Professional Football Player. For seven seasons (1966 to 1970, 1972 to 1973), he played at the offensive-guard position in the National Football League with the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Diego Chargers. He attended Cubberley High School (California) and San Jose State University, prior to transferring to San Diego State University where he played collegiate football, while attaining his bachelors and masters in Education. Selected by the Green Bay Packers during the 11th round of the 1966 NFL Draft, he appeared in 71 regular season games. After his football career, he became a teacher and later coached football at San Diego City College, the University of Rhode Island and North Carolina Central University. During his early 50s, Wenzel began experiencing memory lapses which led to his mental capacity deteriorating so that he was unable to communicate or feed himself. Wenzel's condition was one of the earliest cases to spark concern over the later-in-life quality of former professional football players. He died of complications after a lengthy battle with dementia. Samples of his brain tissue were sent to Boston University to be analyzed for the purpose of seeing if his condition was the result of football head trauma.
Professional Football Player. For seven seasons (1966 to 1970, 1972 to 1973), he played at the offensive-guard position in the National Football League with the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Diego Chargers. He attended Cubberley High School (California) and San Jose State University, prior to transferring to San Diego State University where he played collegiate football, while attaining his bachelors and masters in Education. Selected by the Green Bay Packers during the 11th round of the 1966 NFL Draft, he appeared in 71 regular season games. After his football career, he became a teacher and later coached football at San Diego City College, the University of Rhode Island and North Carolina Central University. During his early 50s, Wenzel began experiencing memory lapses which led to his mental capacity deteriorating so that he was unable to communicate or feed himself. Wenzel's condition was one of the earliest cases to spark concern over the later-in-life quality of former professional football players. He died of complications after a lengthy battle with dementia. Samples of his brain tissue were sent to Boston University to be analyzed for the purpose of seeing if his condition was the result of football head trauma.
Bio by: C.S.
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