Roger Staubach is a name that strikes variable cords whenever he is mentioned in the media. From service in Vietnam with the US Navy, to a successful 11-season career with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, as an offseason real estate broker, and building a highly successful company, The Staubach Company sa retired, he collected all the identifying information.
A look at his career timeline shows incredible stats, that he’s a Heisman Trophy winner, Super Bowl MVP, six Pro Bowl selections, and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee. Three decades after building his real estate company, he sold it to Jones Lang Lasalle for $613 million in 2008. Check out more fascinating facts about him below.
How old is he?
Named Roger Thomas Staubach, the football icon was born on February 5, 1942, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Elizabeth (née Smyth) and Robert Staubach, but grew up in Silverton on North Berkley Avenue. He has partial German ancestry.
Staubach attended St. John the Evangelist Catholic School and graduated from Purcell High School (now Purcell Marian High School) in 1960. He spent the next year at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell before going to the United States Naval Academy in 1961, where he played quarterback for midshipmen..
He won the Heisman Trophy in his freshman year, becoming the last player from a military academy to win the trophy. In the same year, he also won the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Memorial Trophy, and also led his team to second place in the national rankings. Roger finished his career completing 292 of 463 passes with 18 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. In all, he had a school-record 4,253 total offensive yards.
Upon his graduation in June 1965, the Academy dropped his jersey number (12) and almost two decades later (in 1981) he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame to mark his excellent career.
naval service
Roger Staubach was commissioned directly to Supply Corps, the first Academy graduate to be commissioned directly, due to the detection of his color blindness in his freshman year. A year after graduation, he volunteered for a tour of duty in Vietnam, where he commanded 41 soldiers.
Upon his return in 1967, he played football on various service teams to prepare him for his future career in the National Football League while he completed his commission. He had been drafted before, but as a future draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 1964 in the 10th round. He eventually joined the Cowboys in 1969 as a rookie.
Nearly three decades after his Navy service, Staubach received the Lone Sailor Award from the US Navy Memorial Foundation in 1996.
NFL career stats
Staubach led the Dallas Cowboys to a pair of Super Bowl victories in five appearances; Super Bowl VI in 1972 and Super Bowl XII in 1977. In the meantime, he won the game’s Most Valuable Player award in 1972, becoming the first of four to win Heisman’s Most Valuable Player award and the Super Bowl. Behind him are Jim Plunkett, Marcus Allen and Desmond Howard. He was also an All-NFC pick five times and earned an NFL Most Valuable Player honor and six Pro Bowl selections (1971, 1975-79).
During his playing days he earned a number of nicknames for his style of play and skill and was recognized as one of the most famous NFL players of the 70s. His name was Roger The Dodger for his scrambling abilities, Captain America as Team America’s quarterback, and for his fourth quarter heroics, Captain Comeback was added to his repertoire.
By the end of his professional career, Staubach had compiled 1,685 completions for 22,700 yards and 153 touchdowns, with 109 interceptions. He also had 2,264 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns on 410 carries. In addition, he recorded the NFL’s highest passer rating in all four seasons of his career (1971, 1973, 1978, 1979) and led the league with 23 touchdowns in 1973.
After a stellar career, Roger Staubacha retired from gridiron in March 1980 and five years later he was elected a member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame five years later. In November 2018, United States President Donald Trump awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Roger Staubach’s company
Prior to playing in the NFL, Staubach was a real estate player. He worked with the Henry S. Miller Company as an off-season broker. It was a gesture to support his family and to be able to rest after his retirement from the sport, football not being as lucrative as it is now. However, towards the end of his professional career, he founded his own real estate company, the Staubach company, in 1977.
It aims to help businesses locate facilities such as offices, retail and industrial spaces. After 30 years as president and CEO of the Staubach company, he resigned on June 20, 2007.
In 2008, the company had 68 offices, approximately 1,800 employees, and worked for major corporations such as AT&T and McDonald’s Corporation. He was also involved in residential development. Roger Staubach sold his company in July 2008 for $613 million to Jones Lang LaSalle, of which he is currently executive chairman.
Net worth of Roger Staubach
Roger Staubach may not have made a fortune in his sports career, but he is surely building an empire in his second career. Unlike most athletes who rely on their athletic skills to make money, he was able to get richer as a businessman. His net worth is estimated at $600 million at the time of this writing.
