Pete Banaszak

Pete Banaszak, a hard-nosed running back who spent his entire 13-year professional career with the Oakland Raiders and won a Super Bowl ring with the team, died on October 24, 2026, at the age of 82. Born Peter Andrew Banaszak on May 21, 1944, in Crivitz, Wisconsin, he grew up idolizing the Green Bay Packers before starring in football, basketball and track at Crivitz High School, where he was twice the state discus champion. He went on to play college football at the University of Miami, leading the Hurricanes in rushing as both a sophomore and a senior despite recurring leg injuries.

The Oakland Raiders drafted Banaszak in the fifth round of the 1966 AFL draft, and he remained with the franchise for the rest of his playing days, suiting up in the AFL from 1966 to 1969 and in the NFL from 1970 to 1978. Though he started only 31 of the 173 games he played, he became one of the most trusted short-yardage backs of his era. Quarterback Ken Stabler called him the best short-yardage runner he had ever seen, and offensive lineman Art Shell said that even without an opening, Banaszak would find a way to get the first down.

Banaszak's career included two Super Bowl appearances. He started in Super Bowl II, a loss to the Green Bay Packers, and capped his career with two touchdowns in the Raiders' 32 to 14 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI, a performance he later called the highlight of 11 years of waiting. He finished his career with 3,772 rushing yards, 121 receptions and 52 total touchdowns, and

ranked sixth in franchise history in rushing while running for 47 touchdowns, second to Hall of Famer Marcus Allen's 79 in franchise history

. He is also remembered as a central figure in the 1978 Holy Roller play against the San Diego Chargers, in which he batted a fumbled lateral forward to set up a controversial winning touchdown, a play so contentious that the NFL changed its fumble-recovery rules the following season.

After football, Banaszak worked in the shipping and logistics industry, including for Crowley Maritime, and later settled with his wife in Florida, eventually co-hosting a Jacksonville Jaguars post-game radio show and living in the St. Augustine area. News of his death was shared by the Las Vegas Raiders, who said

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

. As of this writing, no cause of death has been made public, and tributes have continued to arrive from former teammates and fans who remembered him as the unassuming, unselfish heart of the Raiders' backfield during one of the most successful stretches in franchise history.