Top 50 Cal Pros: No. 6 - Les Richter, Worth 11 in Trade

We are counting down Cal’s top 50 athletes based on their careers as post-collegiate professionals. Their performance as Golden Bears is not factored into the rankings.

6. LES RICHTER

Years at Cal: 1948 to 1951

Sport: Football

Pro team: Los Angeles Rams

Age: Died on June 12, 2010 at the age of 79

Hometown: Fresno, Calif.

Why we ranked him here: Richter assembled a remarkable NFL career that had a unique beginning. He was chosen No. 2 overall in the 1952 NFL Draft by the New York Yanks, who subsequently folded before the start of the ’52 season. The Dallas Texans were granted his rights and they promptly dealt him to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for 11 players — the second-largest trade ever for a single player. Because of his military obligations, Richter did not see action in the NFL until 1954 — three years after his final game at Cal. Moved to linebacker or middle guard, Richter played nine seasons, overcoming injuries and never never missing a game. He earned Pro Bowl invitations his first eight years, was a first-team All-Pro selection in 1956 and a second-team pick each of the next four seasons. Over his nine seasons, Richter totaled 16 interceptions and 12 fumble recoveries. He also scored 193 points by converting 29 of 55 field goal attempts and 106 of 109 PAT tries — most of them over his first three seasons. He played center his final season, in 1962, replacing an injured player. Richter was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.

Les Richter at Cal | Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics

At Cal: A team captain as a senior under coach Pappy Waldorf, Richter was a two-way star and a two-time All-Pacific Coast Conference selection. He was a two-time consensus All-America offensive guard (1950 and ’51), but perhaps his greatest value — and his future — was at linebacker. The Bears were 27-4-1 in Richter’s three varsity seasons, including undefeated Pacific Coast Conference championships in 1949 and ’50 that led to Rose Bowl berths. Richter set a PCC record by converting 40 PATs kicks in 1951. He was class valedictorian at his 1952 graduation, then served two years as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army during the Korean War before beginning his NFL career. Richter was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982 and the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987.

Other: After his football days, Richter was the head of operations for NASCAR and president of the Riverside International Raceway. That experience led to him being named to the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2009.

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