Bobby Anderson was adorned with the title Mr. Colorado, and it wasn’t for winning a bodybuilding contest.
Anderson earned the title in football, and it stemmed from an all-Colorado career from his playing days at Boulder High School, to the University of Colorado and on to the Broncos.
The defining memories go back to when he was 5 years old and growing up in Boulder. He and his older brother, Dick, whose career path took him to the Miami Dolphins, would pretend they were the top CU players of the day in make-believe games in the backyard.
“We were Frank Bernardi and Carroll Hardy in our minds,” Anderson said. “From those days on, being a Colorado Buffalo always was in my blood. I always wanted to be a Buff and I’ll always be a Buff.”
Along the way, the achievements emphasized the fame. The 1963 Boulder football team, with Bobby Anderson at quarterback, won the state championship. Dick Anderson and Phil Irwin, Hale Irwin’s younger brother, were on the team. Hale Irwin also played football for Boulder High School and CU before going on to professional golf fame.
“We had wonderful coaches in Emerson Wilson and Sam Pagano,” Anderson said. “They had a very organized program that had us prepared for the demands of college football.”
Wilson credited Anderson for being a coach’s dream.
“Bobby probably was the best total player I had at Boulder,” Wilson said. “He was a complete person, a great athlete on the field and a quality student in the classroom.”
Anderson, a winner of The Denver Post’s Gold Helmet Award as the state’s top player-scholar, was a three-sport athlete in high school. In basketball, he helped Boulder to a consolation state title, and he was a noted baseball catcher. Although football became his trademark sport, Anderson also played on two National Baseball Congress championship teams for Bauldie Moschetti and the famed Boulder Collegians.
While on his way to All-America status, Anderson’s time at CU was marked by two games: a 31-21 win over Miami in the 1967 Bluebonnet Bowl to complete a 9-2 season, and a 47-33 victory over coaching legend Bear Bryant and Alabama in the 1969 Liberty Bowl in an 8-3 season.
Before the third game of his senior season in 1969, Buffs coach Eddie Crowder moved Anderson from quarterback to tailback, a position that had been hit by injuries.
“Eddie said he needed my experience at tailback,” Anderson said. “In the back of my mind, I wanted to play quarterback. I had been at quarterback for 23 games, but I said I’d do whatever was best for the team. I played my last nine college games at tailback.”
The Broncos took notice and made Anderson their No. 1 draft pick in 1970. Anderson’s highlight in the NFL was the 1973 season and being part of the first Broncos team to record a winning record at 7-5-2. But injuries took their toll.
“I had four operations in three years, two knees and both shoulders,” Anderson said. “Football is a fun game only when you’re healthy.”
Anderson’s pro football career ended in 1976 after Broncos coach John Ralston brought him back to Denver after brief stops with Dallas, Washington and New England.
“It was tough for me to leave the game because there aren’t many things you do that equals the rush and excitement of getting ready to play in the football arena,” Anderson said.
After his playing days, Anderson was connected to CU football for 29 years as a member of the radio broadcast team. But two years ago, he entered private business and moved to La Quinta, Calif.
He keeps ties to Boulder and returned two weeks ago to attend memorial services for Crowder.
“I count it as a blessing that I played for the teams in my home state and for people such as Eddie Crowder,” Anderson said. “That sequence was a unique situation for me.”
Anderson bio
Born: Oct. 11, 1947, in Midland, Mich.
High school: Boulder High School
College: University of Colorado
Family: Wife Marty, sisters Pat and Janis, brother Dick
Hobbies: Reading, golf — although he claims to be too old to become a better player.
Noteworthy: Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
