Yesterday I posted a 45-year-old interview piece with former Chargers tackle, Terry Owens. In the article, Owens commented about how Denver broncos defensive end, Pete Duranko, had been blustering and calling him names once during a game.
The article below comes from the August 18, 1967, program from a preseason game between the Broncos and Minnesota Vikings. The article talks about the Broncos new crop of linebackers, of which Duranko was one, though he ultimately settled in at defensive end, as the article noted was a possibility.
Sadly, Pete Duranko passed away in 2011, after a long battle with ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. You can read an obituary HERE.
What a touching obituary on Mr. Duranko. God bless his soul.
Lou Saban came in to Denver and essentially cleaned house with personnel. Fortunately Lou had the smarts to keep Pete. And though the above article (I remember it by the way) suggests linebacker, he actually settled in on the defensive line in 1968 and stayed. The other guys on the line were Rich “Tombstone” Jackson, Dave Costa, and Paul Smith. Stayed as a starter until the last exhibition game of the 1971 season when he had knee surgery and missed the regular season. He lost his starting job to a rookie from Yankton College–Lyle Alzado.