Bob Picard was there! Source: The Seattle Seahawks by James R. Rothaus "Picard will be the easiest one to find in the lockerroom after a game," wrote sports reporter Bill Lyon. "He'll be the one covered with sweat and mud. Number 82 in your program but No. 1 in the Kamikaze ranks." August 23, 1976: The expansion Seahawks' only touchdown came in the second period when quarterback Jim Zorn hit Bob Picard in traffic for a 14-yard TD that capped a 62-yard drive. Bob Picard caught 15 passes in one game at Eastern Washington, but when he was signed with the Seahawks, he had yet to record his first NFL counting reception! Pro Football 1976 by Larry Felser and Dave Klein Wide receivers aren’t bad. The starters figure to be Alamad Rashad and Sam McCullum, but two rookie picks, Sherman Smith and Steve Raible, and veteran Don Clune will fight for steady work. John McMakin and Ron Howard will battle young Charles Waddell for the tight end spot. Rashad, obtained via the option-playout route, is a tried and true star. McCullum is experienced and could be a top receiver. McMakin, also experienced, is a strong blocker. Clune was a mystery with the Giants. Scouts and teammates say he should have played more; the coach didn’t agree. Picard never realized his potential and will get his chance. Howard, another of Dallas’ basketball players, showed promise. High draft picks Smith and Raible have enormous potential; one of them might even start. Waddell may be a find, too. The Chargers gamble leaving him unprotected. Source: Eagle Athletics Bob Picard - Athlete/Football & Basketball Picard was a two-time NAIA All-American in football for Eastern, and went on to play four years in the National Football League. Originally from Omak, Wash., Picard lettered in football for Eastern in 1968, 1969, 1971 and 1972, and also lettered in basketball in 1973. He still holds Eastern's career receiving record with 166, and ranks fourth with 2,373 yards (14.3 per catch) and sixth in touchdown receptions with 19. As a senior in 1972 he earned first team NAIA All-America honors when he caught 52 passes for 679 yards and four touchdowns. As a junior he earned second team All-America honors with 53 catches for 787 yards and eight scores. He also had 531 yards as a freshman in 1968 -- the first of three seasons he led the Evergreen Conference in receiving yards. He holds Eastern's single game record with 13 catches against Puget Sound on Nov. 16, 1968 in six inches of snow. Eastern was 15-24 in his four years on the team, including a 5-5 record his junior season. In basketball, he played in 22 games in the 1972-73 season and averaged 2.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while making 35 percent of his field goal attempts (23-of-66) and 69 percent of his free throws (16-of-23). He also played five games in the 1970-71 season, averaging 4.0 points and 4.2 rebounds. In his 27-game career he averaged 3.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists (42 total), while making 37 percent of his field goals (32-of-83) and 61 percent of his free throws (20-of-33). Eastern was 17-11 his first year on the squad, and 15-10 in the 1971-73 season. He was drafted in the sixth round of the NFL draft by Philadelphia, and played three full seasons (1973-74-75) for the Eagles. He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the 1976 expansion draft and attended training camp in Eastern's hometown of Cheney, Wash., but he didn't make the squad. However, in a pre-season game on Aug. 23, 1976, he caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Jim Zorn. He returned to Philadelphia that year and played four games for the Eagles, then went to Detroit where he closed his career by playing the final eight games of the season. Although he didn't catch a regular season pass in the NFL, he played in 54 career games as a special team standout. Wrote one Philadelphia sportswriter: "Of all the Philadelphia Eagles, the easiest one to find in the lockerroom is Bobby Picard. He's the one covered with all the blood. Number 82 in your program, but No. 1 in the kamikaze ranks. The guy who looks like a walking transfusion." Source: Pro!, The Official Magazine of the National Football League, Seahawks Edition, Aug. 14, 1976 From Omak to NFL By Robert Mims Seattle is still a long way from Omak, Washington, but it's a darn site closer than Philadelphia for Bob Picard, a 26-year-old, fourth-year veteran seeking a position with the Seattle Seahawks as a wide receiver. Picard credits part of his success at football to his upbringing in Omak, a small central Washington hamlet nestled near the tall and sturdy trees of the Okanogan Forest, where not only the trees are sentinels of a wilderness spirit, but the "tough, hard-working" citizens of Omak as well. Bob says the toughness and hard-working quality of the people of Omak comes through in their sports. Omak High sports, especially football, are the things community dreams are made of...in Omak, there are two types of people when autumn comes around -- there are the players, and there are the fans, both of which are willing to play or cheer themselves to exhaustion to carry the hometown colors to victory. "Omak kids have traditionally played hardnosed football. If they lack anything in talent or skill, they make up for it with persistence and determination, and mostly just a lot of guts," Picard will tell you. Bob Picard does not lack quality, Bob Picard does not search for persistence and determination, and the 6-3, 205-pound exploiter of the secondary certainly does not lack guts. Picard was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles on the sixth round of the 1973 draft, a standout wide receiver from Cheney's Eastern Washington State College, but his National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics All-America status could not get him into the stable of the Eagle receivers, and he ended up on Philly's special units and suicide squads. Picard's style of all-out play prompted one Philadelphia sports writer to say -- "Of all the Philadelphia Eagles, the easiest one to find in the lockerroom after a game is Bobby Picard. He's the one covered with all the blood. Number 82 in your program, but No. 1 in the kamikaze ranks. The guy who looks like a walking transfusion." That's Bob Picard...one of the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet off the field--but on the field, the son of a logger is as tough as the bark on some of the trees his father cuts down, and when he hits, it's like hearing "timber!" too late. But what Bob really wants to do for Seattle is catch passes, not chase opponents on special teams. "I really want a starting receiver's position with the Seahawks. Starting as a wide receiver has been my professional goal for a long time...but I'm also a football player and I'll play wherever the coaches think I'll be of the most use," Picard says. Even on special units and kamikaze squads? "If that's where they want me," he says. But when his eyes twinkle and his sinewy face wrinkles up in a smile, you know Bob Picard is dreaming of finding the seam of a zone defense and taking a well-placed aerial on a touchdown trot. Source: The Easterner EAA inducts new members By Troy Kirby October 02, 2003 If there was one guy from Eastern that you wanted on the football field, the general consensus is it would be Bob Picard. Picard, along with Lisa Comstock-Schultz, Wanda Jewell, Wayne Gilman and the 1945-46 EWU mens basketball team were inducted into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame Sept. 27. Picard, two-time NAIA All-American (1968-1972), holds the record for career receptions (166), finishing his collegiate career with 2,373 yards and 19 touchdowns. Picard also holds the distinction of being the only player who's football jersey number (84) is retired at EWU. He was presented before the ceremony with an Eagle's football helmet sporting number eighty-four. Playing with the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions, Picard retired after 54 games in the NFL. Now living in Philadelphia, he said he was surprised and honored to be inducted into Eastern's prestigious class of athletes and coaches. "I got an unexpected call and was taken back by the decision to induct me," Picard said. "I felt that I had a duty to be present at the induction ceremony." From: Rick Orman Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2003 12:22 AM I played football with Bob Picard at Eastern. How do I contact him? From the Coshocton Tribune The Seahawks have made 27 separate player movements since Monday. Player Movement Is Common For Organizing Seattle Seahawks BY RICK GOSSELIN UPI Sports Writer The Coshocton Tribune Wednesday, Sept.8, 1976 The printers in Seattle must be making a mint on playbooks for the National Football League Seahawks. The first year Seattle franchise, which makes its NFL debut Sunday, has had better than a 20 per cent turnover on its roster the past two days, taking advantage of the wealth of talent with which the 26 established teams are cluttering up the waiver list in getting down to their 43-man rosters. The Seahawks also released rookie wide receiver Cornelius Greene and veteran defensive end Bob Martin, while placing on waivers running backs Gary Hayman and James Ford, wide receiver Bob Picard and defensive tackle Jeff Lloyd. Seattle placed linebacker Ken Hutcherson on the injured reserve list and fullback Eddie Ray on injured waivers. Collecting Bob Picard? 1976 Post-Intelligencer mini poster, #29 FastCounter by bCentral