Ted Pavelec

{{Short description|American football player (1918–2005)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Ted Pavelec

| image = Ted Pavelec.jpg

| caption = Ted Pavelec, 1940

| number = 71, 17, 27, 11

| position = Guard
Tackle

| birth_date = {{birth date|1918|11|04}}

| birth_place = Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2005|04|15|1918|11|04}}

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 0

| weight_lb = 218

| high_school = St. Augustine (MI)

| college = Detroit

| draftyear = 1941

| draftround = 10

| draftpick = 85

| pastteams = * Detroit Lions ({{NFL Year|1941|1943}})

• Los Angeles Bulldogs (1943, 1945-1946)

| statlabel1 = Games played

| statvalue1 = 25

| statlabel2 = Games started

| statvalue2 = 14

| statlabel3 = Field goals made

| statvalue3 = 1

| pfr = PaveTe20

}}

Theodore Charles Pavelec (November 4, 1918 – April 15, 2005) was an American football player.

A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Pavelec attended St. Augustine High School in Kalamazoo where he won varsity letters in football, basketball, baseball, and golf. He then attended the University of Detroit and played college football as a tackle and place-kicker for Gus Dorais' Detroit Titans football teams from 1938 to 1940. He was rated as one of the best linemen in University of Detroit history. In November 1940, he kicked a 43-yard field goal to give the Titans a 3–0 victory over TCU.{{cite news|title=Titans Topple Texas Christian as Spartans Bow Before Indiana: Pavelec Wins for U-D, 3-0, on Field Goal|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|author=W. W. Edgar|date=November 10, 1940|page=Sports 1, 6|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19673837/titans_topple_texas_christian_as/|via=Newspapers.com}} He also competed in Catholic Youth Organization boxing while attending the University of Detroit.{{cite news|title=Pavelec Hunts Bigger Game in C.Y.O. Boxing Tourney: Titan Tackle, 1939 Class C Champion, Seeks Class A Honors|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=April 7, 1940|page=Sport 1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/58211829/pavelec-hunts-bigger-game-in-cyo/|via=Newspapers.com}}

He was selected by the Detroit Lions with the 85th pick in the 1941 NFL draft, signed with the club in May 1941,{{cite news|title=Ted Pavelec Is Signed by Lions|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=May 25, 1941|page=Sport 1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/58212259/ted-pavelec-is-signed-by-lions/|via=Newspapers.com}} and won a starting role with the club in September 1941.{{cite news|title=Pavelec Awarded Spot on Lions' Starting Team|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=September 12, 1941|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/58212854/pavelec-awarded-spot-on-lions-starting/|via=Newspapers.com}} He played for the Lions during the 1941, 1942, and 1943 seasons, appearing in 25 NFL games, 14 as a starter.{{cite web|title=Ted Pavelec|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=Pro-Football-Reference.com|access-date=August 26, 2020|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/P/PaveTe20.htm}}

In 1944, Pavelec played as a guard and place-kicker for the Hollywood Rangers of the American Football League (AFL), winning all-pro honors and kicked 67 out of 69 extra points and five field goals, including a 51-yarder.{{cite news|title=The Sport Grist|author=George S. Alderton|newspaper=Lansing State Journal|date=July 3, 1945|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/58214004/the-sport-grist/|via=Newspapers.com}} While playing for Hollywood, he also signed to play the role of a boxer in the feature film "The Great John L.".{{cite news|title=Today's Sports in Short Order|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=August 4, 1944|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/58213456/ted-pavelec/|via=Newspapers.com}}

Pavelec died in 2005.