Throwback Thursday: Bob Reinhard

Despite starting their football lives as teammates, Bob Reinhard and Frankie Albert would become rivals. Together, they helped lead Glendale High School to the 1937 California Interscholastic Federation championship. In college, they would be opponents in the heated California-Stanford rivalry. As professionals, they would do battle as members of the Los Angeles Dons and San Francisco 49ers in the All-America Football Conference.

An all-conference lineman in 1936-1937, Reinhard teamed with Albert to lead the 1937 Glendale High football team A team that is considered one of the greatest in state history. In choosing the University of California, Reinhard hit the Berkeley campus at a period following Cal’s “Thunder Teams” of the late 30’s and before Pappy Waldorf’s great post war teams. As is often the case in the history of the Cal-Stanford rivalry, when one team is down the other is up. Stanford’s “Wow Boys” with Frankie Albert, Bruno Banducci, Norm Standlee and coach Clark Shaughnessy are among the best in school history. Another delightful aspect of the Cal-Stanford rivalry is that anything can happen when the two teams hit the field. In the 1941 Big Game, Stanford needed a win for a share of the Pacific Coast Conference championship. With Cal leading 9-0 in the 4^th quarter, Reinhard pinned the Indians deep with a 45 yard punt. After a three and out, Cal blocked the punt and Reinhard recovered for a touchdown and a shocking 16-0 upset. He also recorded a sack of his high school friend. Reinhard remains the only true lineman in Cal history to earn All-America honors in consecutive years, 1940-1941. Cal’s captain in 1941, he was a devastating run stuffer and blocker, as well as athletic enough to handle kicking duties and even split out at end, catching a 41 yard touchdown against Washington his senior year. Reinhard was inducted into Cal’s Hall of Fame in 1990.

As a Lieutenant, Reinhard served in the Navy from March 1943 to March 1946. Unlike many college and professional football players of  the time, he played no service football.

Reinhard was selected by the National Football League’s Chicago Cardinals in the 5^th round (34^th overall) of the 1942 NFL Draft. Following the war in 1946, he opted to return home and sign with the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference. He was an immediate starter on the offensive and defensive lines for the new team in the new league. Rarely leaving the field, Reinhard excelled as the punter, finishing second in average (45.4) to the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Glenn Dobbs (47.8). A 2nd teams All-AAFC tackle, he was considered the outstanding rookie lineman in professional football. Blessed with unusual speed and agility for a man his size (6-4, 230), the Dons experimented with Reinhard at fullback in 1947. His abilities on the line kept it as an experiment, but it didn't keep the Dons from using him as a playmaker on occasion. The Dons acquired Glenn Dobbs two games into the 1947 season, giving the team perhaps the two finest punters in the Conference. Essentially splitting punts, Reinhard led the AAFC in average at 45.7. A second Reinhard joined the team in 1947. Bob’s brother, Bill Reinhard, also a former Cal player, played defensive back, running back, and punt returner for the Dons for two years. In 1948, Reinhard truly emerged as a top lineman, earning 1^st team All-AAFC honors. He was regarded by many as the finest tackle in football. Even with decreased punting duties, only 6 attempts, Reinhard led the Dons in playing time. He repeated as 1^st team All-AAFC tackle in 1949, the final year of the conference. The Chicago Cardinals again decided that Reinhard was their man when they selected him in the open draft of AAFC players. That did not last long when the Cardinals traded him to the Los Angeles Rams for Bob Shaw, Tom Keane and Gerry Cowhig. Reinhard played one season for the Rams. While earning 2^nd team All-NFL, he helped the Rams to the 1950 NFL Championship, losing to the Cleveland Browns. After the season, Reinhard retired to pursue a career in engineering.

Bob Reinhard earned his accolades throughout his football days as a big man doing battle in the trenches. His speed, agility, and ability away from the line are what made him special. His punting stands out as his 44.6 average is second only to Glenn Dobbs’ 46.4 in AAFC lifetime average. Reinhard’s career is dotted with offensive touches of the football, including two touchdown receptions. For most linemen, this is an indication of a unique or trick play. For Reinahrd, it is an indication of a unique player. He had the skills to be effective with the football. His importance on the offensive and defensive lines always kept him there.

In terms of football team success, one could say that Bob Reinhard’s football career peaked with the Glendale High state championship team. After high school graduation, Reinhard’s teams were always chasing Frankie Albert’s. Despite the 1941 Big Game upset, Cal was in the shadow of some great Stanford teams. In the AAFC, everyone fell short of Cleveland, with the 49ers very close at the end. The Dons looked up at both throughout.