The Harvey G. Foster Award - 2022: Robert “Rocky” Bleier ’68
Robert “Rocky” Bleier ’68
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to Notre Dame, collegiate, and professional sports, Robert “Rocky” Bleier ’68 is honored with this award.
A standout at running back, Bleier helped lead the Fighting Irish football team to a national championship during his junior season in 1966 and served as team captain as a senior in 1967. After a successful collegiate career, he was selected in the 16th round of the 1968 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Just as he was about to wrap up his rookie season, he was notified that he had been drafted by the U.S. Army to serve in the Vietnam War.
During combat, Bleier suffered grisly injuries that would reshape his life. Despite this adversity, he recovered and fought his way back to a professional football career that spanned more than a decade. He has since used his story to inspire others to overcome difficult circumstances, donating time and energy to help veterans like him reacclimate to their lives upon returning home from duty.
Bleier is a member of the Congressional Committee for the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War and the Purple Heart Foundation. He is an active board member of the Warriors to Citizens Foundation — which helps soldiers, police, fire, EMTs and their families recover from the psychological harm caused by career-induced stress — and also serves on the board of the National Flag Foundation, founded to honor and respect our nation’s greatest symbol. Additionally, he started the Rocky Bleier Golf Tournament to support Veterans Village in his hometown of Appleton, Wisconsin. Bleier currently lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Jan.
"I am honored and humbled to be listed alongside those previous Notre Dame graduates who have received The Harvey G. Foster Award. I am honored just to be considered, that whatever I have done with my life is worthy enough to be associated with those who have preceded me. I am humbled because I have done nothing except live up to what I had been taught, not only here at this University, but throughout my life. Remember, no man is an island; we didn’t get to where we are by ourselves. We got here because of someone. And thus, it becomes our responsibility to be ‘that someone’ to someone else."