a scout representing several teams, including
the Cowboys and Saints. There were scouts in touch with me during the spring
following my junior season, too.
NFL CONTACT
“I was drafted in the 17th round (419th
pick) by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1969 NFL draft. I read that in the
newspaper. But, when I got a telegram
from the Eagles telling me the same thing, I knew it was for real. Coach Dick
Stanfel of the Eagles came to the Linfield campus to meet me in Coach
Rutschman’s office in mid-February 1969. Dick and I discussed money,
bonuses and pre-season conditioning. Dick wanted to time me in the 40-yard
dash. So, I went to Maxwell Stadium, changed my clothes and he timed me in 4.9
seconds. That confirmed what the Eagles had on paper for me: 4.8 to 5.0 in the
40. After that, I changed my clothes again and went back to Ad’s office and
signed a contract for $21,500 with increment bonuses totally an additional
$4,000 based upon making the Eagles’ roster.”
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN IN PORTLAND
“First pre-season game in 1969 for the Eagles
was in Portland in Civic Stadium vs. the Saints. Imagine, playing in Oregon for
the Eagles against the Saints, with Joe
Robillard on the Saints roster. But,
unfortunately, it did not happen for either of us. Joe and I were both released
on the same day, two weeks prior to what would have been our pro debuts in
Portland.
VIETNAM WAR
“When I graduated from Linfield in 1969 and
signed with the Eagles was during the peak of the Vietnam War. Like any male
students attending college during the war, I had a student deferment as long as
I was a full-time student and passed my classes. It wasn’t long after I
graduated from Linfield that I had my military pre-induction physical in
downtown Portland. The Eagles provided me with an ‘out’ by getting me into the Pennsylvania
Army National Guard. So, when I went to Philadelphia I attended military drills
for several months in Pottstown,
Pa. (about 40 miles from Philly) before reporting to
Fort Lewis, Wash., in December 1969.
“By the way, Joe Robillard was also at Fort Lewis – I assume he was with the
Louisiana National Guard -- about four weeks ahead of me in boot camp. We each
got military leave at Christmastime and drove from Fort Lewis down I-5. Joe
headed home to Hood River I was going home to McMinnville where my wife Nancy (Steinbach Haack) and I lived. As
Joe and I made that I-5 trip, we shared our pro football and boot camp
experiences.
“During that leave, Nancy gave birth to our
daughter, Shannon, in the
McMinnville hospital across the street from the Linfield campus. The hospital
has since moved, but then it was where a Walgreen’s drug store is now.
WITH THE EAGLES
“I was with the Eagles for three weeks. Then, I
was released and picked up by the Redskins and traded back to the Eagles on the
same day. And, on the same day the Eagles released me. The Eagles encouraged me
to play for its Pottstown Firebirds farm team and promised it would keep tabs
on me and bring me up to the Eagles if and when things changed. I did play for
the Firebirds and the team won the ACFL (Atlantic Coast Football League) in 1969. One of our
victories was over the Hartford, Conn., Knights. Two players for the Knights
were John Lee and Ed Griffin, my former Linfield football
teammates.
PRO TRAINING CAMP
“I realized very quickly that I was on my own. I
was being evaluated and judged on every drill and also in what I said or how I
responded in ‘skull sessions’ between practices. At the end of the first week with
the Eagles, about 40 draftees/free agents/and walk-ons were released. I was
still there. Then, the veteran players came to camp and it really became
interesting. The vets pushed us rookies, asking about our former college teams
and the team mascots. At meal team rookies provided entertainment by singing
our college alma maters. The Linfield Alma Mater was one of their favorites.
When I got to ‘The Old Oak gives us courage, keeps us steadfast in on our way, For
her we'll fight, With all our might…’ the vets would hoot and holler, pound the
tables and have me start over again.
WERE YOU PREPARED FOR THE PROS?
“Yes and no! The intensity and love of competing
never changed. But, what was so remarkably different between Linfield and the
pros was the physical size, strength and quickness of the surviving rookies and
veterans. Yes, we at Linfield had many strong, quick and physical players that
truly made our team outstanding in the Northwest Conference. But, when you are
in an NFL training camp there are 75 players with outstanding qualities and characteristics.
We’re competing for only 43 slots on the active roster. The survival and fear
of not making the cut was very intense.
WEATHER
“Eagle training camp was at Albright College in
Reading, Pa. The temperatures were in the upper 90s and the humidity was
outrageous. We were having daily doubles practices. And, we were learning the offensive
audible system called on the line. The offensive play could change. The
formation and the motion and the snap count could change, too. All of this
could change your blocking assignment. So, we’re sweating and exerting in
intense practices. Plus, in our skull sessions we have our coaches demanding perfection
regardless of our experience, peer pressure and hazing from the veterans. We were
playing football at Linfield and in the NFL camp, but motivation is different.
You are working extremely hard. It was Intense pressure beyond compare with
what I had ever experienced.
WAS LINFIELD KNOWN?
“No. Several joked about Oregon in general. Was Oregon
a state or a territory? I remember being asked if we Oregonians were still
fighting and dealing with Native Americans over fishing and water rights.
SURPRISES/DISAPPOINTMENTS?
“The biggest surprise was the shear and
overwhelming talent from all over the country. The greatest disappointment was
the negative comments from people, so called fans, going to and from training
camp. The Eagles fans earned a nickname: ‘The Philadelphia Boo Birds!’ As bad
as it was during the training camp, I was told during the previous Eagles
season, when the team only won four game, the Boo Birds were really awful. But,
despite all of this there were children wanting or autographs and wanting their
photos taken with us.
WERE YOU PREPARED?
“I was well prepared at Linfield under both head
coaches: Paul Durham for three and Ad Rutschman my senior year. I truly ‘learned
the game specifically’ with Rutsch. Every aspect of the game was broken down,
learned, enforced with live drills and then executed in scrimmage. At Linfield,
game day was a break from the rigorous schedule! In the NFL camp, your s
playing ability was revealed with a scoring system of points, based upon the coaches’
review of each play. The pressure to perform in the NFL is intense.
WHAT IF
“I truly believe I would have played in the NFL,
based upon several on my teammates from Pottstown making it with the Eagles the
follow season. I was the Pottstown starting strong tackle and played four
games, prior to my career ending injury: fracturing three neck vertebrae/transverse
process.
DO YOU WATCH THE NFL TODAY?
“Rarely! On occasion, with family and friends
during the play-offs/championships I will watch the last quarter, if it's
close. But, for the most part, for me watching the NFL is out of proportion to
the realities of life.”
POSTSCRIPTS
--Planning to play Wildcat baseball, how Bob Haack became a Linfield football standout. Read story: http://bit.ly/1PhIL5F
- Bob almost attended Willamette University instead of Linfied. Read story:
BOB HAACK PHOTO INFORMATION:
-Bob “Igor” Haack in the Oct. 19, 1967, Linfield
Review, drawing by former Linfield QB Bruce Priem
-Clipping from Feb. 6, 1969, Linews story by
Chuck Humble about Bob Haack, Joe Robillard, NFL draft
-Clipping, perhaps from a 1969 issue of the McMinnville
News-Register, about Bob Haack, Joe Robillard, NLF draft
-NFL Philadelphia Eagles 1969 Training Camp media
guide cover and roster
-Linfield Sports Info publicity photos
-Bob Haack's Dallas, Ore., High School
"D" athletic letter
-Willamette University "Barney Bearcat"
mascot logo
