Bob Snyder
| Position: |
Quarterback, tailback, defensive back, kicker |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth: | February 6, 1913 |
| Place of birth: | Fremont, Ohio |
| Date of death: | January 4, 2001 (aged 87) |
| Place of death: | Sylvania, Ohio |
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight: | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Edward D. Libbey (OH) |
| College: | Ohio |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
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| As coach: | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season: | 6–6 (.500) |
| Player stats at PFR | |
| Coaching stats at PFR | |
Robert A. Snyder (February 6, 1913 – January 4, 2001) was an American football player and coach who spent more than three decades in the sport, including his most prominent position as head coach of the National Football League's Los Angeles Rams.
A native of Toledo, Ohio, Snyder played three years of football at Ohio University, seeing action on both sides of the ball. During that trio of seasons that began in 1933, Snyder was off the field for just four minutes, winning small college All-America honors as a senior.
He moved on to the fledgling second version of the American Football League in 1936, where he played for the Pittsburgh Americans before shifting to the NFL the following year with the Cleveland Rams. Playing quarterback (as well as serving as the team's placekicker) for two seasons, Snyder finished the 1938 NFL season with 631 yards passing, while also showing excellent speed and mobility.
On February 13, 1939, Snyder was traded to the Chicago Bears and used at running back. After contributing throughout the campaign, he suffered a deep personal tragedy when his two-week-old son, Robert Calvin, died on November 30.
When he returned the next year, Snyder played exclusively at quarterback (and continuing as a kicker), but had the misfortune of playing on the same team as future Hall of Fame signal caller Sid Luckman. That frustration was soothed somewhat when the Bears went on to capture the 1940 NFL Championship with the biggest rout in the league's postseason history, defeating the Washington Redskins, 73–0.
After another season of play resulted in another championship for the Bears, with Snyder kicking three field goals in the 37-9 championship game victory, Snyder retired to become the University of Notre Dame's freshman football coach on July 10, 1942. His main focus was instruction in his area of expertise, the T-Formation, and his work undoubtedly proved to be successful when two quarterbacks under his tutelage, Angelo Bertelli and Johnny Lujack, went on to win the Heisman Trophy.
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