Larry Walker Benz (born January 28, 1941) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Northwestern Wildcats The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and one of two private universities in the conference, the other ...

and signed with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

as an undrafted free agent.

Early life

Benz attended

Cleveland Heights High School Cleveland Heights High School is the senior high school of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District, located in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, United States. History Cleveland Heights High School was established in 1901 by the ...

Cleveland Heights, Ohio Cleveland Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 45,312 at the 2020 census. One of Cleveland's historic streetcar suburbs, it was founded as a village in 1903 and a city in 1921. History The area that is ...

, where he earned eight

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in football, baseball, basketball, and track.

College career

Benz played

at Northwestern, primarily as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

, but also as a safety and occasionally as a quarterback. As a junior in 1961, he threw two touchdown passes to lead the Wildcats to a 12–10 victory over Notre Dame. Benz was an honorable mention all-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

selection as a senior. He graduated with a degree in geography and history.

Professional career

After going unselected in the

1963 NFL draft The 1963 NFL draft was held at the Sheraton in Chicago, Illinois, on Monday, December 3, 1962. The first overall selection was quarterback Terry Baker of Oregon State, the Heisman Trophy winner, taken by the Los Angeles Rams. The AFL draft wa ...

, Benz was signed by the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

and became a regular member of their defensive unit as a safety after the accidental death of Don Fleming in the offseason. As a rookie, Benz tied for the team lead for interceptions with seven. In 1964, he recorded four interceptions and helped the Browns defeat the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

in the

NFL Championship Game Throughout its history, the National Football league (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national ...

. In his third season with the team, he led the team with five interceptions. In February 1966, Benz was one of three Browns players selected by the newly created

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

in the

1966 NFL expansion draft The 1966 NFL expansion draft was a National Football League (NFL) draft in which a new expansion team, named the Atlanta Falcons, selected its first players. On June 30, 1965, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle awarded the first NFL franchise in the ...

. However, he quit the team suddenly in July.

Personal life

Benz is of German descent and has two older brothers named Tom and Dick. He and his wife Dalia lived in

Euclid, Ohio Euclid is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. Located on the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is an Inner suburb, inner ring suburb of Cleveland. The population was 49,692 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the fo ...

, during his time on the Browns. After his playing career, Benz started his own construction business.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benz, Larry 1941 births Living people Players of American football from Chattanooga, Tennessee American football safeties Northwestern Wildcats football players Cleveland Browns players American people of German descent 20th-century American sportsmen