(Written by jsnell)

A few years ago I realized that no Cal football players have ever been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And so immediately my attention turned to Tony Gonzalez, who seemed to be a lock to become Cal’s first Hall of Famer. He’s one of the best tight ends ever, and I saw him play. That’s cool.

Since that initial revelation, I’ve realized that Aaron Rodgers now stands a decent chance to get to the Hall too, given his strong numbers so far and the fact that once a quarterback wins a Super Bowl, the threshhold for hall induction is a lot lower. (Not Trent Dilfer low, but low.) A-Rodg just needs to keep doing what he’s been doing and he’ll probably make it.

But it’s all academic now, because as of this weekend, Cal has its first Pro Football Hall of Famer: Les Richter.

Richter played for Cal during the Pappy Waldorf era, specifically as a linebacker for Cal’s 1949-51 squads. During those three seasons he played on two Rose Bowl teams, which says a lot about how good Cal was back then and how bad it’s been since. Yes: Les Richter played on Cal’s second-to-most recent Rose Bowl team.

Richter went on to play in the NFL for the L.A. Rams from 1954-1962, then retired and got into motor sports and motor sports venues, becoming a NASCAR executive. He died in June 2010, and his son Jon was on hand to pose with his father’s bust at the enshrinement over the weekend in Canton, Ohio.

Congratulations to the Richter family and to every Cal fan out there—there is now a Golden Bear player in the Hall of Fame! Now we’re only two behind Stanford.