Robert "Rocky" Bleier

Robert "Rocky" Bleier is an American former professional football player and a veteran of the United States Army. He played as a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1968 and from 1970 to 1980.

Born and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin, Bleier was the oldest of four children.

Bleier played college football at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, and graduated with a degree in business management. During his junior season, the Fighting Irish won the national championship and he was a team captain as a senior. He was selected in the 16th round of the NFL/AFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, 417th overall.

After his rookie season with the Steelers, Bleier was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He volunteered for duty in South Vietnam and shipped out for Vietnam and assigned as a squad grenadier operating a 40mm M79 grenade launcher. Bleier's military service is commemorated in the Pentagon's Wounded Warrior corridor. While on patrol in Hiep Duc, Bleier was wounded in the left thigh by an enemy rifle bullet when his platoon was ambushed in a rice paddy. While he was down, an enemy grenade landed nearby after bouncing off a fellow soldier, he tried to leap over it and it exploded, sending shrapnel into his lower right leg. His right foot was severely damaged in the blast as well. He was later awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

While he was recovering in a hospital in Tokyo, doctors told him he should not expect to ever play football again. Soon after, he received a postcard from Steelers owner Art Rooney which simply read "Rock - the team's not doing well. We need you. Art Rooney". Bleier later said, "When you have somebody take the time and interest to send you a postcard, something that they didn't have to do, you have a special place for those kinds of people". After several surgeries, he was discharged from the Army and began informal workouts with Steeler teammates.

Bleier rejoined the Steelers in camp in 1970. Upon his return, he couldn't walk without being in pain, and weighed only 180 pounds. He was put on injured reserve for the season, but returned in 1971 and played on special teams.[16] He spent several seasons trying to get increased playing time, and was waived on two occasions. But Bleier never gave up, and said that he worked hard so that "some time in the future you didn't have to ask yourself 'what if?'". An offseason training regimen brought Bleier back to 212 lb in the summer of 1974, and he earned a spot in the Steelers' starting lineup.

Bleier played in the first four Steeler Super Bowl victories, and caught the touchdown pass from Terry Bradshaw that gave Pittsburgh a lead it would never relinquish in Super Bowl XIII. He also recovered Dallas's onside kick in the closing seconds, sealing the Steelers' victory. Bleier retired after the 1980 season, with 3,865 rushing yards, 136 receptions for 1,294 yards, and 25 touchdowns. At the time of his retirement, he was the Steelers' fourth all-time leading rusher.

Bleier wrote a book about his struggle to recover from his war wounds called Fighting Back: The Rocky Bleier Story, and it was made into a television movie in 1980 with Robert Urich starring as Bleier, Richard Herd as Steelers coach Chuck Noll, Art Carney as team owner Art Rooney, and many of Bleier's teammates including Matt Bahr and "Mean Joe" Greene as themselves. Bleier is featured in the 2014 feature documentary "Project 22", which chronicles the cross-country motorcycle journey of two young veterans exploring alternative treatments for PTSD and TBI.