// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Bob Forte a strong name? Forte-get about it.
| No. 8 | |||||||||||||||||
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| Positions | Halfback, defensive back, linebacker | ||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | July 15, 1922 Lake Village, Arkansas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | March 12, 1996 (aged 73) Dallas, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 199 lb (90 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||
| High school | Lakeside (Arkansas) | ||||||||||||||||
| College | Arkansas | ||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1943: 11th round, 98th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||
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Robert Dominic Forte (July 15, 1922 – March 12, 1996) was an American professional football player for the Green Bay Packers in the National Football League (NFL). Forte was a two-way player for the Packers during the end of the one-platoon system,[1] playing halfback on offense and defensive back/linebacker on defense.[2]
Following his retirement from football, Forte worked as a radio analyst for the Packers, a television sports director, and as a member of the sports department of the Miller Brewing Company of Milwaukee.
Early life and college
[edit]Bob Forte was born July 15, 1922, in Lake Village, Arkansas, a small town in the southeastern part of the state.[3] He began playing sandlot football with neighborhood children, gaining skill as a powerful runner.[3]
Forte attended the University of Arkansas for whom he played in the 1940, 1941, and 1942 seasons, playing halfback on offense and linebacker on defense.[3] He was twice named an All-Conference player and was named to several All-American team lists.[3]
Career
[edit]Military service
[edit]Forte was drafted by the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League in the 11th round (98th pick) of the 1943 NFL draft.[4] However, with World War II raging, instead of joining the team, Forte entered the United States Army, in which he served for three years as a first lieutenant of a tank battalion in the 8th Armored Division in the European theater.[3]
After this stint under General George S. Patton in the Third Army, Forte was discharged in May 1946 and returned to life as a civilian.[3]
Professional football
[edit]After his return from Europe, Forte began a seven-season career playing for the Packers, interrupted by the Korean War, during which he was recalled to active duty for 15 months.[3] Forte became one of only 14 NFL players to serve in both World War II and the Korean War.[5]
After missing the 1951 NFL campaign due to military service, Forte returned to the Packers, by whom he was elected as team captain in 1952 and 1953.[3]
In 1973, Forte was enshrined in the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in recognition of his accomplishments on and off the field.[2]
Post-football
[edit]Forte began working in the off-season for the Miller Brewing Company of Milwaukee in 1952, serving as a special representative of the company's sports department, making appearances on behalf of the brewery to talk football before athletic and civic groups.[3] He also worked as an analyst for the Packers on the teams radio broadcasts and was hired to be the sports director WISN and WISN-TV in 1956.
In 1957 he returned to Miller Brewing's elaborate sports department on a full-time basis. He narrated eight new films for the company made in 1958 — four of which dealt with football exclusively, including a 30-minute short on the 1957 NFL Championship Game between the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns.[3]
Personal life
[edit]Bob Forte died in 1996 at the age of 73.[6]
References
[edit]- ↑ Hendricks, Martin (May 26, 2016). "Two-way player Bob Forte served in two wars". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- 1 2 Christl, Cliff. "Bob Forte". Packers.com. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jim Seidcheck, "Continuing a Great Name in Sports," Sports Review Football, vol. 18, no. 5 (Sept. 1958), pp. 96–97.
- ↑ "1943 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
- ↑ "Football and America: The Korean War". ProFootballHoF.com. January 1, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ↑ "Former Packer Forte, 73, dies". Green Bay Press-Gazette (clipping). March 13, 1996. p. C-1. Retrieved September 14, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.