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Joe Romig

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For his paternal grandfather, the frontier physician and missionary, see Joseph Herman Romig.

Joe Romig
No. 67
PositionGuard
Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1941-04-11) April 11, 1941 (age 83)
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight199 lb (90 kg)
Career history
College
Bowl games
High schoolLakewood
(Lakewood, Colorado)
Career highlights and awards
College Football Hall of Fame (1984)

Joseph Howard Romig[1] (born April 11, 1941) is an American former college football player. Best known for playing for the Colorado Buffaloes, he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1984. After playing football, Romig studied at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and went on to earn a doctorate in astrogeophysics.

Early years

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Romig was born in Salt Lake City in 1941; his parents divorced when he was young, and his mother died of cancer when he was a junior in high school.[2] His paternal grandfather was Joseph H. Romig, a notable missionary doctor in Alaska.[3] Romig attended Lakewood High School in Lakewood, Colorado, where he played football as a halfback and was a state wrestling champion in his weight class.[4]

College career

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Further information: 1959, 1960, and 1961 All-Big Eight Conference football team
Further information: 1960 and 1961 College Football All-America Team

Romig then attended the University of Colorado, where he played on the Buffaloes football team.[5] He was a member of the varsity for the 1959–1961 seasons, playing as guard on offense and linebacker on defense.[6] Romig was selected as captain of the 1961 team, his senior season.[7] The Buffaloes had regular-season records of 5–5, 7–3, and 9–1 during his three seasons, during which the team was coached by Sonny Grandelius. Romig's uniform number of 67 was retired by the Colorado Buffaloes following his senior season.[8][a]

Romig appeared in one bowl game, the 1962 Orange Bowl,[9] which was his final game for Colorado. He was named the UPI Lineman of the Year for the 1961 season,[10] and also received the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy for that season.[3] He was named to All-Big Eight Conference teams each of his varsity seasons, and he was a consensus selection to College Football All-America Teams during his junior and senior seasons.[11]

Personal life

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Scholastically, Romig majored in physics at Colorado, and maintained a 3.9 grade point average.[3] After graduating, he attended the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.[1][3] He earned a master's degree from Oxford in plasma physics in 1965.[3] He then returned to the U.S. and worked for Martin Marietta while also pursuing a doctorate in astrogeophysics at Colorado; he earned his Ph.D. in the mid-1970s.[3] In 1975, he went to work as a consultant for venture capitalists, then in 1980 he started to do forensic investigations of fires and explosions.[3] As of 2014, Romig was still doing consulting work in the fire investigation industry.[3] He taught astronomy in continuing education at Colorado for 34 years.[12]

Romig was first married circa 1966 after completing his Oxford studies; that marriage ended in divorce after seven years.[3] He later remarried—his second wife, Barbara, worked for the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History for 40 years.[3][13] Romig has served as a member of that museum's advisory board.[12]

Honors

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Romig is an inductee of multiple halls of fame, including:

Notes

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  1. ^ In 2020, Romig and other Colorado football players who had their numbers retired agreed with plans by the football program to begin to re-issue those numbers.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Rhodes Honors for 32 Students". Kansas City Times. AP. December 17, 1962. p. 9. Retrieved July 23, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Leyden, Louise (December 30, 1961). "His Co-Captain Christ". The Miami News. Miami, Florida. p. 4. Retrieved July 23, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Stein, Robert (December 15, 2014). "CU legend still pushing physical, intellectual limits". Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine. Retrieved July 28, 2023 – via colorado.edu.
  4. ^ "Ridenour, Bergman See 'Improvement'". The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colorado. September 24, 1957. p. 8. Retrieved July 25, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Joe Romig -- CU Athletic Hall of Fame". cubuffs.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c "Joe Romig (1984)". footballfoundation.org. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  7. ^ "Team Captain". Independent Record. Helena, Montana. AP. December 2, 1960. p. 8. Retrieved July 28, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b Plati, David (February 5, 2020). "Retired Numbers To Circulate Back Into Use". cubuffs.com. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  9. ^ Crittenden, John (January 2, 1962). "The Colorado Story". The Miami News. p. 2C. Retrieved July 28, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Winners of the United Press International college football lineman of the year award". UPI.com. December 6, 1983. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  11. ^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 9. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Dr. Joe Romig". colorado.edu. April 20, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  13. ^ "Zoology Section Curatorial Staff". colorado.edu. July 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  14. ^ "Joe Romig". coloradosports.org. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  15. ^ "Joe Romig". chsaanow.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  16. ^ "Joe Romig". cubuffs.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  17. ^ "Joe Romig". nwhof.org. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
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