Rentzel's Complex Legacy
Electrifying NFL Receiver Lance Rentzel, Whose Career Included Noted Troubles, Dies at 82
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Lance Rentzel, one of the NFL's most electrifying wide receivers of the late 1960s, died on June 7, 2026, in Alexandria, Virginia. He was 82. AP via Boston 25 News Over nine seasons, Rentzel caught 268 passes for 4,826 yards and 42 total touchdowns — a career as brilliant on the field as it was turbulent off it.
Rentzel led the NFL with 12 touchdown catches in 1969 and formed one of the league's most feared receiving duos alongside Hall of Famer Bob Hayes in Dallas. But two arrests for indecent exposure and a drug suspension ultimately defined his public legacy as much as his play. KIRO 7
A Star Built in Dallas, Then Burned Down
Rentzel was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 1965 NFL Draft, 23rd overall. After two quiet seasons in Minnesota, the Cowboys traded for him in May 1967. WHIO The move paid off fast. In his first Dallas season, he caught 58 passes for 996 yards and 8 touchdowns.
By 1969, he was the best touchdown receiver in football. He tied for the NFL lead with 13 total touchdowns that year. Action News JAX His 18.0 yards-per-catch average made him one of the most dangerous deep threats of his era. Cowboys coach Tom Landry praised his talent openly and often.
Two Arrests for Indecent Exposure End His Cowboys Career
In September 1966, while still with the Vikings, Rentzel was arrested for exposing himself to children on a St. Paul playground. The team kept it quiet. He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was ordered into psychiatric care. The Cowboys later said they did not know about the incident when they acquired him. WPXI
On November 19, 1970, Rentzel was arrested again — this time in University Park, a Dallas suburb — for exposing himself to a 10-year-old girl. The prior 1966 arrest quickly became public. In May 1971, Dallas traded him to the Los Angeles Rams in a deal that brought Hall of Fame receiver Lance Alworth to the Cowboys. Eagles San Antonio Alworth helped Dallas win Super Bowl VI that same season.
Drug Suspension Ends What the Scandals Did Not
Rentzel played for the Rams but his career was not finished yet. In 1973, while still on probation for the Dallas arrest, he was caught with marijuana. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle banned him for the entire 1973 season. B98.5 Critics noted that the drug offense drew a harsher league penalty than his crimes against children — a contrast that still draws attention today.
He returned to Los Angeles in 1974, catching 18 passes for 396 yards in 14 games. The Rams waived him in August 1975, ending his pro career for good. In 1972 he published a candid autobiography, *When All the Laughter Died in Sorrow*, which explored his mental health struggles. His marriage to actress Joey Heatherton ended that same year. WPXI
A Legacy Split Between Brilliance and Disgrace
Rentzel's story is still debated. Some see a talented man undone by a serious psychological disorder who sought treatment and did not re-offend after 1970. Others — especially in the years since the #MeToo movement — point out that the NFL protected a repeat sex offender while the league's own drug policy proved far less forgiving. Eagles San Antonio
The *Dallas Morning News* called him 'one of the most popular Cowboys players before his infamous fall.' Action News JAX His 115 career games, 4,826 receiving yards, and 42 touchdowns stand as proof of what he was capable of. His story stands equally as a window into how professional sports handled misconduct in a very different era.
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