Conrad Dobler And His Wife Joy

Conrad Dobler And His Wife Joy

Conrad Dobler played in the NFL for the St. Louis Cardinals. Ed Agner gives a great account of his career, and here's an excerpt:

So anyway, Dobler was one of football's really great accidents.  He may or may not have been what his press-clippings called him, but he was certainly shrewd in his ability to ride his on the field reputation into a few decent off the field payday bonanzas in the commercial industry. And Dobler's magical on the field reputation?  The dirtiest player in the game.  He even got a Sports Illustrated cover calling him exactly that.  A biting, kicking, punching, gouging, cheating, cheap-shot artist of an offensive guard mainly for the 70's St. Louis Cardinals who, aside from the nasty reputation, was otherwise unexceptional.

And therein is the beauty of the Conrad Dobler accident - he really was nothing more than a solid offensive guard yet (yes, I know about his three Pro Bowls, but really, how hard is it to get in the Pro Bowl after the star players beg out?), because of his nasty reputation (this in an NFL that still celebrated outlaws and rogues, mind you), Dobler became a household name.  Every Monday Night game would feature Howard laughing through some tale of Dobler setting fire to a school bus full of children.  Every NFL pre-game show would have some sort of funny bit on how Dobler picked a fight with an invalid.  Every magazine and newspaper would run some of goofy story on Dobler's satanic rituals.  And all this as a slightly-better-than-average offensive guard whom no one would have otherwise known!  Beautiful! 

And along came the advertising companies!  Conrad, shill these lawn jarts by impaling a kitten with them!  Conrad, bust the Kool-Aid man into a bazillion pieces!  Conrad, call Fonzie a wuss!  Conrad!  Conrad!  Conrad!  Ahh, the 70's!

After his playing days were over, Dobler got his big break in a Miller Lite commercial:

After 10 years as a villainous but essentially faceless offensive lineman in the NFL, Conrad Dobler retired from football and was billed on a 1987 Miller Lite TV commercial as ''Famous Troublemaker.'' His life changed instantly. ''In all of my years in the NFL,'' he writes in his upcoming book, They Call Me Dirty, ''a visit to my hometown of Twentynine Palms, Calif., barely generated enthusiasm among my own family, let alone strangers. But when I visited three months after 'Famous Troublemaker' came out, everyone who saw me wanted an autograph. Men bought me beers. Women offered me sexual favors. . . . It's especially gratifying to be walking down the street or sitting in a restaurant and have people yell 'Tastes great!' so I can yell back 'Less filling!' ''

And he told a great story in the November 2000 issue of Esquire magazine:

One game, I knocked the crap out of Merlin Olsen. If you wanted to see it on instant replay, you had to go to the kitchen because I knocked him so far out of the TV frame. After the game, he says, "One of these days, someone's going to break Dobler's neck, and I'm not going to send any flowers." What happens? He gets the $500,000 FTD commercial, and I don't get s**t. He goes to the Pro Bowl fourteen times. He's in the Hall of Fame. He's probably got more money than God. When he was doing Father Murphy on NBC, he had a graveyard scene. One of the tombs said: CONRAD DOBLER. GONE, BUT NOT FORGIVEN. It's been twenty years since I played him, and I'm still on his f***ing mind. And I like that.

And then four years ago, everything changed:

July 4, 2001, started out like any other holiday for the Dobler family of Leawood.

They had friends over, and Joy Dobler's husband, Conrad, was grilling dinner. But at 7 p.m. that night, all of their lives changed.

Joy Dobler was climbing into a hammock in the family's back yard when she fell, landing on her head. She heard and felt the snap and knew instinctively her neck was broken. She couldn't move her legs. Later she would learn she was a quadriplegic.

July 4, 2001, was the day Dobler lost her independence.

Since that day Conrad has been taking care of Joy. It's a tough road:

The Buffalo Bills have offered to help Conrad Dobler, a Bills and St. Louis Cardinals offensive lineman in the 1970s, with his wife's medical bills. Dobler's wife, Joy, is paralyzed from the neck down after a fall in 2001. Her medical expenses have topped $500,000, forcing the Doblers to put their home near Kansas City, Mo., up for sale.

I wasn't able to find a site for donations, but when I do I'll let you know. Maybe all the Packer / Wisconsin bloggers could ask Miller Brewing in Milwaukee to pitch in too. Until then, you may want to keep Conrad and Joy and their family in your prayers, eh?

UPDATE, 2/11/2007 from Dan O'Neill:

Into this tragic story rides an unlikely knight. One day the phone rang at Dobler's home in Leawood, Kan. On the other end was Glenn Cohen, a lawyer for Phil Mickelson. Cohen informed Dobler that his client had become aware of the situation and wanted to help by paying for his daughter's college education.

Holli Dobler is now a sophomore at Miami University in Ohio. It's an expensive ticket, but it is the school of her choice, a school she is able to attend because of Mickelson's generosity. Conrad Dobler has never met Phil Mickelson, never even talked to him.

"I asked his lawyer, 'Why is he doing this? I don't even know Phil,' " Dobler said. "He said, 'Because he can.'

"You know, I was raised a Catholic and everyone used to say there is an angel someplace looking out after you. You never take it seriously and then something like this happens. It forces you to have a different perspective." ...

Holli Dobler takes nothing for granted. She works as a waitress between her 19 hours of classes. She maintains a 3.8 grade-point average and e-mails Mickelson regular reports on her progress.

Recently, Glenn Cohen called again. Mickelson has invited the Doblers to be guests at The Memorial Tournament in May and asked Holli to walk the course with him during practice rounds. It will be an opportunity for the Doblers to say thanks, and Conrad isn't sure he'll be able to get the words out.

"I don't know if I can do it without getting choked up," he said. "You ask yourself, 'Why me?' There are a lot of other people who need help. My wife spends a lot of time raising money for spinal cord injuries, but we never felt we'd be on the receiving end. He's a remarkable person."

Or maybe he's more than that. Maybe he's an angel.Holli Dobler takes nothing for granted. She works as a waitress between her 19 hours of classes. She maintains a 3.8 grade-point average and e-mails Mickelson regular reports on her progress.

Recently, Glenn Cohen called again. Mickelson has invited the Doblers to be guests at The Memorial Tournament in May and asked Holli to walk the course with him during practice rounds. It will be an opportunity for the Doblers to say thanks, and Conrad isn't sure he'll be able to get the words out.

"I don't know if I can do it without getting choked up," he said. "You ask yourself, 'Why me?' There are a lot of other people who need help. My wife spends a lot of time raising money for spinal cord injuries, but we never felt we'd be on the receiving end. He's a remarkable person."

Or maybe he's more than that. Maybe he's an angel.

Comments

[Leticia30Hinton]

Following my own exploration, thousands of persons in the world get the business loans from various creditors. Hence, there's great possibilities to find a commercial loan in all countries.

[Air Jordan 13]

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting.

[Dunk Low Men Shoes]

i think your article is benefit of everyone.i could reading your blog ,this is my luck.

This is a wonderful article,I like it very much.

[Supra Society Mid]

i am very glad to share ideals with you there. the weather is good, life is beautiful. and cheap supra sheos make all of this nicer. supra sheos store welcome at any time and thinks for your visit.

[Dunk Middle Shoes]

This is a great work that by sharing this great and wonderful facts,This blog is going to be great resource. Love reading it
I really like this website , and hope you will write more ,thanks a lot for your information!

[supra shoes]

i am really appreciating you for your kindness that you have made a really interesting blog and peoples are always seeking to get information and share their ideas. Great work Man and keep it going. God bless you!

[supra shoes]

i am really appreciating you for your kindness that you have made a really interesting blog and peoples are always seeking to get information and share their ideas. Great work Man and keep it going. God bless you!

[horkes]

Remove it from the loud sound described as among the People of the individual during sleep, especially in the medical sense, the most common cause of snoring soft palate observed in adults, little more than normal growth of the tongue, the muscles sag and tension and blockage of the airway during sleep, losing little of the language titresmesidi

[ティファニー]

tiffany & coスウォッチ グループ ジャパンはこのほど、東京?銀座のニコラス?G?ハイエック センター内に「ティファニー ウォッチ ショールーム」をオープンした。男性向けの「アトラス ジェント スクエア クロノグラフ」、女性向けの「ティファニー ジェメア」をはじめ、希少性の高いアイテムも展示、販売される。Tiffany Rings

[jeff gazaway]

My ex wife worked for Conrad and Joy and we had been out with them in KC about 2 weeks before that accident and it was horrific for them. My ex still works for the nursing placement business they own. Both nice people, Look up SHSI in overland park kansas you will be able to contact joy and wish her the best

[Brian Anderson]

I grew up in a small town in Mid Missouri and was a avid St Louis Cardinal Fan . I will never forget reading Conrad's Book when I was a Teenager I really enjoyed it. I always looked up to Conrad after that .
My thoughts and prayers go out to your family. You were and will always be my favorite football player . I wished I was a smarter man to say something witty but you just so impressed me as a boy of how even though you might have not have been the biggest or best lineman but you really got the most out of what you had .Thanks for all of those good memories .

[Susie Ray]

I worked for Conrad's father-in-law in the early 1980's. My husband and I owned a bar in Riverton in the mid 70's. Conrad came in and threw a few balls to my 2 sons, who have never forgotten that. I've met Joy when I worked for her day and would love to hear how he and her mother are doing. I thought they were they kindest people I ever met!

[pokerstars marketing code]

Love people who played football.

pokerstars marketing bonus code

[todd]

I delivered a hospital bed and a wheel chair to the house of Conrad in feb 2006. Joy answered the door and was so nice I would of never known I was talking to a NFL hero's wife. Joy thanks and Conrad I hope your knee's are feeling better.

con

[Eric Grove]

Dobler played the game the way it was meant to be played. And if he could do it all over he would in a second.

[Chris Galletta]

Like Conrad Dobler, I was raised in Twentynine Palms, CA.

As a matter of fact, my father was the Twentynine Palms Wildcats High School Football team doctor when Conrad played for them.

Conrad was, at the time, working for, I believe, the Carnation Milk Company as a delivery man. That's right, Conrad Dobler was a Milkman.

I remember he had injured his knee in high school ball and My Dad sent him to see the Ram's Doctor, perhaps extending his ability to play ball into the 80's.

I am a few years younger than Conrad and always looked up to him. He was always very nice to my family and not the mean, dirty, nasty person that he was potrayed as in his NFL years and now.

The Galletta family prays for his good health and his wife's complete recovery.

God Bless

[Tom McMahon]

I've never met Conrad or Joy, and I don't know their contact info. You might try Conrad's firm, Superior Healthcare Staffing.

[steve pike]

i would like to make contact with mr dobler, saw him on tv last nite. i have a product that has helped with injury & inflammation. would like to send some free, for him to try

[Tom]

The accident about Dobler's wife must not be reported much, first I have heard of that tragedy

[Steve Gottlieb]

I'm trying to contact Joy Dobler, but seem to have an old email address. She was referred to me by a mutual friend. Please have her contact me. Thank you.
Steve Gottlieb