Calvin Elston Peterson (born October 6, 1952) is a former professional American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Raiders. 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 UCLA.

Early years

Peterson prepped at

Los Angeles High School Los Angeles High School is the oldest Public education#United States, public high school in the Southern California, Southern California Region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are royal blue and white and the teams are ...

, before moving on to UCLA, where he played the "loose" defensive end position and was a three-year starter.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Peterson was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round (72nd overall) of the

1974 NFL Draft The 1974 NFL draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York, on January 29–30, 1974. Each of the 26 NFL teams were granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks. Many experts consider the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers to have h ...

, with the intention of converting him to an

outside 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, ...

. As a rookie, his speed allowed him to become a key special teams player. In

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, he was the fourth linebacker on the depth chart and was used on passing downs, on a team that played in

Super Bowl X Super Bowl X was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for t ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected him from the Cowboys roster in the

1976 NFL Expansion Draft The 1976 National Football League (NFL) expansion draft was held March 30–31, 1976. The expansion teams, the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Flor ...

. He was a starter and considered the team's best linebacker, until suffering a sprained knee in the fourth game of the season. He returned in the eighth game to play against the Denver Broncos, but he reinjured his knee and was placed on the

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

list. He could never fully recover from his knee injury and was waived the next off-season after failing a physical.

Los Angeles Rams

Peterson signed with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

, but was waived before the start of the season.

Kansas City Chiefs

He signed with the Kansas City Chiefs for the 1979 season and went on to start thirteen games in the span of three years. In

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, he started the season on the reserve non-football injured list after coming to training camp with a virus that limited him, but recovered to play in 11 games. He was waived before the start of the 1982 season.

Los Angeles Raiders

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, he played for the Los Angeles Raiders and was active in 4 games.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Cal 1952 births Living people Los Angeles High School alumni Players of American football from Los Angeles American football linebackers UCLA Bruins football players Dallas Cowboys players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Kansas City Chiefs players Los Angeles Raiders players