May 29, 2014; Metairie, LA, USA; Bobby Hebert a former quarterback in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons is seen during offseason team activities at the New Orleans Saints Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
So I wanted to go completely out of my realm when it came to our where are they Wednesday this week, and in fact you lucky folks get two of them this week. For the first one you get to learn about someone my father suggested to me. Bobby Hebert, who has one of the best nicknames I have ever heard that being the Cajun Cannon. So as any where are they Wednesday let us go back and learn some things about the early starts of Bobby Hebert.
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Hebert was born in I kid you not, Cut Off Louisiana. Possibly one of the best names for a city I have ever heard, but enough with my odd infatuation with nicely named things and people. Hebert went to Northwestern State Louisiana and it wasn’t until his time was done in college that he got connected to Michigan sports.
Hebert is considered one of the best quarterbacks in the United States Football League. He was signed by the Michigan Panthers and in his first year he helped his team win the 1983 USFL Championship. In the 1983 fans also got to see this amazing catch from Hebert to Anthony Carter, who played his college football at the University of Michigan.
In the 83 season Hebert took the Michigan Panthers to the USFL Championship and beat the Philadelphia Stars, 24-22. He was the Most Valuable player in the Championship game and was named Sporting News USFL Player Of Year. The following season the team struggled, but made it to the Championship game again however this time they fell short losing to the Stars 28-24. In 1985 the Michigan Panthers were merged with the Oakland Invaders and Herbert’s time in Michigan was over.
While playing for in the USFL he passed for 13,137 yards. Which is the USFL’s all-time leader in passing yardage. He got a chance in the National Football League when in 1986 he signed with the New Orleans Saints and by the 1987 season he was the starting quarterback for the team. In the 1991 and 1992 season Hebert saw super success and was led the Saints to their best starts ever in the franchise.
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The team won their first 7 games and finished the season 11-5 before losing in the first round to the Atlanta Falcons. The next season the team finished 12-4 before again an early exit from the playoffs thanks to the Philadelphia Eagles who beat them 36-20.
In the 1993 season Hebert signed with the Atlanta Falcons and that same year he was selected to his first Pro-bowl. He played with the team as a back-up in the 1994 and 1995 season. Then was named the starter again in the 1996 season. The 1996 season however was his last as he retired following the season.
Today the Cajun Cannon can be found in two hall of fames. He was inducted to the Saints Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. He has been married twice and has four kids. Two of his kids Beaux and T-Bob, whose real name is Bobby, both play football.
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T-Bob was a center for four years at Louisiana State University from 2007 to 2012. He signed a contract with the St. Louis Rams after the 2012 draft but hasn’t played since and is now a successful radio host in Nola. Beaux who is the younger of the football playing two is currently at Nicholls State where he is a quarterback. He is in his junior year and is majored in communications.
As for Bobby, he owns a local Cajun restaurant in Metairie, Louisiana called Bobby Hebert’s Cajun Cannon. Reading through many of its google reviews people seems to really like the place and it is a hot spot during the NFL season for a place to catch a game and have some tasty food.
One important thing to let you know about the Cajun Cannon is how you say his last name. While his name sounds like it should be said as it looks his name is pronounced “ay-bare”. That was made very clear to me while I was researching him for this article.
Do you remember anything about Bobby Hebert? Did you ever watch him play? Let us know below.