Les Richter

Fumble recoveries:	12
Interceptions:	16
Points:	193

Les Richter
	Richter (left) in 1959
No. 67, 48
Position:	Linebacker,guard,kicker
Personal information
Born:	October 6, 1930; Fresno, California,U.S.
Died:	June 12, 2010(aged 79); Riverside, California,U.S.
Height:	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:	238 lb (108 kg)
Career information
High school:	Fresno
College:	California
NFL draft:	1952/ Round: 1 / Pick:2
Career history
	Los Angeles Rams(1954–1962);
Career highlights and awards
	4× First-teamAll-Pro(1955–1958); 3× Second-teamAll-Pro(1959, 1960); 8×Pro Bowl(1954–1961); St. Louis Football Ring of Fame; UPI Lineman of the Year(1950); 2× ConsensusAll-American(1950,1951); 2× First-teamAll-Pacific Coast(1950,1951);
Career NFL statistics
Fumble recoveries:
Fumble recoveries:	12
Interceptions:	16
Points:	193
	Player stats atPFR
	Pro Football Hall of Fame
	College Football Hall of Fame

Leslie Alan Richter(October 6, 1930 – June 12, 2010) was an American professionalfootballplayer who was alinebackerfor theLos Angeles RamsofNational Football League(NFL). He also served as the head of operations forNASCARand president of theRiverside International Raceway.Richter was twice a consensusAll-Americanfor theCalifornia Golden Bears.With the Rams, he played in eightPro Bowls.He was inducted to theCollege Football Hall of Famein 1982 and thePro Football Hall of Famein 2011.

Football career

At theUniversity of California, Berkeley,Richter playedguardandlinebackerfor theCalifornia Golden Bears.He was twice recognized as a consensusAll-Americanand first-teamAll-Pacific Coast,in 1950 and 1951. He wasvaledictorianof his graduating class of 1952.^[1]After graduation, he served in theKorean Warfor theU.S. Armyfor two years.^[2]He was a first-round draft choice of the NFL'sNew York Yanks,the second pick overall, in the1952 NFL draft.The Yanks folded before the 1952 season, and theDallas Texansassumed the rights to Richter. They traded him to the Los Angeles Rams for eleven players,^[1]the second largest deal ever made for a single player.

During his nine years with the Rams, Richter did not miss a game, playing through various injuries including a broken cheekbone.^[3]^[2]He scored 193 points, which included atouchdown,106extra points,and 29field goals.On defense, heintercepted16 passes. His 24 field goals attempted during the 1955 season led the NFL.^[4]The Rams struggled during that time, winning six or more games four times in nine seasons.^[3]The high mark for the team was in 1955, when it reached thechampionship gameand lost to theCleveland Browns.^[5]Richter was selected to eight straightPro Bowls,from 1954 to 1961, and was four times recognized as a first-teamAll-Pro.He playedcenterfor his final season, in 1962, taking over for injured starterArt Hunter.^[1]

Racing executive and later years

After retiring from football, Richter was involved with auto racing in a variety of positions. He wasRiverside International Racewaymanager from 1959 to 1983, then vice-president of special projects forInternational Speedway Corporation,chairman of the boardfor theInternational Race of Champions,and senior vice president of operations forNASCAR.^[6]^[5]

Richter died on June 12, 2010, at age 79 of abrain aneurysm.^[5]As a lieutenant with the U.S. Army during the Korean War, Richter was buried atRiverside National CemeteryinRiverside, California.At the time of his death, Richter was working at theAuto Club Speedway,owned by ISC formally owned by Penske Racing that also ownedMichigan International Speedway,Nazareth Speedway,Pikes Peak International RacewayandNorth Carolina SpeedwayinRockingham, North Carolina

Richter was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Famein 1982. In 2011, he was posthumously elected as a senior candidate to thePro Football Hall of Fameclass of 2011 along with former Washington Redskins linebackerChris Hanburger.^[3]The induction class also includedDeion Sanders,Richard Dent,Marshall Faulk,Ed Sabol,Shannon Sharpe.

Awards

He was inducted in theWest Coast Stock Car Hall of Fameas a member of its inaugural class in 2002.
He was inducted into theMotorsports Hall of Fame of Americain 2009.^[7]

References

^^a ^b ^cTuttle, Tim (June 17, 2010)."Richter remembered as West Coast 'motorsports pioneer'".Sports Illustrated.RetrievedJanuary 28,2017.
^^a ^bBrandt, Gil (July 31, 2011)."Ten things you didn't know about Les Richter".NFL.com.National Football League.RetrievedJanuary 28,2017.
^^a ^b ^cFryer, Jenna (August 3, 2011)."Les Richter makes Hall 50 years after final game".USA Today.RetrievedJanuary 28,2017.
^"Les Richter Stats".Pro-Football-Reference.com.Sports Reference LLC.RetrievedJanuary 28,2017.
^^a ^b ^cPeltz, Jim (June 13, 2010)."Les Richter dies at 79; ex-Ram guided auto racing's growth in Southern California".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedJanuary 28,2017.
^Former Riverside Raceway boss Richter honored- Road Racing World, 3 February 2004
^Les Richterat theMotorsports Hall of Fame of America

External links

Les Richterat thePro Football Hall of Fame
Les Richterat theCollege Football Hall of Fame
Career statistics and player information fromNFL.com·Pro Football Reference

[Tuttle-1] Tuttle, Tim (June 17, 2010)."Richter remembered as West Coast 'motorsports pioneer'".Sports Illustrated.RetrievedJanuary 28,2017.

[Brandt-2] Brandt, Gil (July 31, 2011)."Ten things you didn't know about Les Richter".NFL.com.National Football League.RetrievedJanuary 28,2017.

[Fryer-3] Fryer, Jenna (August 3, 2011)."Les Richter makes Hall 50 years after final game".USA Today.RetrievedJanuary 28,2017.

[PFR-4] "Les Richter Stats".Pro-Football-Reference.com.Sports Reference LLC.RetrievedJanuary 28,2017.

[Peltz-5] Peltz, Jim (June 13, 2010)."Les Richter dies at 79; ex-Ram guided auto racing's growth in Southern California".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedJanuary 28,2017.

[6] Former Riverside Raceway boss Richter honored- Road Racing World, 3 February 2004

[MSHoF-7] Les Richterat theMotorsports Hall of Fame of America

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