NFL teams drafted 14 Pitt football players in the first round in the 1980s. Bob Buczkowski probably should not have been one of them.
Al Davis of the Raiders surprised the league by selecting the defensive end with the 24th overall pick in the 1986 draft. He would go on to play just two games for what were the Los Angeles Raiders. Back and shoulder surgeries limited Buczkowski to 21 career games for three teams in three NFL seasons spread over five years.
He was, by all NFL standards, a first-round draft bust.
Yet when this once phenomenal Gateway High School and Pitt Panther athlete died in his sleep last Wednesday in Monroeville at age 54, he left a trail of loyal friends and accomplishments worthy of a Hall of Famer.