I know… What the…. he's not on the roster for 2013. Yes, you are correct on that one, but so to is NO ONE on any roster since the 2006 season and that's because one Pat Richter's number 88 was rightfully retired during the 2006 season in a great ceremony at Camp Randall on Nov. 4th of that year.
To many Pat Richter is Wisconsin football. Whether you are talking about the glory years of the early 60's and the unforgettable (even though UW lost) 1963 Rose Bowl or you're talking about the Barry Alvarez era all the way up to the end of the ex-coach's era – Pat Richter had a hand in it all.
As a player Richter was an end (a.k.a. tight end/wide receiver combo today) who was named a consensus All-American in 1962. He led the entire country in receiving as a junior the year before. As for that little 1963 Rose Bowl game we talked about earlier? Well, Richter had 11 catches for 163 yards to pace the Badgers in a near upset of the heavily favored USC Trojans.
To this day Richter is still in the top ten in career receptions (8th – 121) and career yards (10th – 1,873 yards). In fact, Richter and Al Toon are the only pre-Alvarez era players on both of those lists. If that doesn't give you an idea of just how good he was a a player I don't know what will.
Richter also happened to letter in both basketball and baseball during his time in Madison as a player as well. He was drafted into the NFL by the Washington Redskins with the seventh overall pick in the 1963 draft, playing eight seasons of pro ball.
Following all of that, he returned to his glory days and became the Athletic Director that hired Barry Alvarez, Dick Bennett, and Bo Ryan. It's safe to say his mark on this football team and the program at UW as a whole is one that won't ever be forgotten.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
