Hall of Fame
Big, fast and rugged, Robert “Bob” Lade was called an “iron man” during the famed “Al Wheeler Era”, spearheading the undefeated football teams of 1952 and ’53. A two-way starting lineman, the 210 pounder was the first Nebraskan to earn first-team Little All-American honors, despite being declared legally blind. After a short stint with the Baltimore Colts in 1953, Lade left the NFL to coach and teach in Tarkio, Mo. One of Peru State’s fiercest competitors, he passed away in 1973.
