 Retzlaff with the Eagles | |||||||||
| No. 25, 44 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positions | Flanker Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1931-08-21)August 21, 1931 Ellendale, North Dakota, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | April 10, 2020(2020-04-10) (aged 88) Pottstown, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 211 lb (96 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Ellendale | ||||||||
| College | South Dakota State | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1953: 22nd round, 265th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
Operations | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Executive profile atPro Football Reference | |||||||||
Palmer Edward "Pete"Retzlaff (August 21, 1931 – April 10, 2020), nicknamed "Pistol Pete" and "the Baron", was an American professionalfootball player and executive for thePhiladelphia Eagles of theNational Football League (NFL). He played as aflanker andtight end for 11 seasons. After his playing career, he served as the general manager for four seasons. He was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame in 1989.
Retzlaff was an organizer and past president of theNational Football League Players' Association (NFLPA), theunion of players in the NFL.
Retzlaff was born on August 21, 1931, inEllendale, North Dakota.[1] He starred on the football and track teams atEllendale High School.[2] He attended theNorth Dakota State Normal and Industrial School in Ellendale, before transferring toSouth Dakota State College (now South Dakota State University, SDSU).[3]
In 1950, he entered SDSU, where he starred intrack and field andfootball for two years, setting 16 school records in the 1951–52 and 1952-53 seasons.[4]
In both football seasons he was selected to the All-North Central Conference (NCC) team. In 1951, as afullback, herushed for 1,016 yards, a school record,[4] and in 1952 was named aLittle All-American.[5] Ironically, he never had a passreception in his two years of football, the very skill that would make him a professional football star.[4]
In 1953, he set school, NCC andNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) records in bothshot put anddiscus. He was two-time NAIA national champion in shot put and in discus. In 1953, Retzlaff also won first place in shot put, discus, andhigh jump at the NCC Championships, and placed fourth injavelin. In the same year, he led SDSU to a national team title in track.[4]
At SDSU, he made “Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities”, was a member the Senior Men's Honorary Society, and was vice president of the senior class.[4]
In 1959, Ellendale held a Pete Retzlaff Day.[2] In 1972, he was inducted into theSouth Dakota Sports Hall of Fame.[6] In 1974, he was honored with a gold star on Ellendale's Walk of Fame.[5] In the same year, he received the SDSU Distinguished Alumnus Award.[5] In 1977, he was inducted into the SDSU Sports Hall of Fame.[4][7]
Retzlaff was selected in the1953 NFL draft by theDetroit Lions of theNational Football League (NFL), but he did not make the team.[8] After two years in theU.S. Army[5] his contract was sold to thePhiladelphia Eagles, and he was signed for $100.[8] He playedflanker andtight end for 11 seasons with the Eagles, having converted fromfullback.[9]
In 1958,Norm Van Brocklin, acquired from theLos Angeles Rams, suggested that Retzlaff should play split end, noting that he ran patterns like his favorite receiver at Los Angeles inElroy Hirsch.[8] That year, despite having never caught a pass in college, he tied Pro Football Hall of Fame receiverRaymond Berry for the league lead with 56 pass receptions.[8][10][11] Fellow Eagles' Hall of Fame linebackerMaxie Baughan[12] observed that Retzlaff was one of the first tight ends to be a receiver as well as a blocker. This changed football strategy as defenses now had provide for covering tight ends as another capable receiver on the field. Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys' safetyMel Renfro found it difficult to cover Retzlaff because he was a great route runner.[8][9]
Retzlaff was a co-captain on the 1960 Eagles team that won theNFL championship.[9] Retzlaff led the team with 46 receptions, averaging 18 yards per catch.[8] In 1965, Retzlaff had 66 receptions for 1,190 yards and 10 touchdowns, winning theBert Bell Award for NFL player of the year in 1965.[13][8] He played the entire season with an injury to his heels, saying he ended up with "21 holes" while usingNovocain on gameday, and not practicing prior to the game.[8]
Retzlaff had 452 catches for 7,412 yards in his 11-year Eagle career.[9] He averaged 16.4 yards per catch and lost only four fumbles in his career.[8] He was the seventh receiver with 450 catches in history.[14][15] He went to thePro Bowl five times.[9] In 1965, he was named first-teamAll-Pro by theAssociated Press (AP),United Press International (UPI) andNewspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), and second-team All-Pro by them in 1963 and 1965.The Sporting News named Retzlaff first-team All-Conference in 1958 and 1963-1965.[1]
He was nicknamed "the Baron" by former teammateTom Brookshier, and "Pistol Pete" byBill Campbell,[16] a legendary Philadelphia sportscaster who called the Eagles games.[17]
He was one of the early leaders in forming theNFL Players Association (NFLPA),[8] and became its president.[18] In the late 1950s, Retzlaff, Van Brocklin andKyle Rote led the Players Association in working with NFL CommissionerBert Bell in beginning a player pension fund.[19]
In 1989, he was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame.[9] In 2005, he was named to theProfessional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's third HOVG class.[20]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theNFL championship | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1956 | PHI | 10 | 5 | 12 | 159 | 13.3 | 20 | 0 |
| 1957 | PHI | 12 | 7 | 10 | 120 | 12.0 | 28 | 0 |
| 1958 | PHI | 12 | 10 | 56 | 766 | 13.7 | 49 | 2 |
| 1959 | PHI | 10 | 8 | 34 | 595 | 17.5 | 45 | 1 |
| 1960 | PHI | 12 | 12 | 46 | 826 | 18.0 | 57 | 5 |
| 1961 | PHI | 14 | 14 | 50 | 769 | 15.4 | 61 | 8 |
| 1962 | PHI | 8 | 8 | 30 | 584 | 19.5 | 84 | 3 |
| 1963 | PHI | 14 | 14 | 57 | 895 | 15.7 | 46 | 4 |
| 1964 | PHI | 12 | 12 | 51 | 855 | 16.8 | 44 | 8 |
| 1965 | PHI | 14 | 14 | 66 | 1,190 | 18.0 | 78 | 10 |
| 1966 | PHI | 14 | 14 | 40 | 653 | 16.3 | 40 | 6 |
| 132 | 118 | 452 | 7,412 | 16.4 | 84 | 47 | ||
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1960 | PHI | 1 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 41.0 | 41 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 41.0 | 41 | 0 | ||
After retiring from football, he worked as a sportscaster on a local Philadelphia CBS affiliate,WCAU.[18] From 1969 to 1972, he was the Eagles' vice president and general manager.[17] He draftedHarold Carmichael in 1971, who later passed him for catches and yards by an Eagle player.[17][21] In 1973 and 1974, he worked as acolor analyst forCBS doing NFL coverage.[5]
In addition to the honors listed above, Retzlaff is a member of the NAIA Hall of Fame as an athlete, and track and field.[22] In 1965, he was honored in Philadelphia with “Pete Retzlaff” day, and was selected Pro Football Father of the Year by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[5] In the same year, he was named NFL Player of the Year by both theMaxwell Football Club (the Bert Bell Award) and theWashington Touchdown Club.[8] In 1966, he won the John Wanamaker Athletic Award, which is given to individuals or entities that have "done the most to reflect credit upon Philadelphia and to the team or sport in which they excel."[23]
Retzlaff's number 44 jersey has been retired by the Eagles.[24] When he retired, he was the all-time leader for receptions and receiving yards for Philadelphia (on his death in 2020, he was still third in receptions and second in yards, having been passed in both byHarold Carmichael).[25]
Retzlaff married his wife Patty in 1954, having four children, 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren at the time of his death. They had been married 66 years.[9]
Retzlaff died on April 10, 2020, inPottstown, Pennsylvania, at the age of 88.[26]