Gregory Edwin Latta (October 13, 1952 – September 28, 1994) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player. As

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

, he was drafted by the Baltimore Colts of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, but played instead for the Florida Blazers of the World Football League in 1974. He was traded to the Chicago Bears in 1975 for third- and seventh-round draft picks, along with the head coach of the Blazers, Jack Pardee. Latta was a member of the Bears from 1975 to 1979. In his rookie season with the Florida Blazers, Latta caught 39 passes for 815 yards and nine touchdown receptions. The Blazers went to the 1974 World Bowl Championship game falling 22-21 to the Birmingham Americans. During his 5-year NFL career, the 6-foot-3, 227-pound tight end caught 90 passes for 1,081 yards and 7 touchdowns. On

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, he returned 3 kickoffs for 22 yards.

Background

Latta attended South Side High School in Newark and

Morgan State College Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known a ...

in Baltimore, Maryland.

Death

He died on September 28, 1994 at St. Michael's Hospital of an apparent heart attack, Newark,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. He was 41 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Latta, Greg 1952 births 1994 deaths Sportspeople from Philadelphia Sportspeople from Newark, New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey Players of American football from Philadelphia American football tight ends Malcolm X Shabazz High School alumni Morgan State Bears football players Chicago Bears players Florida Blazers players