Robert “Rocky” Bleier was no stranger to contact growing up in the flat above his parents’ tavern in Appleton, Wisconsin. Wrestling matches and other battles with his brothers could turn bloody on occasion.

On the football field, he was an elusive runner, leading his Xavier High Hawks to victory over archrival Green Bay Premontre with dazzling jaunts. It was no surprise that he caught the attention of Notre Dame, where he helped the Fighting Irish capture the 1966 national championship. From there he captained the 1967 Irish and played in the NFL in 1968 as a rookie for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But on Aug. 20, 1969, he felt something he had never experienced in football, while serving in the infantry in Vietnam. A bullet from an enemy rifle tore through his left thigh. “It felt like somebody punched my leg,” Bleier said. “I didn’t know whether I could run, walk, crawl. It hurt, but the adrenaline was pumping. I had gauze tied around it; then we got back to our commanding officer and the rest of the platoon finally came back in.”

However, shortly after that, a grenade hit Rocky’s commanding officer, bounced off his back and exploded. “I was standing on top of it and it blew up on my right foot, knee and thigh.” Surgery in Tokyo removed more than 100 pieces of shrapnel, and a doctor said, “No, I don’t think you’ll have the strength and the flexibility, given the damage that was done, to be a running back in the NFL.”

“The ability to play was up to me,” Bleier said. “Making the team was out of my control. That was somebody else’s decision, but I was going to do whatever I possibly could to get myself in the shape to possibly come back. Time is a big healer in all that, and thankfully for me, I was with an organization that gave me that opportunity and that time to get stronger or bigger or faster, or whatever I needed to do to be able to compete.”

And compete he did. Rocky endured endless rehabilitation, and eventually contributed to four Super Bowl champion Steelers teams. He rushed for 3,826 yards and 23 touchdowns and also caught 133 passes for 1,226 yards and two touchdowns in 150 regular-season games after returning from Vietnam.

He was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star, and wrote a book on his comeback called Fighting Back: The Rocky Bleier Story, which was made into a TV movie. He continues a successful career as a speaker in demand across the country.

He remains an inspiration to all.