Robert J. Ptacek, Jr. (born April 23, 1937) is a former professional

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

player. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the halfback and

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

positions for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1956 to 1958. He later played professional football in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

in 1959 and in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) for the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

from 1960 to 1965. He was a CFL All-Star in 1964 as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

and an All-Western Conference

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

in 1961.

Early years

Ptacek was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, in 1937. He attended

Holy Name High School Holy Name High School (HNHS) is a private, Catholic, co-educational high school in Parma Heights, Ohio, US. It is a part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. Holy Name is a member of the Great Lakes Conference with Fairview, Buckeye, P ...

in Cleveland.

University of Michigan

Ptacek enrolled at the

in 1955 and played for head coach

Bennie Oosterbaan Benjamin Oosterbaan ( ; February 24, 1906 – October 25, 1990) was a three-time first team All-American football end for the Michigan Wolverines football team, two-time All-American basketball player for the basketball team, and an All-Big Ten C ...

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history. The team is known for its ...

teams from 1956 to 1958. As a sophomore, Ptacek started two games at the left halfback position for the

1956 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1956 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1956 Big Ten Conference football season. In their ninth year under head coach was Bennie Oosterbaan, the Wolverines compi ...

. He completed 15 of 23 passes for 245 yards, two interceptions and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 208 yards on 45 carries and caught seven passes for 53 yards. As a junior in 1957, Ptacek did not start any games, completed two of three passes, gained 186 rushing yards on 60 carries, and caught eight passes for 88 yards. As a senior, Ptacek started all nine games at quarterback for the

1958 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1958 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1958 Big Ten Conference football season. In its 11th and final year under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan, Michigan compiled a 2–6–1 record (1–5–1 again ...

that compiled a 2-6-1 record. He played on both offense and defense in 1958, remaining on the field for 51 of 60 minutes in a 20–19 victory over

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

; an

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story referred to him as one of football's "vanishing breed -- the iron man." He was selected as the Most Valuable Player on the 1958 team, completing 65 of 115 passes for 760 yards, nine interceptions and three touchdowns. In the 1958 Michigan-Ohio State game, Ptacek set a

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

record of 24 pass completions in a single game; Ptacek's 24 completions were good for 241 yards and two touchdowns. After the conclusion of the 1958 season, Ptacek was selected to play at the quarterback position for the college all-star teams in both the

Hula Bowl The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida. The game was first st ...

and the

College All-Star Game The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League (NFL) champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. It was also known as the C ...

. He completed 12 of 26 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 152 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown run, against the NFL all-stars in the January 1959 Hula Bowl. He was named the Most Valuable Player in the August 1959 College All-Star game after completing five of eight passes against the NFL champion

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

Professional football

Ptacek was selected by the

in the eighth round (87th overall pick) of the

1959 NFL Draft The 1959 National Football League draft had its first four rounds held on December 1, 1958, and its final twenty-six rounds on January 21, 1959. Both sessions were held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. With the first overall pick in the dra ...

. He appeared in 12 games for the 1959 Cleveland Browns and totaled 13 rushing yards on three carries. In an unusual NFL-CFL transaction, the Browns in May 1960 dealt Ptacek to the

of the

(CFL) in exchange for Jim Marshall. Ptacek played for Saskatchewan from 1960 to 1965. He had his career-best season in 1962, completing 125 of 206 passes for 2,317 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. During his six-year CFL career, Ptacek scored four rushing

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s on offense and two on

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

returns. He completed 299 of 525 passes for 25 touchdowns. He was named to the All-Canadian team as a defensive back in 1964 as well as All-WFC in 1961 as a linebacker and 1964 defensive back. He was inducted into the Saskatchewan Roughriders Plaza of Honour in 2001. He holds the CFL record for most fumble returns in a playoff season with three in 1963.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ptacek, Bob 1937 births Living people American football defensive backs American football linebackers American football quarterbacks American players of Canadian football Canadian football quarterbacks Cleveland Browns players Michigan Wolverines football players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Players of American football from Cleveland Players of Canadian football from Cleveland