Former Raiders running back Pete Banaszak, who played 13 seasons for the organization and was part of its first Super Bowl-winning team, has died at 82, the team announce Saturday.
"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](https://www.raiders.com/news/raiders-mourn-the-passing-of-pete-banaszak).
"A Wisconsin native, Banaszak was fiercely proud of his Polish heritage and was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. 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."
Though he started only 36 of his 173 games played, Banaszak etched his way into Raiders lore in a number of ways during his decade-plus spent with the team -- all in Oakland from 1966-1978.
A fifth-round pick of out Miami (FL) in the 1966 AFL Draft, Banaszak came closing to doubling his nine-year rushing TD total during his 10th season with the Raiders. Having previously found the end zone on the ground 21 times, Banaszak scored a league-leading 16 times, with a career-high 672 rushing yards, in 1975. His 16 rushing touchdowns remain a franchise single-season record.
A season later, Banaszak scored twice in the Raiders' Super Bowl XI victory over the Vikings, a triumph at long last after the franchise had spent most of the past decade in the playoffs without bringing home a Lombardi Trophy.
Banaszak also played a pivotal role in the "Holy Roller," one of the most famous plays in NFL history: The Raiders trailed, 20-14, in the final seconds on a Week 2 game against the Chargers during Banaszak's final 1978 season. Ken Stabler took the snap and appeared to get sacked, but the ball flew forward. Banaszak jumped on it and flipped it forward, allowing tight end Dave Casper to recover the well-traveled pigskin in the end zone for a miraculous touchdown. Following an extra point, the Raiders emerged victorious.
The rules have since been changed to prevent such advances on fumbling by the offense, but the play, with Banaszak as the middle man between Stabler and Casper, remains an iconic piece of league history.
Banaszak retired with 3,772 rushing yards, 1,022 receiving yards and 52 touchdowns, plus another six postseason scores.