Former Raiders running back Pete Banaszak dies at 82

The Las Vegas Raiders have announced the death of former running back Pete Banaszak at the age of 82.

“The Raiders Family mourns the passing of Pete Banaszak, whose toughness, competitive spirit, and dedication embodied a legendary era of Raiders football and made him a cherished member of the Silver and Black,” the team said in a statement. “The deepest condolences of the entire Raider Nation are with Pete’s wife Sue, daughters Rebecca and Amy, grandsons Luke, Austin, and Connor, and all of his loved ones.”

Banaszak spent his entire professional career with the Raiders. The team drafted him in the fifth round of the 1966 AFL Draft, and he retired after the 1978 season, having appeared in 173 regular-season games for the club.

He led the NFL with 16 rushing touchdowns in 1975, which remains a single-season franchise record, and won a Super Bowl XI ring as the Raiders claimed the franchise’s first Super Bowl championship, beating the Minnesota Vikings 32-14. He scored two touchdowns in that game. Banaszak also played a central role in the famous “Holy Roller” play against San Diego in 1978, in which a fumbled ball was pushed forward into the end zone for a winning touchdown, a play so controversial the NFL changed its fumble rules before the following season.

A Wisconsin native, Banaszak was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. The team did not say when or how he died.

Sources: NBC Sports, https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/former-raiders-rb-pete-banaszak-dies-at-82 ; The Spun, https://thespun.com/nfl/legendary-raiders-rb-pete-banaszak-dead-at-82 ; Vegas Daily Wire, https://www.vegasdailywire.com/raiders-legend-pete-banaszak-super-bowl-xi-champ-and-holy-roller-star-dies-at-82/