Revered as one of the toughest football players to ever play the sport, Les Richter was the embodiment of fortitude and grit throughout his NFL career. Richter was a rare talent, because he featured on both sides of the football as a linebacker, guard, and even kicker. In his Hall of Fame career, Richter never missed a game for nine seasons, even playing while getting injured.
Les Richter was born on October 26, 1930, in Fresno, California. Richter played his college football at the University California where he became a consensus All-American. He also served in the US Army, participating in the Korean War before starting his NFL career.
The New York Yanks selected Richter with the second overall pick in the 1952 NFL Draft while he was serving his country. After the Yanks franchise folded, his rights went to the newly formed Dallas Texans. The Texans then traded him to the Rams for 11 players. That trade paid dividends for the Rams immediately.
In 112 games over nine seasons, Richter never missed a game in his career. Richter was the original ironman of the NFL, playing through various injuries. He was such a resilient player on the field that he even once broke a cheekbone in a game and played through it. Richter kept going, despite breaking it again a few weeks later, he never sat out due to injury.
In today’s NFL, you rarely see a player feature on both sides of the football. Richter was a menace on defense, but Richter also led the team in points in 1955 and 1956. Richter became the team’s kicker for two seasons, totaling 193 points in his career. Richter’s heroics on both sides of the football led the Rams to make a return to the 1955 NFL Championship Game where they lost to the Cleveland Browns.
Richter played with the Rams for all nine seasons of his NFL career. Richter recorded 16 career interceptions playing linebacker over nine seasons. He was an eight-time Pro Bowler, four-time First Team All-Pro, and a three-time Second Team All-Pro. Richter was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982, and elected into the Pro-Football Hall of Fame in 2011, one year after he passed away. Les Richter truly was a one of a kind football player.
Sources: Pro-football-reference.com, Jerry Crowe, LA Times, profootballhof.com
Martin Cruz is a staff writer for Rams Talk. You can find him on Twitter with the username @MCruz1988.
