Remembering 'Putz': Fierce in football, gentle giant to others
Courtesy photo Rollin Putzier, who graduated from Post Falls High in 1984, is shown here visiting his alma mater, the University of Oregon. Putzier, who played in the NFL for Pittsburgh and San Francisco, died on Wednesday at 52.
Rollin Putzier earned a Super Bowl ring with the San Francisco 49ers in 1989. (Courtesy photo)
After playing in the NFL, Rollin Putzier played for the Montreal Machine of the now-defunct World League of American Football. (Courtesy photo)
By BRIAN WALKER
Staff Writer
Rollin Putzier was a fierce competitor on the football field and a gentle giant off it.
Putzier, a 1984 Post Falls High graduate who earned a Super Bowl ring with the San Francisco 49ers in 1989, died on Wednesday at 52. He lived in Alabama.
Family members, who said they were with him during his passing, issued a written statement.
"In this sensitive time, there can be speculation and hearsay about what has taken place, but Rollin's final years were consistent with the health issues many former NFL players experience. Currently, we are working through the process of notifying family, friends and considering final arrangements. Our family appreciates privacy and discretion while we move through our grief and loss."
No specific cause of death was given by family or released by friends.
Putzier, a defensive tackle, was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round out of the University of Oregon in the 1988 NFL Draft. He played that season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, then the following season with the 49ers. "Putz" played in 16 games in the NFL.
Putzier went on to also play for the Montreal Machine and London Monarchs of the now-defunct World League of American Football. He was signed by the Denver Broncos in 1991, but did not make that team's final roster.
Putzier is among only a few local players who made it to the NFL. He was a Post Falls High teammate, neighbor and friend of Joe Tofflemire, who played for the Seattle Seahawks. Tofflemire died at 46 in 2011 of apparent heart failure.
Both players were named in the inaugural Post Falls High Hall of Fame.
"For him to come back and be inducted into the Hall of Fame was important to him," said PFHS athletic director Craig Christensen of Putzier. "He really took pride in being a Post Falls Trojan, and he came back later and put on a camp."
At the University of Oregon, Putzier had 310 tackles, 222 of which were solo tackles and 17 for losses.
In recent years, Putzier was a bouncer, personal trainer and youth sports specialist.
Putzier was shot in the stomach in 2008 while trying to break up a fight at his apartment complex in Huntsville, Ala. Employees at the club and high school classmates rallied to hold fundraisers for him, saying the incident didn't surprise them with the soft heart in his giant body.
Post Falls resident Chet Lindquist said he remembers Putzier and Tofflemire returning a tent they borrowed from Lindquist with a tear in it.
"Here these two buffed monsters in tank tops came to my house apologizing to a little guy like me," Lindquist said. "That will always be a memory for me."
Bobby Wilhelm, owner of Bob's 21 Club in Post Falls, said he remembers a time years ago at the bar when he was thankful that Putzier was on his team.
"Some guys were raising hell and I told them to get the hell out," Wilhelm said. "All of a sudden, they ran out of the bar. I didn't know Rollin had walked up behind me, giving them the evil eye. Nice having a grizzly bear in your corner."
Post Falls' Bob Johnston said he and his wife were chaperones for Post Falls High students during the prom and he remembers Putzier going to the prom in tennis shoes because he couldn't find dress shoes in his size.
No memorial information has been announced.