Robert James "Bob" Ptacek played quarterback at the University of Michigan. He passed away at his home in Dayton, Ohio, on June 29, 2026. He was 89 years old.

His family described him in a way that captured everything about who he was.

"Quite possibly the funniest, toughest, and most devoted family man to ever walk this earth," they wrote, per Routsong Funeral Home.

At Michigan, Ptacek played from 1956 to 1958, lining up on both offense and defense. In his senior year, he threw for 763 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 124 yards and four more scores.

Ptacek's family put into words what made him so much more than an athlete.

"His humor will echo in punchlines that still make us laugh. His toughness will be remembered every time life asks us to be stronger than we think we are," his obituary read per Routsong Funeral Home.

He was named the team's Most Valuable Player in the 1959 season and set a Big Ten Conference record with 24 pass completions in a single game against Ohio State in 1958. That record stood for over 30 years.

After the season, he played in the East-West Shrine Game, the Hula Bowl, and the College All-Star Game, earning MVP honors in all three.

He spent six seasons with Saskatchewan, earning CFL All-Star honors before a career-ending injury forced him to retire in 1966.

After football, he built a second career in transportation sales with Yellow Freight, where business relationships turned into lifelong friendships. For all of it, his family said football and work were never what defined him. Family did.

Ptacek also became part of one of football's most remarkable trade stories during his playing days.

Bob Ptacek was traded for Jim Marshall in one of the most unusual deals in football history

The trade that sent Ptacek from the Cleveland Browns to Saskatchewan in 1960 was rare by any standard. NFL-to-CFL transactions of that kind were almost unheard of at the time, per the Dayton Daily News.

Defensive end Jim Marshall, who came to Cleveland in that deal, went on to play 20 seasons in the NFL, made four Super Bowls with the Minnesota Vikings, and became one of the most recognizable players in league history.

Ptacek, in turn, built a long and decorated CFL career that the Roughriders honoured in the Plaza of Honour in 2001, officially over 40 years later. Two players, one trade, two very different paths to greatness.

He is survived by his wife Donna, his children, seven grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren, per Routsong Funeral Home. A Celebration of Life will be held on July 17 at Routsong Funeral Home in Dayton.

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Written by

Farheen Fathima

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar