No. 24, 26, 25 | |||||||
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Position: | Safety | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | August 6, 1953||||||
Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 189 lb (86 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: |
Notre Dame ( Riverside, California) | ||||||
College: | USC | ||||||
NFL draft: | 1975 / Round: 11 / Pick: 276 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
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Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Marvin Lawrence Cobb (born August 6, 1953) is a former American football safety in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 11th round of the 1975 NFL Draft. [1] He played high school football at Notre Dame High School in Riverside, California and college football at USC, where he also played shortstop on the baseball team. [1] [2] With USC, Cobb played on 2 College World Series champion baseball teams ( 1973 and 1974) and 2 National Champion football teams ( 1972 and 1974). [2]
Cobb played 5 seasons for the Bengals, from 1975 to 1979. During those five years he played in 71 games, starting 54 and making 13 interceptions, playing as both a free safety and strong safety. [1] He also served as a kick returner occasionally, returning five punts and one kickoff between 1975 and 1977. [1] In 1977, he also got to play a little on offense. In a game against the San Diego Chargers on October 2, Cobb threw an incomplete pass. [3] In a Monday Night Football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on October 17, Cobb got one rushing attempt but did not gain any yardage. [4] Cobb also played for the Steelers and Minnesota Vikings, splitting eight games between the two teams in 1980. [1] He also served as a kick returner for the Steelers. [1]
In 1986, Cobb became an assistant athletic director at USC. [5] Cobb was outspoken about the fact that black athletes at USC were graduating at a lower rate than white students and he did not see anything being done to assist those students. [5] After Cobb was denied a promotion in 1990 or 1991, he sued the university for racial discrimination and breach of contract, saying that the university denied the promotion because his advocacy for its black athletes. [5] [6] [7] USC was represented by Johnnie Cochran, who later represented O. J. Simpson in his murder trial and in a turn of events similar to an issue in that trial, it was revealed that some USC employees had suggested framing Cobb for a fake drug bust. [7] Cobb was eventually awarded $1.1 million. [5]
Cobb has also been active in raising awareness of the impact football injuries can have on players later in life. [8] He has also been active in attempting to increase pension and medical benefits for former players. [9] He became a director of the Independent Retired Players Summit. [8] [9] He is also president of the Retired NFL Players Congress. [10]