Tribute to Pete Gent

From Small-Town America To Life's Fast Lane And Back Home Again

Pete Gent lived nearly everyone's fantasies- portrayed by one of Hollywood's handsomest leading men, high school and college hero, pro football player, writing the Great American Novel, and a hit movie screenplay. But his is a cautionary tale and the fast lanes of pro football and Hollywood turned out to be punishments, not rewards. Listen to the story of one of the era's most talented writer/athletes who died in relative obscurity back in his rural hometown


At Bangor High School (Michigan), Gent was a standout four-sport athlete (football, basketball, baseball and track). In basketball he lead the Bangor Vikings team to the 1960 state Class C Championship, while accumulating a 22.6 scoring average. The team was known as the Cardiac Kids for their late-game wins in District, Regional, Quarter-Final and Semi-Final games. The final game against top-ranked Grand Rapids Lee was no exception, it was tied 41--41 after three quarters and Bangor went on to win it 57--45. Gent led the team with 21 points, and was named to the All-Tourney Team which was chosen from schools of all sizes throughout the state.
Gent was a center/forward with the Michigan State University basketball team from 1962 to 1964. He became the first player in school history to lead the basketball team in scoring three consecutive seasons. In his senior year, he averaged 21 points per game. He left school ranked as MSU's second career scorer, with a total of 1,146 points. He averaged 17.4 points per game for his college career, he was third team All-Big Ten in 1963 and second team All-Big Ten in 1964.
In 1964 he was awarded the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor, which is given annually to a male and female athlete at each of the Big Ten institutions, who demonstrates the greatest proficiency in scholarship and athletics. Gent graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in advertising.
Gent was the recipient of the 2005 Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Although he never played a down of college football, Gil Brandt was impressed by his athleticism and offered him a try out with the Dallas Cowboys. On a lark, Gent went to the Cowboys training camp in the summer of 1964, after hearing they were paying $500 to players who attended.
As with Cornell Green whom the Cowboys had converted two years earlier, he was first tried at defensive back, but at 6--4 and about 210 pounds, he wasn't compact enough to execute the quick turns and pivots required to play in the secondary. The coaches decided that Gent's best chance was at wide receiver, where he wound up making the team and turning down a contract offer with the Baltimore Bullets, who had drafted him in the 14th round of the 1964 NBA Draft.
He became a valuable wide receiver by his second year in 1965, while splitting time with Buddy Dial and playing opposite to Bob Hayes. In 1965, Gent caught 16 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns. In 1966, he had 27 receptions for 474 yards (averaging 17.6 yard per catch) and one touchdown. In 1967 with the arrival of Lance Rentzel and his declining health problems, he was moved to tight end.
Gent's career was marred by injury, having had 2 knee operations and constant back problems. He was known for his intelligence, soft hands and size. He caught passes mostly from quarterback Don Meredith, with whom he enjoyed a close friendship off the field.
In 1969 he was traded to the New York Giants, but he was cut before the regular season started, ending his NFL career.
After leaving professional football, Gent wrote a semi-autobiographical novel titled North Dallas Forty, for which he will be remembered the most. Many have hypothesized that the main characters of the book, a quarterback and a wide receiver, are based on Gent and Don Meredith. The novel, published in 1973, exposed the seamier side of American football. It examines the NFL's hypocrisy regarding drug use—as heavy use of painkillers is recklessly encouraged to keep players on the field but personal use of marijuana and narcotics is frowned on. The book was made into a movie of the same name in 1979 starring Nick Nolte, Mac Davis, G.D. Spradlin, and Dayle Haddon. Gent wrote the screenplay for the film. He experienced creative difficulties with producer Frank Yablans on the set of the film.[1]
Gent made his home in Texas for many years, where he was friends with many of the significant creative minds of the day, including Larry L. King, Billy Lee Brammer, Gary Cartwright, Bud Shrake, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Dan Jenkins. They called themselves the Mad Dogs.