Robert Owen Klein (born July 27, 1947) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end. for eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers.
Klein played college football for the USC Trojans in Los Angeles, where he was the starting tight end for their 1967 national championship team. Following his senior season in 1968, he was selected 21st overall in the 1969 NFL/AFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams. At USC, Klein was part of the Gamma Tau chapter of Beta Theta Pi fraternity.
Los Angeles Rams In his first two seasons with the Rams, Klein served as the backup tight end to veteran Billy Truax. While he appeared in all 14 games in his rookie season, he had only two receptions as he was primarily a blocker in the Rams' run oriented offense. However, he did catch a touchdown pass in the 23–20 playoff loss to the Vikings in chilly Minnesota.
After the 1970 season, the Rams traded Truax to the Dallas Cowboys for wide receiver Lance Rentzel, and Klein took over the Rams' starting tight end position. An excellent blocker, Klein also expanded his repertoire so that he averaged 21 receptions per season from 1971 to 1976.
San Diego Chargers Following the 1976 season, Klein was traded to the San Diego Chargers. Playing in the Chargers' high powered passing attack led by hall of fame quarterback Dan Fouts, Klein caught 91 passes for 8 touchdowns from 1977 to 1979. Klein was then replaced by future hall of fame tight end Kellen Winslow and retired after the 1979 season.. databasefootball.com
NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high
Regular season Year Team Games Receiving GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1969 RAM 14 1 2 17 8.5 16 1 1970 RAM 7 0 2 20 10.0 12 0 1971 RAM 14 14 14 160 11.4 33 4 1972 RAM 14 13 29 330 11.4 26 1 1973 RAM 14 14 21 277 13.2 23 2 1974 RAM 14 14 24 336 14.0 32 4 1975 RAM 11 11 16 237 14.8 44 2 1976 RAM 14 14 20 229 11.5 26 1 1977 SDG 12 9 20 244 12.2 41 1 1978 SDG 16 16 34 413 12.1 24 2 1979 SDG 15 14 37 424 11.5 54 5 145 120 219 2,687 12.3 54 23
Playoffs Year Team Games Receiving GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1969 RAM 1 0 1 3 3.0 3 1 1973 RAM 1 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 1974 RAM 2 2 3 33 11.0 13 1 1976 RAM 2 2 1 12 12.0 12 0 1979 SDG 1 1 5 41 8.2 16 0 7 6 10 89 8.9 16 2
Honors
In a 1985 vote of the fans, Klein was named as the tight end on the Los Angeles Rams' 40th Anniversary Team.
Personal life
Klein has three children and is married. He is the president and CEO of Saint John's Health Center Foundation
References