Bobby Epps

Overview

Robert Hezekiah Epps (March 25, 1932 - November 14, 2014) was an American professional football fullback who played three seasons for the New York Giants. He played for them from 1954 to 1955 and in 1957; he missed the 1956 season because he was in the Army. He went to college at Pittsburgh. He had 188 rushes for 771 yards and 2 touchdowns in his career. He also had 18 receptions for 109 yards.

Early life

Epps was born on March 25, 1932, in Swissvale, Pennsylvania. He went to high school in Swissvale also. In high school he played football and basketball. He scored over 30 touchdowns in three years of high school. The other two are Emil Karas and Carmine DePascal.

College career

Epps played college football at Pittsburgh. He did not play in 1950. In 1951 he played in 10 games and had 116 rush attempts for 316 yards with a 2.7 average. In 1953 he led the team in rushing yards again when he had 100 rush attempts for 424 yards. He also had 5 receptions for 3 yards.

Career rushing and receiving statistics

Awards and Honors *1953 All-State Honors *1953 All-East Honors

Professional career

1954 season Epps was drafted in the 14th round (161) by the New York Giants. Of the 29 players the Giants drafted in 1954, Epps was one of 7 to ever play in the NFL. He wore number 35. In his 1st NFL game, he had 7 rushes for 14 yards as the Giants beat the Chicago Cardinals 41–10. He did not have any statistics in week 2 but in week 3 he had 8 rushes for 30 yards as the Giants beat the Washington Redskins 51–21. The Giants won, 10–0. In week 5 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Epps had 5 rush attempts for 13 yards. He also had 1 catch for 2 yards. His next game was his best game; the Giants lost to the Cleveland Browns, 14-24 but Epps had 13 rushes for 80 yards. In week 8 of the 1955 season, he had 11 rushes for 46 yards as they won against the Baltimore Colts. He fumbled once and had one recovery. His only two career touchdowns were in this season.

1956 season He missed the 1956 season due to being in the Army. However, that was the year that the Giants won the championship. 1957 season The 1957 season was his last NFL season. In week 1 he had 3 rushes for 4 yards and one catch for 11 yards as the Giants lost 3–6 against the Cleveland Browns. In week 2, against the Philadelphia Eagles, he had 10 rushes for 37 yards. He also had a second game with one catch for 11 yards. In week 5 he had 6 rushes for 17 yards. During the game he had 5 rushes for 48 yards and a 9.6 average. He also had 1 100-yard game. He had 8 catches for 81 yards. He also had one pass attempt. He also had 18 catches for 109 yards. His longest run was 55 yards and his longest catch was 34 yards. He had 3 career fumbles and 4 recoveries. He retired to pursue a career in engineering.

Later life

In 2002 he was inducted into the Western Chapter Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

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