Robert Yale Lary Sr. (November 24, 1930 – May 11, 2017) was an American professional football player, businessman, and politician.

He played for 11 seasons as a safety, punter and return specialist for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL).

He also played baseball at Texas A&M, led his team to the 1951 College World Series, and set a Southwest Conference record for doubles.

Lary played in the NFL with the Lions from 1952 to 1953 and from 1956 to 1964, missing the 1954 and 1955 seasons due to military service as an Army second lieutenant in Korea.

[1] He attended North Side High School in Fort Worth, where he was a multi-sport athlete, receiving three letters each in football and baseball, two in track and field, and one in basketball.

[3] After the season, he was selected by the Associated Press as a first-team defensive back on the 1951 All-Southwest Conference football team.

As a rookie, Lary played all 12 regular-season games in the defensive backfield, intercepting four passes and recovering a fumble.

[9] In January 1953, within days after the Lions' NFL championship, Lary signed a contract to play professional baseball for the Beaumont Exporters of the Texas League.

[13][14] Lary was stationed at Fort Benning in Georgia,[15] and missed the 1954 and 1955 seasons due to military service.

[1] During his NFL career, Lary played in Detroit's dominant defensive backfields that also included Hall of Fame inductees Jack Christiansen, Night Train Lane, and Dick LeBeau and six-time Pro Bowl selectee Jim David, with Hall of Famer Joe Schmidt filling in the gaps at middle linebacker.

During his career, he totaled 50 interceptions, which ranked fifth in NFL history at the time of his retirement (trailing only Emlen Tunnell, Night Train Lane, Jack Butler, and Bobby Dillon).

On October 13, 1957, he intercepted two passes against the Los Angeles Rams, including one which he returned 63 yards to set up the game-winning touchdown.

[26] At the time of his retirement in 1964, Lary's 44.3 yard career punting average ranked second in NFL history, trailing only Sammy Baugh.

[33][9][34] In February 1965, he also broke ground on a Ford Motor Company dealership in Fort Worth to be owned by Lary and a childhood friend.