Robert Ford, at only 5'6" and 160 lbs., was Belton’s leading rusher as a soph, junior and senior (in 1968) and went on to become the University of Houston’s top receiver and return specialist. He coached in three Super Bowls during his 10-year coaching career in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins. Robert Ford was born on June 21, 1951, in Belton TX. He was raised in Belton by his mother, Bernice Burleson, and attended Harris school from the 1st thru the 7th grade before attending Belton Jr HS and Belton H.S. Robert was a 3-sport letterman for three years at Belton H.S. and graduated in 1969. He was a 3-time All-District outfielder on the Tiger baseball team, was a 3-year starter at RB in football, and ran the sprints and sprint relay for the Tiger track team for three years. As a senior Ford won the District in the 100-yd dash (9.9) and 220-yd dash (22.0) and anchored the winning 440-yd relay team (43.2) that included Preston Clemons, Cleveland McBride, and Jim Stewart. He led the Tigers in rushing with 591 yards as a soph in 1966 but (because of an injury) played only 5 games at RB as a junior and still gained 551 yards (leading the team) at 6.8 yards per carry. In his senior year, the 5'6", 160 lb. Ford was the leading rusher (1,011 yards on 144 carries for a 7.0 average), leading receiver (288 yards on 12 passes for 24 per catch average) and scorer (142 points) for the 1968 Tiger football team that was 9-2 under Coach Jack Meredith and was champion of District 13-3A. The Tigers lost 21-19 to Refugio in Bi-District (Refugio went on to state finals and lost to Lubbock Estacado). Ford closed out his career against Refugio with 115 yards in 15 carries and scored twice, once on a 68- yard run. He was named 1st team All-District; 1st team 3-A All-Centex by the Austin American; and was named Captain and started on both offense and defense for the South team in the Texas Coaches Assoc. All-Star game. Ford caught 3 passes for 88 yards in the game which ranked as the 2nd most receiving yards in the history of the 33-year old game. In 2001 his 88 yards still ranked 11th in the 66-year history of the game. Ford attended the U. of Houston on a football scholarship and started at running back and/or receiver on the 1970 team (8-3), the 1971 team (9-3) and the 1972 team (6-4-1). He was MVP of the freshman team and MVP of the 1972 varsity team as a senior. He still holds an NCAA record as the only player to catch two 99-yard TD passes during his career (against Syracuse in 1970 and San Diego State in 1972). As a senior at the U. of Houston in 1972 Ford was a 5'7" 165 lb. split end and was the team leader in pass receiving (538 yards on 35 receptions---the 8th highest in UH history) kickoff returns (331 yards on 14 returns---7th highest in UH history) and punt returns (236 yards on 23 returns---6th highest in UH history). Since Houston was an independent in 1970-72 Robert missed the opportunity to make all- conference. The U. of Houston press guide noted that Ford was “one of major college football’s smallest starters” at 5'7" and 170 lbs. Robert also won an “Outstanding Achievement Award for Community Service” while at the U. of Houston for his volunteer work. In Aug. of 2005 the Killeen Daily Herald named Robert Ford as honorable mention on its All-Time Centex offensive team. Robert received a B.S. in Ed. from Houston in 1973 (and an M.A. in Athletic Administration from Western Illinois U. in 1974) and then coached at Saginaw MI High School (1 year); Western Illinois (2 years); the U. of New Mexico (3 years); Oregon State (2 years); Houston Gamblers of the USFL (1 year); Kansas (6 months); Texas Tech (2 years); Dallas Cowboys (as tight ends coach) from 1991-1997; and Miami Dolphins (as receivers coach) During his tenure with the Cowboys the team made the playoffs in 6 of the 7 years, won 5 Division championships, and three Super Bowls. Ford has been a receivers coach during most of his coaching career and has coached several All- American receivers and all-pros (i.e., Cowboy tight end Jay Novacek) and was a receivers coach for QB’s Jim Kelly, Troy Aikman and Dan Marino. In 2009 Robert Ford, 58, and his wife, Janice Renee, live in Little Elm TX and Robert is the assistant athletic director at Jacksonville TX H.S. Their two grown sons are Robert L. Ford, II, 33, of Houston and Jason Alan Ford, 31, of Las Calinas TX (who played on the Coppell TX state championship baseball team as a junior). Robert Jr’s daughter is Isabella Renee Ford of Houston— Robert’s only grandchild. Robert has a brother, Cedric Ford, 48, who lives in Belton and two sisters, Mary Harrison, 64, of CA and Marghaurite Thomas, 63, of Los Angeles. .