lit a candle 3h agoMy dad played those Longhorns games on VHS when I was little. He'd say Bob McKay was the kind of player you built a team around. Sad to hear he's gone.
Their story
Robert Charles "Bob" McKay was an American football offensive tackle whose power and leadership helped turn the University of Texas Wishbone into one of the most feared rushing attacks in college football. A consensus All-American on the undefeated 1969 national championship Longhorns, a first-round NFL draft pick, and a 2017…
Robert Charles "Bob" McKay was an American football offensive tackle whose power and leadership helped turn the University of Texas Wishbone into one of the most feared rushing attacks in college football. A consensus All-American on the undefeated 1969 national championship Longhorns, a first-round NFL draft pick, and a 2017 College Football Hall of Fame inductee, he died in Austin, Texas, on 10 September 2026 at the age of 78. No cause of death was made public. Texas Athletics and the National Football Foundation announced his passing the same day.
McKay was born on 27 December 1947 in Seminole, Texas, and grew up in Crane, a Permian Basin oil and ranching town far from the Forty Acres. At Crane High School he was a standout in Class AA football. In his senior year he was summoned to his coach's office and found Texas assistant Mike Campbell waiting with a scholarship offer; Coach Darrell Royal later arrived in what McKay remembered as a parade through town. Royal's blunt pitch, that Texas had a scholarship if McKay wanted it and someone else who would take it if he did not, settled the decision for an 18-year-old who later said he was "just dumber than hell" for thinking he belonged among Longhorn linemen. He did belong.
He arrived in Austin around 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds and left closer to 6-foot-5 or 6-foot-6 and roughly 245 to 260 pounds after work under offensive line coaches Willie Zapalac and Leon Manley. In 1968 and 1969, as Royal's triple-option Wishbone matured, McKay became a cornerstone of an offensive line that simply overpowered opponents. With him in the starting lineup Texas went 20-1-1, won Southwest Conference titles in both seasons, and finished No. 3 nationally in 1968 after a 36-13 Cotton Bowl win over Tennessee. In 1969 the Longhorns went 11-0, led the nation in rushing (363 yards per game) and scoring (33.8 points per game), outscored foes 435-119, beat No. 2 Arkansas 15-14 in the "Game of the Century," and sealed the national championship with a 21-17 Cotton Bowl victory over Notre Dame on New Year's Day 1970. Teammates called him "Big 'Un." Quarterback James Street, with whom McKay shared a bond of trust that Street's son Huston later described as holding each other accountable with no excuses, relied on that line in the biggest moments of the streak.
McKay earned consensus first-team All-America and All-Southwest Conference honors in 1969, then played in the Coaches All-America Game and the Hula Bowl. The Cleveland Browns selected him 21st overall in the first round of the 1970 NFL Draft. He spent six seasons in Cleveland (1970-75) and three with the New England Patriots (1976-78), appearing in 105 games with 71 starts and helping each franchise to playoff berths. During a 1975 Browns-Steelers game, Pittsburgh defensive tackle "Mean" Joe Greene kicked McKay in the groin amid a skirmish; teammates Tom DeLeone and Gary Parris intervened and McKay threw punches before officials restored order. He continued his career afterward and finished with New England before returning to private business in Austin, working in commercial sales and supporting causes including the NFL Children's Benefit and CASH of Austin.
He was inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in 1990, the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in 2012, and the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 2017, the first player from the 1969 championship roster so honored. Steve Hatchell of the NFF called him a gentle giant whose family mattered more than any trophy. Former halfback Ted Koy remembered a leader who did not intimidate so much as convince teammates to work together. McKay himself, speaking of the Hall of Fame selection, insisted that everyone on that line did the work and that it was hard to pick one man out of the bunch.
He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Donna; their children Jill (Scott) and Josh (Katie); eight grandchildren; and brothers Don (Kathy) and Mike. He was preceded in death by his parents, Doris and Charles McKay. A celebration of life was to be announced by the family. On People Forever he is remembered as the West Texas tackle who paved the Wishbone's path and never forgot that championships are shared.
Biography adapted from University of Texas Athletics, National Football Foundation, College Football Hall of Fame, Newsweek, Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), and sources cited on this page. Wikipedia ↗
In their own words
“Bob McKay was accomplished in everything he did, from his remarkable football career to his professional life, but nothing meant more to him than his family. He was a gentle giant and simply one of those people you loved being around. More than a great football player, Bob was a great person and a good friend.”
Steve Hatchell, NFF President and CEO, statement on McKay's death, 10 September 2026.
“He was a great leader. But even as big as he was, he didn't try to intimidate anybody. He led by cooperation. He had a way of convincing us to do it together. As a running back, you knew he was always going to do his job. If you just followed him, you were going in the right direction.”
Ted Koy, Texas Wishbone halfback, quoted in Bill Little's 2017 Hall of Fame feature for Texas Athletics.
“I was surprised he could find Crane. I couldn't say anything but 'yes sir' and 'no sir.' I was as scared of him as I was a man with a loaded shotgun.”
Bob McKay on meeting Texas assistant Mike Campbell in Crane, recalled in Bill Little's 2017 Texas Athletics Hall of Fame piece.
“I wasn't smart enough to know I wasn't supposed to come to Texas to play football. I thought I could play with anybody. That's what you get for being an 18-year-old kid and being just dumber than hell.”
Bob McKay on accepting Darrell Royal's scholarship offer, Bill Little / Texas Athletics, 2017.
“All of us did the work. You did your job to the best of your ability, and there were ten other guys doing the same thing.”
Bob McKay on being the first 1969 Longhorn player selected for the College Football Hall of Fame, Bill Little / Texas Athletics, 2017.
“I can tell you that right now Dad is smiling a thousand smiles of joy. Those two guys had a tremendous amount of love for each other. Their bond was based on trust.”
Huston Street, son of James Street, on McKay's friendship with his father, Bill Little / Texas Athletics, 2017.
“This is what you came to The University of Texas for. This right here.”
Bob McKay on the field at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium during his 2017 College Football Hall of Fame recognition, quoted by James Rodriguez for Texas Athletics.
“Just to be here with people that you know and the people that you played with, and to be recognized, it's very humbling to be picked out of the crowd.”
Bob McKay on his 2017 College Football Hall of Fame recognition at Texas, quoted by James Rodriguez for Texas Athletics.
Photos
2Bob McKay in a University of Texas football pose during his Longhorn career
by People Forever
Bob McKay with his College Football Hall of Fame certificate, Hook 'em Horns
by People Forever
Beautifully put. That's the measure of a man.