Bob Kalsu

NFL player


DateOfBirth=birth date|1945|4|13
Birthplace=Oklahoma City, OK, United States
DateOfDeath=death date and age|1970|7|21|1945|4|13
Deathplace=South Vietnam
College=Oklahoma
Position=Offensive guard
DraftedYear=1968
DraftedRound=8 / Pick 199
years=1968
teams=Buffalo Bills (AFL)
DatabaseFootball=KALSUBOB01

James Robert "Bob" Kalsu (April 13, 1945–July 21, 1970) was an All-American tackle at the University of Oklahoma and an eighth-round draft pick by the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League in 1968. Buffalo Bills Rookie of the Year [Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.567, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55022-797-0]

Kalsu was a starting guard in 1968. He played the entire season and was the Bills' team rookie-of-the-year. [Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.513, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55022-797-0] Following the 1968 season, to satisfy his Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) obligation, he entered the Army as a Second Lieutenant and arrived in Vietnam in November 1969. He was killed in action on July 21, 1970 at FSB Ripcord near the A Shau Valley. [Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.513, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55022-797-0]

Lieutenant Kalsu had one child, a daughter named Jill. At home in Oklahoma City, his wife, Jan Kalsu, gave birth to his son, James Robert Kalsu Jr., on July 23. Mrs. Kalsu was informed of her husband's death only hours later. Kalsu was the only recently active professional American football player to lose his life in the Vietnam War. Retired Cleveland Browns player Don Steinbrunner also died in combat in Vietnam.

Honors

*FOB Kalsu in Babil, Iraq was named after him.
*In 1999, NFL Films produced a feature on Kalsu that was nominated for an Emmy Award. [Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.513, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55022-797-0]
*In 2000, the Buffalo Bills added Kalsu's name to the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame. [Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.513, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55022-797-0]
*In 2005, the replacement company at Fort Campbell is named in honor of him - 1LT J. Robert Kalsu Replacement Company. [Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.513, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55022-797-0]
*Del City (Oklahoma) High School's football stadium bears his name.

ee also

*Other American Football League players

References

External links

* [http://www.virtualwall.org/dk/KalsuJR01a.htm Kalsu's memorial on The Virtual Wall website]
* [http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/local/17052990.htm Benning soldiers adapt to new environment]
* [http://www.campbell.army.mil/inproc.htm Fort Campbell 1LT J. Robert Kalsu Replacement Company]