Leo Rucka

Leopold Victor Rucka (August 18, 1931 – January 4, 2016) was an American professional football player who played linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers during the 1956 NFL season and for the Rice Owls, earning first-team All-Southwest Conference honors.

Leo was born in Wooster, an area of Baytown, TX, on August 18, 1931, and graduated from Crosby High School in 1950, where he excelled in football, basketball, and all other major sports.

He went to college at Rice University where he played for 3 seasons and was a co-captain of the 1953 Rice Owls team that won a share of the Southwest Conference title tied with Texas and then beat Alabama in the 1954 Cotton Bowl Classic to finish the season ranked 6th overall.

Rucka missed the 1954-55 NFL seasons because he was drafted into the Army, where he served as an aviation engineer.

He served in Far East during the Korean War for 20 months during which he continued to play football and was named to the All-Service Team.