Bob Baumhower

NFL player


Color=LightSteelBlue
fontcolor=black
DateOfBirth=Birth date and age|1955|8|4|mf=y
Birthplace= Portsmouth, Virginia
DateOfDeath=
Position=Defensive lineman
College=Alabama
DraftedYear=1977
DraftedRound=2/ Pick 40
Stats=Y
DatabaseFootball=BAUMHBOB01
PFR=BaumBo00
Honors=
Awards=
Records=
years=1977-1986
teams=Miami Dolphins
ProBowls=5
HOF=

Robert Glenn Baumhower (born August 4, 1955 in Portsmouth, Virginia) is a former American football player who played college football for the University of Alabama and professional football for the Miami Dolphins of the NFL.

Collegiate and NFL awards

Playing as a defensive lineman, Baumhower was a two-time second team All-American in college and was selected five times to the Pro Bowl in the NFL. He was drafted by the Dolphins with the 40th overall pick in the 1977 NFL draft, just behind another defensive lineman from the Southeastern Conference, A.J. Duhe of LSU.

Baumhower and Duhe, who eventually was moved to inside linebacker, formed the heart of the Dolphins' "Killer Bee" defense of the late 1970s through mid 1980s, coached by legendary defensive coordinator Bill Arnsparger. Baumhower was flanked on the line by ends Doug Betters and Kim Bokamper, while other stars of the unit included outside linebacker Bob Brudzinski and defensive backs Lyle Blackwood and Glenn Blackwood. The unit was ranked first in the NFL in total defense in 1982, when Miami reached Super Bowl XVII.

Years of taking on double- and triple-teams as a nose tackle began to take its toll on Baumhower's knees, and when he and Duhe began to miss chunks of playing time in the mid 1980s, the effectiveness of the Killer Bees dropped dramatically. This was fully evident in Super Bowl XIX, when the San Francisco 49ers shredded the Dolphins for a then-Super Bowl record 537 yards in a 38-16 rout.

Duhe was released prior to the 1985 season, Baumhower would retire after the 1986 campaign, and it would take several seasons for the Dolphin defense to be rebuilt into an effective unit.

Alabama restaurant owner

Baumhower is also the namesake for the [http://www.wingssportsgrille.com/ Bob Baumhower's Wings Sports Grill] , a series of eight restaurants located in the state of Alabama specializing in buffalo wings. He opened his first restaurant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1981, and expanded to the state's other large cities:Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile and Montgomery. The Tuscaloosa location has been the long-time location of "Hey Coach", a weekly call-in show featuring Alabama's coaches in football, men's basketball and baseball.

Baumhower currently resides in Baldwin County Alabama, he was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. While there he also dated future Emmy-winning actress Sela Ward, who was a cheerleader and homecoming queen at the university.