Former Oklahoma State football star Bob Fenimore has died

Bob Fenimore, Oklahoma State’s first-ever football All-American and a school legend, died Wednesday morning in Stillwater. He was 84.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at First Presbyterian Church in Stillwater.

A native of Woodward, Fenimore was the first pick of the 1947 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1972 and was inducted into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame in 2007.

Nicknamed the “Blond Bomber,” Fenimore was named a two-time consensus All-American after leading the Oklahoma A&M Aggies to victory at the 1944 Cotton Bowl and the 1945 Sugar Bowl and a 17-1 record over the 1944 and 1945 seasons.

“Bob Fenimore put OSU football on the map as the first in a long line of great running backs. He was a tremendous player but an even better man,” longtime friend and OSU’s Executive Director for Major Gifts Larry Reece said. “He was a lifelong supporter of all things Cowboy. OSU athletics may have lost one of our legends, but the OSU family will never forget the Blond Bomber.”

“Bob Fenimore will never be forgotten,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said. “He may have been the most dominant player in America during his years in Stillwater. He is still listed in our record books nearly 60 years after he played. He truly is a legend.”

While guiding the Aggies to an 8-1 season in 1944, he led the nation in total offense with 1,758 yards and was third with 899 rushing yards, eighth in passing yards with 997 and ninth in scoring with 77 points.

Fenimore helped A&M to a perfect 9-0 mark the following year while leading the nation in total offense with 1,641 yards and rushing with 1,119 yards. He also ranked seventh on the punting chart and 13th in scoring.

He finished his career with 4,627 yards of total offense and was referred to by Homer Cooke of the National Collegiate Athletic Bureau as “the greatest one-man offense in college football history.”

Fenimore was equally impressive on defense, recording 18 interceptions during his career — a mark that still stands as the school record.