Friday, May 16, 2014

1960 Profile: Andy Robustelli

Defensive End
No. 81
Arnold
ROBUSTELLI DAY SET FOR DEC. 4
"The Section Five Club of Yankee Stadium will join hundreds of friends and fans in staging Andy Robustelli Day at the Stadium on Sunday, December 4. Following the game with the Dallas Cowboys, the Giants' great defensive veteran will be honored at a dinner-dance at the Biltmore Hotel."

-Giant Touchdown, June 1960

ROBUSTELLI FANS BUSY WITH 'DAY'
"More and more it looks likely that Sunday, December 4, is going to be one of the most memorable days- and nights- in Andy Robustelli's long and colorful pro football career.
Prior to the game with the Dallas Cowboys at Yankee Stadium that afternoon, Andy's friends and fans from Stamford, Conn., as well as other Robustelli followers, will shower the big defensive captain with gifts and well-wishes. Then, that night, the Section Five Club of Yankee Stadium will follow up with a dinner in Andy's honor at the Biltmore Hotel.
The Honorable J. Walter Kennedy, the Mayor of Stamford, is on the committee which is currently planning the first half of Andy Robustelli Day. Heading the dinner-dance committee are A.J. Gurevich, chairman; Frank Murane, co-chairman, and Harry Bachrach, honorary chairman."

-Giant Touchdown, July 1960

"A smart defensive wing man, Andy was on the All-Pro team for the second straight season. He began his NFL career as a Ram in 1951, coming to the Giants in '56. He's one of the fiercest of all pass-rushers and very difficult for blockers to move out of contention.
Andy operates a sports store in Stamford, Connecticut, where he's also kept busy with his five children."

-1960 Pro Football Handbook

"Andy Robustelli is a 32-year-old entrepreneur who deals in real estate, sporting goods, steel, sportswear- anything that will make a buck; he's got six kids to feed at home in Stamford, Connecticut. He will have chalked up a full decade by the end of the 1960 season. Andy has been outstanding almost from the day he joined the league as an unknown end (mostly offense, too) out of Arnold College in Connecticut. The Giants have gained a reputation for the best defense in football and Andy is their spiritual leader.
'Adjustment,' says Robustelli, 'that's the secret of football. Adapt your tactics to what the enemy is doing. Make them go to your strength.' He calls book work between games the key to winning, but after both sides have learned their lessons well, winning or losing actually hinges on the ingrained enthusiasm this guy brings to his job.
At 230 pounds, Andy is not remarkably big for his job- he jousts with offensive tackles like Jim Parker who outweigh him by 40 pounds. But Andy probes, dodges, fakes, weaves, resorts to every device learned in a decade of experience to get at the other side of the line. On the bench, he pounds guys on the back, exhorts the offense, breathes fire into a team."

-Murray Olderman, Sports All-Stars 1960 Pro Football

"One of the reasons for the Giants' great defense is Andy Robustelli. He is one of the busiest men in the league with his sure-fire tackles and heads-up pass defense.
Andy owns a sporting goods store in Connecticut."

-1960 Topps No. 81

"His added 1960 responsibilities as assistant defensive coach of the Giants have not detracted one whit from the stature of Andy Robustelli (81) as a nonpareil defensive end. Strong, quick and resourceful, he has set the N.F.L. standard of excellence for end play for most of his nine seasons. A self-made star, Andy came up from little Arnold College, now part of the University of Bridgeport."

-1960 New York Giants Official Program (Yankee Stadium)

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