IOWA CITY – Former University of Iowa All-American Robert Gallery is listed on the 2018 ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame. The announcement was made Thursday by the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Football Hall of Fame.
The former Hawkeye is one of 75 players from the Football Bowl Subdivision on the ballot. Gallery (2000-03) was an offensive tackle at Iowa for three seasons after playing his first season at tight end. Gallery is one of 22 players from the Big Ten Conference on the ballot.
Gallery is a native of Masonville, Iowa, and attended East Buchanan High School. Gallery was awarded the Outland Trophy following his senior season, which signifies the nation’s best offensive lineman. He earned consensus All-America honors in 2003. Gallery is one of four former Hawkeyes to have won the Outland Trophy.
Gallery earned first team All-Big Ten honors as a junior, as Iowa shared the Big Ten Conference title with a perfect 8-0 league record. Iowa participated in the 2003 Orange Bowl and finished the season ranked eighth in the nation after posting an overall 11-2 record.
Gallery repeated as a first team All-Big Ten selection in 2003 and was named the Big Ten Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year. The Hawkeyes posted a 10-3 overall record and completed the season with a 37-17 win over Florida in the 2004 Outback Bowl. Iowa was ranked eighth nationally for the second straight season. Gallery was a team captain and co-Most Valuable Player.
In addition to his on the field honors, Gallery was a three-time recipient of Academic All-Big Ten recognition. Gallery earned his degree in elementary education from Iowa in 2003. He was named to Iowa’s America Needs Farmers (ANF) Wall of Honor in 2015.
Gallery was the second selection (Oakland) in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played in the NFL for eight seasons, including seven with the Raiders and one season with Seattle. He started in 103 of the 104 NFL games he participated in. Gallery was honored with the NFL’s Ed Block Courage Award in 2010.
The ballot was emailed this week to the more than 12,000 NFF members and current Hall of Famers whose votes will be tabulated and submitted to the NFF’s Honors Courts, which deliberate and select the class. The 2018 class will be announced Jan. 8, 2018, in Atlanta, as part of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, which will be played that evening in Atlanta. Induction ceremonies will take place, Dec. 4, 2018, at the New York Hilton Midtown.
To be eligible for the ballot, players must have been named a first ream All-American by a major/national selector as recognized and utilized by the NCAA for their consensus All-America teams; played their last year of intercollegiate football at least 10 years prior; played within the last 50 years, and cannot be currently playing professional football.
Linebacker Larry Station, inducted in 2009, is the most recent Hawkeye inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Former UI coach Hayden Fry was induced in 2003. During his tenure at Iowa, Fry coached three Hall of Fame members, including Tippett, Station, and quarterback Chuck Long.
