The former Arkansas Razorbacks wide receiver, Bobby Crockett, who was on the 1964 national championship team, passed away on May 29 at Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He was 83.

According to Whole Hog Sports, Crockett had been battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer and contracted pneumonia in the days before his death.

He lettered at Arkansas from 1963 to 1965 and was part of one of the most celebrated teams in Razorback history.

His son spoke about what he meant to everyone who knew him.

"My father was bigger than life," Bobby Crockett Jr. said. "He fit into any setting there was. It didn't matter how much money you had or how little money you had. He fit in with everybody. People just loved him for who he was and how much he loved life."

Being part of the Razorbacks' undefeated 1964 national championship team, Crockett helped the program win 22 straight games across that stretch.

His best season came in 1965. He caught 30 passes for 487 yards and three touchdowns and earned All-American and First-Team All-Southwest Conference honors.

In his final college game, he set a Cotton Bowl record with 10 catches for 129 yards against LSU.

After college, both the American Football League’s Buffalo Bills and the NFL's New York Giants drafted him in 1966. However, he chose Buffalo. He played three seasons there, finishing with 41 receptions for 659 yards and three touchdowns.

He went home to Arkansas after retiring in 1969.

After his football career, Crockett opened a law practice in Clinton and spent years serving local residents. He also ran Crockett’s Country Store and Canoe Rental in nearby Harriett, catering to Buffalo River visitors.

Crockett Made One of the Most Important Catches in Razorback History

In 1964, he caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from Fred Marshall against top-ranked Texas. Arkansas won 14-13 in Austin that day. It was the play that started the national championship run.

Former teammate Ken Hatfield remembered how tough he was. During a brutal early scrimmage, coaches ran plays at Crockett over and over, knocking him to the ground each time.

“They must have given him the ball 20 times in a row, and I was on defense at the time. I said, ‘Don’t get up, Bobby,’" Hatfield told Whole Hog Sports. "And somehow he would drag his b*** back in there."

Crockett was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 and the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor in 2002, per Newsweek.

How do you remember Bobby Crockett's legacy? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Written by

Farheen Fathima

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar