Suffridge, "Bob" (Robert L.)
Football
b. March 17, 1916, Fountain City, TN
d. Feb. 3, 1974
A member of both the 1952 Associated Press all-time All-America team and the All-Quarter-of-a-Century team chosen in a poll of sportswriters in 1949, Suffridge was a three-year starter as a guard at the University of Tennessee. He was named to the UPI All-American team in 1939 and was a consensus All-American as a senior in 1940.
The 6-foot, 190-pound Suffridge was noted for his quickness and explosive charge. He excelled at blocking kicks. In the 1941 Sugar Bowl game against Boston College, Suffridge got downfield under a punt to force a fumble that set up Tennessee's first touchdown in a 19-13 loss.
He started for the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL in 1941 and then entered the Navy. Playing for the Georgia Navy Preflight Skyscrapers, he was named to the all-service team in 1942. After World War II ended in 1945, he played one more season with the Eagles.