 Richter (left) in 1959 | |||||||||
| No. 67, 48 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positions | Linebacker Guard Placekicker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1930-10-06)October 6, 1930 Fresno, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | June 12, 2010(2010-06-12) (aged 79) Riverside, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 238 lb (108 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Fresno | ||||||||
| College | California | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1952: 1st round,2nd overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Leslie Alan Richter (October 6, 1930 – June 12, 2010) was an American professionalfootball player who was alinebacker for theLos Angeles Rams ofNational Football League (NFL). He also served as the head of operations forNASCAR and president of theRiverside International Raceway. Richter was twice a consensusAll-American for theCalifornia Golden Bears. With the Rams, he played in eightPro Bowls. He was inducted to theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 1982 and thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
At theUniversity of California, Berkeley, Richter playedguard andlinebacker for theCalifornia Golden Bears. He was twice recognized as a consensusAll-American and first-teamAll-Pacific Coast, in 1950 and 1951. He wasvaledictorian of his graduating class of 1952.[1] After graduation, he served in theKorean War for theU.S. Army for two years.[2] He was a first-round draft choice of the NFL'sNew York Yanks, the second pick overall, in the1952 NFL draft. The Yanks folded before the 1952 season, and theDallas Texans assumed the rights to Richter. They traded him to the Los Angeles Rams for eleven players,[1] the second largest deal ever made for a single player.
During his nine years with the Rams, Richter did not miss a game, playing through various injuries including a broken cheekbone.[3][2] He scored 193 points, which included atouchdown, 106extra points, and 29field goals. On defense, heintercepted 16 passes. His 24 field goals attempted during the 1955 season led the NFL.[4] The Rams struggled during that time, winning six or more games four times in nine seasons.[3] The high mark for the team was in 1955, when it reached thechampionship game and lost to theCleveland Browns.[5] Richter was selected to eight straightPro Bowls, from 1954 to 1961, and was four times recognized as a first-teamAll-Pro. He playedcenter for his final season, in 1962, taking over for injured starterArt Hunter.[1]
After retiring from football, Richter was involved with auto racing in a variety of positions. He wasRiverside International Raceway manager from 1959 to 1983, then vice-president of special projects forInternational Speedway Corporation,chairman of the board for theInternational Race of Champions, and senior vice president of operations forNASCAR.[6][5]
Richter died on June 12, 2010, at age 79 of abrain aneurysm.[5] As a lieutenant with the U.S. Army during the Korean War, Richter was buried atRiverside National Cemetery inRiverside, California. At the time of his death, Richter was working at theAuto Club Speedway, owned by ISC formally owned by Penske Racing that also ownedMichigan International Speedway,Nazareth Speedway,Pikes Peak International Raceway andNorth Carolina Speedway inRockingham, North Carolina
Richter was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 1982. In 2011, he was posthumously elected as a senior candidate to thePro Football Hall of Fame class of 2011 along with former Washington Redskins linebackerChris Hanburger.[3] The induction class also includedDeion Sanders,Richard Dent,Marshall Faulk,Ed Sabol,Shannon Sharpe.
