Former Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Has Reportedly Died

Bob Lee, the quarterback whose 1973 season still stands out in Falcons history as the year the franchise first posted a winning record that felt like a genuine step forward, died Aug. 17. He was 81.

For Atlanta fans who remember that stretch, Lee was the guy who finally gave the team a chance to believe. He arrived from Minnesota in a 1973 trade and quickly took over as starter after Dick Shiner.

Lee went 8-2 in the games he started that year. He threw for 1,786 yards and 10 touchdowns while directing an offense that suddenly looked capable.

The Falcons finished 9-5. At the time that was the best record the franchise had ever put together, even if it wasn’t quite enough to reach the playoffs.

The following season told a different story. Lee managed only three touchdown passes against 14 interceptions, and Atlanta tumbled to 3-11.

Those two years in Atlanta bookended the most visible stretch of his career as a starter. Before that, Lee had spent four seasons with the Vikings after they selected him in the 17th round of the 1968 draft, 441st overall.

He first joined Minnesota in 1969 and was part of the roster that reached Super Bowl IV, though the Vikings lost that game.

After the trade to Atlanta and the two seasons that followed, Lee returned to Minnesota in 1975 and stayed through 1978. During the 1977 playoff run he replaced an injured Fran Tarkenton and started the NFC Championship Game.

Lee closed out his playing career with the Los Angeles Rams and retired after the 1980 season. In 12 NFL seasons he appeared in 77 regular-season games, made 30 starts and passed for 5,034 yards.

He also handled punting duties for the Vikings in 1969 and 1971. In 1971 he led the league with 3,515 punting yards. Across those two seasons he totaled 156 punts.

Lee was born Aug. 7, 1945, in Columbus, Ohio, and grew up in San Francisco, where he attended Lowell High School. He started college at Arizona State before transferring to City College of San Francisco.

He finished at the University of the Pacific, playing quarterback and kicking for the Tigers in 1966 and 1967. As a senior he was named the team’s most valuable player and set a Pacific record with a 51-yard field goal.

After leaving the NFL, Lee went back to his alma mater and served as athletics director from 1991 to 1996.

His time in Atlanta remains the chapter Falcons supporters still talk about most when his name comes up. That 9-5 season gave a young franchise its first real taste of what winning football could look like.