A former Notre Dame football player from the 1964 National Championship team recently died at 80. He had a storied career before becoming a successful businessman.
According to Frederick N. Rasmussen with the Baltimore Sun, millionaire business executive David J. Pivec died on May 11 at his home in Cockeysville, Maryland. The cause of death was due to complications from dementia.
A former Notre Dame teammate remembers David Pivec
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Per Rasmussen, a former teammate of Pivec remembered the tight end fondly:
“Dave was such a great ballplayer and a really good guy,” said Robert Papa, his University of Notre Dame football teammate and roommate. “He was aggressive, tough and a well-liked guy, and he was big. He was 6 feet, 3 inches and weighed 240 pounds, which was typical in those days for a player, and he could catch anything.
Pivec was a gifted athlete
Pivec was a gifted athlete as a young child. At the age of 8, Pivec played on a youth football team for players in the 10-12 age bracket. Per the article, he played football, basketball, and baseball before joining the Fighting Irish:
Wooed by recruiters, when he graduated in 1961 from the new Patterson on Kane Street, Mr. Pivec chose to attend the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.
“I wanted to get the best education I could,” he told The Sun. “I knew I didn’t want to dig ditches in the heat of Baltimore summers, putting pipe together like my father did.”
He earned a varsity letter his first year at Notre Dame, but left in his sophomore year after being in a barroom fight.
Pivec played for the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams
The Chicago Bears drafted Pivec in the 14th round of the 1966 draft. They traded him to the Los Angeles Rams. He played with the Rams through the 1968 season and then played the 1969 season with the Denver Broncos before retiring from the league.
Pivec played in 45 games and started in seven during his four-year professional career. He recorded 14 receptions for 146 yards and one touchdown during that span.
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