Palmer Edward Retzlaff (August 21, 1931 – April 10, 2020), known as Pete Retzlaff and nicknamed "Pistol Pete" and "The Baron", was a professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player and general manager.

Early life

Retzlaff played football at Ellendale High School in

Ellendale, North Dakota Ellendale is a city in Dickey County, North Dakota, United States. It is the capital city of Dickey County. The population was 1,125 at the 2020 census. Ellendale was founded in 1882. Ellendale is the home of Trinity Bible College, located on t ...

, and starred in

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

and football at South Dakota State College. In 1952, he rushed for 1,016 yards, a school record. He was later inducted into the school's athletic Hall of Fame.

Football career

Retzlaff was selected in the

1953 NFL Draft The 1953 National Football League Draft was held on January 22, 1953, at Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. Selections made by the folded Dallas Texans were assigned to the new Baltimore Colts. This was the seventh year that the first o ...

by the Detroit Lions of 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 ...

but he did not make the team. After two years in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

he was sold to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

, where he played running back, wide receiver and tight end for 11 seasons, having converted from fullback in the start of his career. In 1958, despite having never caught a pass in college, he led the NFL with 56 pass receptions. He went to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

five times, and he won the Bert Bell Award for NFL player of the year in 1965, when he caught 66 passes including ten touchdowns. He was president of the

NFL Players Association The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director DeM ...

. He averaged 16.4 yards per catch and lost only four fumbles in his career. In 2005, he was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's third HOVG class.

Post football career

From 1969 to 1972, he was the Eagles' vice president and general manager. In 1973 and 1974, he worked as a color analyst for NFL coverage on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

television. Retzlaff's number 44 jersey has been retired by the Eagles. When he retired, he was the alltime 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 passes in both by

Harold Carmichael Lee Harold Carmichael (born September 22, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles (1971–1983) and one season for ...

Personal life

Retzlaff married his wife Patty in 1954, having four children. Retzlaff died on April 10, 2020, in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, at the age of 88.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Retzlaff, Pete 1931 births 2020 deaths American football ends American football halfbacks American football tight ends Philadelphia Eagles executives Philadelphia Eagles players South Dakota State Jackrabbits football players National Football League announcers National Football League general managers Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players People from Ellendale, North Dakota Players of American football from North Dakota Presidents of the National Football League Players Association Military personnel from North Dakota Trade unionists from North Dakota National Football League players with retired numbers