Alvin Ray “Pete” Rozelle was born in South Gate, California and grew up in Lynwood, California. He graduated from Compton High School (with future Hall of Fame Dodger baseball player Duke Snider) and then was drafted into the U.S. Navy, serving 18 months on an oil tanker before returning home to enroll in Compton Community College. He graduated from University of San Francisco and returned to Los Angeles to work for the Los Angeles Rams, eventually rising to the position of general manger. His position with the Rams led to his election as commissioner of the National Football League (NFL), a position he held for nearly thirty years. Mr. Rozelle is the longest serving commissioner of the NFL and credited with building it into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world. Mr. Rozelle died in 1996.