View source for Robert Mitinger

{{Short description|American football player (born 1940)}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| embed               = 
| name                = Bob Mitinger
| image               = <!-- Only free-content images are allowed for depicting living people -- see [[WP:NONFREE]]. -->
| upright             = 
| alt                 = 
| caption             = 
| number              = 82, 67
| position            = [[Linebacker]]
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1940|02|13|mf=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Greensburg, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|2004|09|27|1940|02|13|mf=y}}
| death_place         = [[State College, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| height_ft           = 6
| height_in           = 2
| weight_lb           = 232
| high_school         = [[Greensburg Salem High School|Greensburg Salem]]
| college             = [[Penn State Nittany Lions football|Penn State]]
| draftyear           = 1962
| draftround          = 3
| draftpick           = 29
| afldraftyear        = 1962
| afldraftround       = 5
| afldraftpick        = 34
| pastteams           = 
* [[San Diego Chargers]] ({{NFL Year|1962|1964}}, {{NFL Year|1966}}, {{NFL Year|1968}})
| pastcoaching        = 
* [[Army Black Knights football|Army]] (1967)<br>Freshmen
| highlights          = 
* [[List of AFC champions|AFL champion]] ([[1963 American Football League season|1963]])
* First-team [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1961 College Football All-America Team|1961]])
* First-team All-Eastern ([[1961 All-Eastern football team|1961]])
* Second-team All-Eastern ([[1960 All-Eastern football team|1960]])
| pfr                 = MitiBo20
| module = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes
|allegiance           = {{flagu|United States}}
|branch               = [[File:United States Department of the Army Seal.svg|20px|United States Army seal]] [[United States Army|U.S. Army]]
|serviceyears         = 1966–1967
}}}}
'''Robert Bray Mitinger''' <small>(''Pronounced:'' MIGHT-in-ger)</small> (February 13, 1940 – September 25, 2004) was an American professional [[American football|football]] player for the [[San Diego Chargers]] of the [[American Football League]] (NFL). After his football career, he became an [[Attorney at law (United States)|attorney]] and civic leader.

==Early life==
Mitinger attended Greensburg-Salem High School in [[Greensburg, Pennsylvania]].

==College career==
At [[Penn State University|Penn State]], Mitinger was a two-way [[All-America]]n player—the consummate 60-minute man, playing [[tight end]] and [[defensive end]] for [[Nittany Lion]]s head coach, [[Rip Engle]]. He was part of the [[Penn State University|Penn State]] team that upset No. 10-ranked [[University of Alabama|Alabama]] in the 1959 [[Liberty Bowl]]—the school's first bowl victory.

He also helped Penn State to victories over [[University of Oregon|Oregon]] in the 1960 [[Liberty Bowl]] and No. 13-ranked [[Georgia Institute of Technology|Georgia Tech]] (30–15) in the 1961 [[Gator Bowl]] and was selected to compete in the 1962 [[Hula Bowl]].

After Penn State defeated [[University of California, Berkeley|Cal]] 30–15 in 1962, [[University of California, Berkeley|Cal]] coach [[Marv Levy]] called Mitinger "the best college football player in the United States".

Mitinger was a member of the [[Sigma Alpha Epsilon]] fraternity at Penn State, class of 1962.

==Professional career==
Although [[NFL draft|drafted]] in the third-round by the [[National Football League]]'s [[Washington Redskins]], the {{height|ft=6|in=2}}, 235&nbsp;lb., Mitinger chose instead to sign with the [[San Diego Chargers]] of the upstart [[American Football League]].

He was named the 1962 Chargers' team [[Rookie]] of the Year.

He played 42 games at [[linebacker]] for the [[San Diego Chargers|Chargers]] for seven seasons (1962–1964, 1966, 1968), including their 51–10 rout of the [[Boston Patriots]] at [[Balboa Stadium]] in the 1963 [[American Football League|AFL]] [[American Football League playoffs|championship]], the high point of the team's 44-year history.

Mitinger's pro career was interrupted by a stint in the United States Army from 1966 to 1967. Stationed at [[West Point, New York]], he coached the [[United States Military Academy|Army]] freshman football team. In 1968, he returned to the [[San Diego Chargers|Chargers]] for his final season.

==After football==
In 1966, Mitinger earned a law degree at the [[University of San Diego]], which he attended in the [[American Football League|AFL]] off-season, and for the 1968 and 1969 seasons worked with the players' union (the [[American Football League|AFL]] Players Association) as their attorney. In 1970, he returned to [[State College, Pennsylvania]], where he practiced law for 30 years, starting his own law firm in 1984. He was also an instructor of business and real estate law at [[Penn State University]] from 1971 to 1994.

==Personal life==
Mitinger lost his [[American Football League|AFL]] championship ring while attending law school. In 1999, a [[Chula Vista, California]], man discovered the ring in his deceased mother's jewelry box and placed an ad on [[eBay]], seeking to contact Mitinger. His mother had been a member of the law school's maintenance staff and had found the ring in the drain of the school's swimming pool. The appearance of the ring on the auction site led to the eventual return of the ring. "It renews my faith in humanity", Mitinger told ''[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]''.

He died September 27, 2004, at the Mount Nittany Medical Center in [[State College, Pennsylvania]], from complications from [[stomach cancer]]. He was 64.

The [[Robert B. Mitinger Award]], named in his honor, is presented to [[List of Penn State Football Players|Penn State Nittany Lions football players]] who personify courage, character and social responsibility. It was first awarded in 2004.

==See also==
*[[List of American Football League players]]

==External links==
*[http://gopsusports.com/pressreleases/pressrelease.cfm?anncid=6639 Comprehensive Bob Mitinger obituary], gopsusoprts.com
*[http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/obituaries/20040930-9999-1m30mitinger.html Bob Mitinger obituary], San Diego Union-Tribune, September 30, 2004
*[http://www.statecollege.com/mitingerlaw Robert Mitinger bio] at Mitinger & De Boef (law firm), {{webarchive| url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206104842/http://www.statecollege.com/mitingerlaw/ |date=6 February 2012 }}

{{San Diego Chargers 1962 draft navbox}}
{{1963 San Diego Chargers}}
{{Redskins1962DraftPicks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitinger, Robert}}
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:2004 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from stomach cancer in the United States]]
[[Category:American football defensive ends]]
[[Category:American football tight ends]]
[[Category:American football linebackers]]
[[Category:Army Black Knights football coaches]]
[[Category:Penn State Nittany Lions football players]]
[[Category:Pennsylvania State University faculty]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Greensburg, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:San Diego Chargers players]]
[[Category:United States Army soldiers]]
[[Category:Pennsylvania lawyers]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:American Football League players]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]