Robert Patrick "Rocky" Bleier (/ˈblaɪər/ BLY-ər, born March 5, 1946) is an American former professional football player and a veteran of the United States Army.

[4] He had a paper route as a youth,[5] and graduated from Xavier High School in 1964, where he starred in football and basketball.

During his junior season in 1966, the Fighting Irish won the national championship and he was a team captain as a senior in 1967.

[8] He volunteered for duty in South Vietnam and shipped out for Vietnam in May 1969 assigned to Company C, 4th Battalion (Light), 31st Infantry Regiment (Pro Patria), 196th Light Infantry Brigade (Ahead of the Rest) (Chargers), Americal Division, and assigned as a squad grenadier operating a 40mm M79 grenade launcher.

On August 20, while on patrol in Hiep Duc, Bleier was wounded in the left thigh by an enemy rifle bullet when his platoon was ambushed in a rice paddy.

While he was down, an enemy grenade landed nearby after bouncing off a fellow soldier, he tried to leap over it and it exploded sending shrapnel into his lower right leg.

Soon after, he received a postcard from Steelers owner Art Rooney which simply read "Rock - the team's not doing well.

Bleier later said, "When you have somebody take the time and interest to send you a postcard, something that they didn't have to do, you have a special place for those kinds of people".

After several surgeries, he was discharged from the Army in July 1970,[13] and began informal workouts with Steeler teammates.

An offseason training regimen brought Bleier back to 212 lb (96 kg) in the summer of 1974, and he earned a spot in the Steelers' starting lineup.

In 1976, both Harris and Bleier rushed for over 1,000 yards, making this the second NFL team to accomplish this feat, after Mercury Morris and Larry Csonka of the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

[25] The football stadium at Xavier High School was renamed Rocky Bleier Field on the Knights of Columbus Sports Complex[26] on October 12, 2007.