Athletics | 3/25/2025 11:35:00 AM
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By Paul Suellentrop
Bob Long built one of the most unique athletic careers in Shocker history by starting on the basketball court and ending up in the NFL.
Long, 83, died on March 16 at his home in Brookfield, Wisc., He played seven seasons as a receiver in the NFL, including for Green Bay from 1964-67. The Packers won three straight NFL titles, capped by Super Bowl I and II, during that time.
He was inducted in the Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame in 1981.
Bob Long football WU
Bob Long
The Packers drafted Long in the fourth round in 1964 after he played one season of football and three with basketball at the University of Wichita. The San Diego Chargers of the American Football League drafted him in the 10th round.
"Bob is a great natural athlete," coach Chelo Huerta told the Wichita Eagle in 1963. "He looks very good in practice and we learned the first day that his sole purpose in playing is to help the team."
In seven games during his lone football season, he caught 42 passes for 653 yards and nine touchdowns. He earned All-Missouri Valley Conference honors and honorable mention All-America. He set a school record with 117 yards on nine catches in a 12-7 win over Dayton.
"This is one of the happiest milestones in my life," Long told the Wichita Beacon after signing a $13,000 contract with the Packers in December 1963. "This is the sort of thing one always reads about in the land of make-believe. I never had any idea last fall that by Christmas I would be a member of such an established football organization as the Green Bay Packers."
Long, from McKeesport, Penn., came to Wichita on a basketball scholarship. He played a reserve role for three seasons (1960-63). The Shockers played in the 1962 and 1963 NIT during his career. Long then moved to football for the 1963 season.
"I have not been outstanding in basketball here," he told the Beacon in 1963. "It is hard playing behind an All-American like Dave Stallworth."
The 1963 Shockers went 7-2 and shared the MVC title
Long also played for Atlanta, Washington and the Los Angeles Rams. He enjoyed his best season in 1969 with Washington, starting 14 games and catching 48 passes for 533 yards and a touchdown.
Bob Long Pizza Hut
Bob Long, like several students in the 1960's, worked at Pizza Hut in the early days of the restaurant, which was founded
by University of Wichita students Frank and Dan Carney.
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