Tag: bob kalsu

Pair of Sooners inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame

On Monday night, Stacey Dales and Bob Kalsu were inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.

The Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame held ceremonies on Monday night for the class of 2021 inductees. Joining an esteemed group of hall of fame members, Stacey Dales and Bob Kalsu were honored as part of the 2021 class.

Stacey Dales was a two-time All-American and back-to-back Big 12 Player of the year for the Sooners basketball. She helped lead the Sooners to Big 12 championships and a national championship appearance in 2002.

Dales, along with head coach Sherri Coale, put Sooners basketball back on the map. Before the 1999-2000 season, the Sooners had made the NCAA tournament just once in the previous 13 seasons. After Dales’ first tournament appearance in the 1999-2000 season, the Sooners went on a run where they appeared in the NCAA tournament for 19 straight seasons.

The Big 12’s all-time assist leader went on to play for the Washington Mystics of the WNBA before joining the NFL Network as a host and national correspondent.

Bob Kalsu, from Del City, Oklahoma, was an All-American selection at tackle for the Oklahoma Sooners before winning rookie of the year as a guard for the Buffalo Bills. He helped the Sooners amass a 10-1 record and a win over the Tennessee Volunteers in the Orange Bowl in 1967.

After his lone season in the NFL in 1968, Kalsu cut his playing career and joined the US Army as a lieutenant in the 101st Airborne Division during the Vietnam War. Kalsu was one of two professional football players killed in action during the Vietnam War in 1970.

They join other Sooners such as Brian Bosworth, Tony Casillas, Joe Castiglione, Sherri Coale, Patty Gasso, and Billy Sims to name a few as members of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.

50th anniversary of Bills’ Bob Kalsu’s death

50 years since former Buffalo Bills’ Bob Kalsu was killied in Vietnam.

Bob Kalsu’s name is on the Buffalo Bills’ Ring of Honor at their stadium in Orchard Park because of the sacrifice he made for his country. After his promising rookie season with the Bills in 1968, he entered the United States Army and joined the fight in the Vietnam War in November 1969.

On this date in 1970, Kalsu was killed in action:

As pictured above, Kalsu was featured by Sports Illustrated on their cover in July 2001. The story can be found here, which details Kalsu’s journey from as All-American offensive lineman at Oklahoma to American hero. Kalsu was the only professional athlete to be killed in the conflict.

Kalsu went on the Bills’ Ring of Honor in 2000. In 2016, Kalsu’s family was honored by the Bills’ co-owners, Terry and Kim Pegula, on the field prior to a November game against the Jaguars, which is also pictured above.

 

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