Obituaries

Robert E. Bill, Ex-New York Giant, 72

Mineola native played for Big Blue for one game in 1962.

For one single, solitary game, Robert Bill stepped onto the field at Cleveland against the Browns and had his football career ended after the first play after suffering a knee injury from which he never fully recovered. Big Blue would also go on to lose the game 17-7.

Bill then went on to sell insurance for the next phase of his career before passing away on June 3 at the age of 72. He had his start at Aetna Insurance before starting his own firm of Robert E. Bill Associates in Farmingdale. He retired at 62 to North Palm Beach, Fla.

The Giants – who drafted Bill in the second-round in 1961 – were not the only sports team to recruit the Notre Dame graduate as the Brooklyn Dodgers wanted him out of high school, an offer which he passed on because his father disapproved.

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Bill is survived by his wife, Joyce Skinner Bill; sons Robert Charles and Christian, daughter, Katherine, brothers Joseph and Michael and three grandchildren.

Visitation will be Monday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at in Garden City. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at in Garden City, with internment to follow at Holy Rood Cemetery in Westbury.

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