Pete Banaszak
Peter Andrew Banaszak (born May 21, 1944) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes. He played for the Raiders in the AFL from 1966 through 1969, and in the NFL from 1970 through 1978.
| No. 40 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Running back |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | May 21, 1944 Crivitz, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight: | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College: | Miami |
| AFL draft: | 1966 / Round: 5 / Pick: 59 |
| Career history | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NFL statistics | |
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |
Career
Banaszak is from Crivitz, Wisconsin.[1] Before his football career, while still a high school student, he considered becoming a priest.[1]
He finished his three-year career with the Miami Hurricanes with 263 carries for 1,107 yards and nine touchdowns and 35 catches for 356 yards and three touchdowns. [2]
Banaszak finished his NFL career (all with the Raiders from 1966 to 1978) with 3,772 rushing yards, 121 receptions for 1,022 yards, and 51 touchdowns. He was known for "having a nose for the goal line". He was known by his Raider teammates and fans as "Rooster".
Banaszak was a member of the Raiders during their first Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl II. He also scored two touchdowns in the Raiders 32-14 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI. He was also a part of the 'Holy Roller' play that led to rule changes in the NFL about advancing fumbles. Banaszak appeared to try to recover the ball on the 12-yard line, but could not keep his footing, and pitched the ball with both hands even closer to the end zone.
Banaszak currently resides in the St. Augustine, Florida[3] area and co-hosts the post game radio show for the Jacksonville Jaguars with Cole Pepper. He was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
He also had a hole in one in 2023 at Kennsington Golf Club in Canfield, OH. 17th hole (155 yards) and hit a 3 hybrid.
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Super Bowl champion | |
| Won the AFL Championship | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Y/G | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | FR | ||
| 1966 | OAK | 14 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 4.5 | 1.3 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967 | OAK | 10 | 5 | 68 | 376 | 5.5 | 37.6 | 47 | 1 | 16 | 192 | 12.0 | 72 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1968 | OAK | 13 | 11 | 91 | 362 | 4.0 | 27.8 | 43 | 4 | 15 | 182 | 12.1 | 49 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| 1969 | OAK | 12 | 4 | 88 | 377 | 4.3 | 31.4 | 40 | 0 | 17 | 119 | 7.0 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 1970 | OAK | 10 | 0 | 21 | 75 | 3.6 | 7.5 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1971 | OAK | 14 | 14 | 137 | 563 | 4.1 | 40.2 | 30 | 8 | 13 | 128 | 9.8 | 28 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1972 | OAK | 14 | 0 | 30 | 138 | 4.6 | 9.9 | 15 | 1 | 9 | 63 | 7.0 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973 | OAK | 14 | 0 | 34 | 198 | 5.8 | 14.1 | 26 | 0 | 6 | 31 | 5.2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 1974 | OAK | 14 | 1 | 80 | 272 | 3.4 | 19.4 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 64 | 7.1 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1975 | OAK | 14 | 0 | 187 | 672 | 3.6 | 48.0 | 27 | 16 | 10 | 64 | 6.4 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1976 | OAK | 14 | 1 | 114 | 370 | 3.2 | 26.4 | 15 | 5 | 15 | 74 | 4.9 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1977 | OAK | 14 | 0 | 67 | 214 | 3.2 | 15.3 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1978 | OAK | 16 | 0 | 43 | 137 | 3.2 | 8.6 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 78 | 11.1 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | 173 | 36 | 964 | 3,772 | 3.9 | 21.8 | 47 | 47 | 121 | 1,022 | 8.4 | 72 | 5 | 18 | 8 | |
References
- "Banazak [sic], of Crivitz, Carries Top Rushing Average of Oakland Backs". The Post-Crescent. January 14, 1968. p. 33. Retrieved November 21, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Pete Banaszak College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
- "'It's like heaven:' Banaszak's best memories in football are of the Super Bowl | St. Augustine Record". Archived from the original on 2017-02-06.