Lance Rentzel, who made headlines on and off the field during his nine NFL seasons, has died.
Media reports said he died Sunday in Alexandria, Va., with no cause of death revealed.
Rentzel was a second-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings out of Oklahoma in 1965. He made his way into the franchise record books as a rookie when he returned a kickoff 101 yards, a record that lasted until 2007.
The Vikings traded Rentzel to the Dallas Cowboys in 1967 after two injury-hampered seasons and an off-field issue, and he immediately became a key player in the Tom Landry offense. He gained more than 950 yards in each of his first three seasons in Dallas, playing in all 14 games each year. And in 1969, he led the NFL with 12 touchdown receptions and an average of 22.3 yards per catch.
With the Cowboys, he also caught a touchdown pass from Dan Reeves in the “Ice Bowl” against the Green Bay Packers in 1967.
His career in Dallas ended in 1970 after his arrest on charges of exposing himself to a young girl — repeating an allegation from an incident in Minnesota in 1966. In the 1970 incident, he received a three-year suspended sentence after entering a guilty plea and was put on probation. In the 1966 case, the judge ordered psychiatric care.
Following the 1970 arrest, Rentzel was traded to the Los Angeles Rams, and his wife — singer and actress Joey Heatherton — divorced him to end their brief marriage.
He played three seasons with the Rams between 1971 and 1974. The NFL suspended him indefinitely — it lasted the 1973 season — after his conviction for possession of marijuana.
In his career, Rentzel made 268 receptions for 4,826 yards, averaging 18 yards per catch, in 115 games (84 starts). He hauled in 38 touchdowns, ran for two more and returned 32 kckoffs for 783 yards.
–Field Level Media
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