Lance Rentzel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lance Rentzel | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Date of birth: | October 14, 1943 |
| Place of birth: |  Flushing, New York |
| Career information | |
| Position(s): | Wide receiver |
| College: | Oklahoma |
| NFL Draft: | 1965 / Round: 2 / Pick 23 |
| Organizations | |
| As player: | |
| 1965-1966 1967-1970 1971-1974 |
Minnesota Vikings Dallas Cowboys Los Angeles Rams |
| Stats at DatabaseFootball.com | |
Thomas Lance Rentzel (born October 14, 1943 in Flushing, New York) was an American football wide receiver in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, and the Los Angeles Rams from 1965 to 1974. He was briefly married to actress Joey Heatherton.
After attending the University of Oklahoma, he was drafted in the second round of the 1965 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. Over nine NFL seasons, Rentzel accumulated 4,826 yards receiving, 196 yards rushing, and 1,000 yards returning punts and kickoffs. He also had a perfect passer rating, by virtue of his lone pass attempt being completed for a 58-yard touchdown. Lance was an integral player in the 1967 Championship Game known as the Ice Bowl.
In 1970 he was arrested for indecent exposure to a 10-year-old girl and was released from the team he was then playing for, the Dallas Cowboys. Shortly after this incident, his marriage to actress Joey Heatherton disintegrated.
For the 1971 season, he caught on with the Los Angeles Rams, wearing jersey number 13. The October 1972 issue of SPORT magazine had a lengthy feature on Rentzel by author Gary Cartwright. Rentzel addressed the bitterness over being released by the Cowboys and his tarnished reputation. "There were parts of it ... like the hate mail. And the Rentzel jokes: I've heard them all. And it hurts, because as I've said many times, I feel like I have some good qualities, too. But when something like this happens, people only remember the bad things. I can't blame people. If that's all I had read, maybe I'd feel the same way."
In 1972, he authored a book about his professional football experiences and personal life entitled When All the Laughter Died in Sorrow.
Dated actress, Victoria Principal.
Cyclist Lance Armstrong was named after the wide receiver.[1]
Today, Rentzel resides in Washington, D.C.
[edit] References
- ^ 50 Plus One Greatest Sports Heroes of All Times: North American Edition By Paul J. Christopher, Alicia Marie Smith, pg 31
