Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1997
- Class:
- 1962
Bill Tobin got his football start at Missouri, lettering from 1960-62 on teams that had a cumulative record of 26-3-3. A halfback and kicker for the Tigers, Tobin was the MVP of Missouri’s 14-10 win over Georgia Tech in the 1962 Bluebonnet Bowl, rushing 11 times for 114 yards. He had a 77-yard touchdown run in that game that set a record for the longest run by a Tiger in a bowl game. A native of Burlington Junction, Missouri, Tobin was the Houston Oilers rookie of the year in 1963, then played three years for the Edmonton Eskimos in the CFL. He was a graduate assistant coach at MU from 1964-66 and got his pro football start working under his college coach, Dan Devine, with the Green Bay Packers, in 1971. After four years he moved on to the Chicago Bears where he spent 18 seasons, advancing to vice president of player personnel from 1987-92. He joined the Indianapolis Colts in January 1994 as general manager and served in that position through 1996. While there, he drafted future NFL Hall of Famers Marshall Faulk and Marvin Harrison. He was director of player personnel for the Detroit Lions in 2001-02 and later worked as a personnel executive for the Cincinnati Bengals. His brother, Vince, a former assistant coach at Missouri, was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals for five seasons. They both were inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
