Villanova Univeristy Athletics

Villanova standout Bob Polidor amassed more than 1,700 all-purpose yards in three seasons and played in two bowl games during his Wildcats career. He holds the record for the longest kickoff return in school history and his 13 career touchdowns include at least one rushing, receiving, kickoff return, punt return and interception return score. Polidor is a 1949 graduate of Villanova and was inducted to the Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1987.
 
In his three seasons playing for the Wildcats, Polidor totaled 1,724 all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns. He had over 1,000 yards from scrimmage alone, rushing for 700 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 5.38 yards per carry to go along with making 14 catches for 342 yards and four scores. Polidor also had 351 kickoff return yards, 289 punt return yards and 42 yards on interception returns. His efforts helped Villanova tally a 20-9-2 (.677) record during his years on the team.
 
The path that Polidor took to eventually play for the Wildcats was a circuitous one. Born on July 1, 1922 in Dallas, Texas, he attended Benjamin Franklin High School in Philadelphia and went on to play his first season of college football for Temple in 1942. Polidor moved on to Rochester in 1943 before enrolling in the United States Marine Corps. He arrived at Villanova after World War II and played his final three seasons of collegiate football for the Wildcats under Hall of Fame coach Jordan Olivar.
 
It was during his first season at Villanova that Polidor set a record with a 109-yard kickoff return. The record-breaking play came against Miami (Fla.) on November 1, 1946 in a narrow 26-21 loss at Shibe Park. That was the only game of the season in which Polidor returned kickoffs and he had both the 109-yard play as well as a 30-yard return in the contest. During that same season, Polidor returned an interception for a touchdown in a 23-6 win at Detroit. He rushed for 114 yards and totaled 118 receiving yards for the 1946 season.
 
Villanova went 6-4 in 1946 before going on to play in bowl games each of the next two seasons. Polidor recorded 658 all-purpose yards in 1947 as the Wildcats went 6-3-1 and played Kentucky in the Great Lakes Bowl in Cleveland, Ohio. His highlights for the season included a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown in a 14-12 win over Detroit and a career-high 215 all-purpose yards in a 25-7 win at Marquette. Polidor rushed for a career-high 143 yards on just six carries in the Marquette win and had a 55-yard punt return against Holy Cross during the year.
 
The final season of Polidor’s collegiate career was Villanova’s best one in a decade and culminated with the Wildcats defeating Nevada, 27-7, on New Year’s Day in the Harbor Bowl in San Diego, Calif. Villanova went 8-2-1 in 1948 and tallied its first eight-win season in 10 years. Polidor rushed for 335 yards while averaging just under six yards per carry during the year. He also had four receptions for 120 yards and a touchdown and threw a five-yard touchdown pass.
 
Polidor was selected in the 1949 NFL Draft when the Chicago Cardinals made him a 31^st round selection with the 293^rd overall pick. He would go on to play professionally that same year with the Wilmington Clippers of the AFL and scored three touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing) in four games played.