Robert Allen Young was an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 offensive guard

Guard (American football)

In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....

 who played 16 seasons in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

, mainly for the St. Louis Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

, where he and other Cardinal offensive linemen are credited with introducing modern weightlifting

Powerlifting

Powerlifting is a strength sport. It resembles the sport of Olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same three attempt format but used a wide variety of events akin to Strongman...

/powerlifting

Powerlifting

Powerlifting is a strength sport. It resembles the sport of Olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same three attempt format but used a wide variety of events akin to Strongman...

 into the training regime of the NFL. Young attended Howard Payne University

Howard Payne University

Howard Payne University is a four-year private university located in Brownwood, Texas.Currently the university enrolls 1,400 full-time students. Howard Payne is known for the Douglas MacArthur Academy of Freedom, its Music program and its Christian Studies program...

. He was the older brother of three-time world powerlifting champion Doug Young

Doug Young (powerlifter)

Doug Young was a national and world powerlifting champion multiple times throughout his career while competing in the 242 lb. and 275 lb. weight classes. Doug won his third world championship title at the 1977 IPF world championships. He posted a 1,956 pound total Doug Young(August 21,...

.

Young competed in the inaugural World's Strongest Man

World's Strongest Man

The World's Strongest Man is a well recognised event in strength athletics and has been described by a number of highly respected authorities in the sport as the premier event in strongman. Organized by TWI, an IMG Media company, it is broadcast around the end of December each year...

 contest in 1977, finishing second to weightlifter Bruce Wilhelm

Bruce Wilhelm

Bruce Wilhelm is a weightlifter and strongman from the United States. He is a two-time winner of the World's Strongest Man competition in 1977 and 1978 and the author of numerous strength-related articles and books. He was a member of the executive board of the United States Olympic Committee...

.http://strongestman.billhenderson.org/results/1977.html

External links

• NFL.com player page