Former USC, NFL player George Belotti dies at 74

Former USC, NFL player George Belotti dies

LOS ANGELES — George Belotti, a three-year football letterman at Southern California in the mid-1950s who was a member of the American Football League’s first championship team, has died. He was 74.

Belotti died Monday in suburban Arcadia from complications of a stroke, the university said Tuesday. He lived in Covina.

Belotti played left tackle at USC from 1954-56, and appeared in the 1954 Rose Bowl and the 1957 Hula Bowl.

He was an eighth-round draft pick by the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, but instead played center with the Houston Oilers in 1960 when they won the first AFL championship. In 1961, he played briefly for both the Oilers, who repeated as AFL champions, and the San Diego Chargers.

Belotti worked for Jorgensen Steel and Aluminum and Pacific Clay Products after his football career ended.

He is survived his wife, Marie, twin daughters Mara Spilker and Cristina Witham, and a granddaughter.