Lance Rentzel, Former Cowboys Receiver, Dies at 82

Lance Rentzel, born in Flushing, New York, and raised in Oklahoma City, died June 7 in Alexandria, Virginia, at the age of 82. A valedictorian and multi-sport athlete at Casady School, he went on to star at the University of Oklahoma before being selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the 1965 NFL Draft. He made an immediate impact as a rookie, recording a 101-yard kickoff return that stood as a franchise record until 2007, but his time in Minnesota was cut short by both injury and a 1966 indecent-exposure incident involving two young girls, for which he pleaded guilty to a reduced disorderly conduct charge and received mandatory psychiatric care. Traded to the Dallas Cowboys in 1967, Rentzel flourished under head coach Tom Landry, surpassing 900 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons and leading the NFL with 12 touchdown receptions in 1969. He also played a notable role in the 1967 Ice Bowl, catching a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Dan Reeves that briefly gave Dallas the lead over the Green Bay Packers. His Cowboys tenure ended after a second indecent-exposure arrest in 1970, this time involving a 10-year-old girl, for which he received a five-year probated sentence; his marriage to actress Joey Heatherton also ended as a result. He finished his career with the Los Angeles Rams, was suspended by the NFL in 1973 following a marijuana-possession conviction while on probation, and retired after the 1974 season with 268 receptions for 4,826 yards and 38 touchdowns. In later life, he wrote a memoir about his personal struggles and worked in the computer industry in Virginia.