Roetzheim was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1928.^[1] His career in gymnastics began with the Southside Turners.^[1] From there, he attended the Navy Pier campus at the University of Illinois Chicago before going to Florida State University.^[1]

At Florida State, he became the NCAA Men's Gymnastics All-Round Champion,^[5] and led his school to win the team event.^[1] Later the same year, Roetzheim travelled to the 1951 Pan American Games in Buenos Aires at his own expense.^[1] At the games, he won two gold medals, in the individual all-around and horizontal bar,^[6][7] along with two silver medals, in the floor and pommel horse.^[8][9] During the 1940s and 1950s, Roetzheim went on to win seven AUU titles.^[1]

Roetzheim competed at two Olympic Games.^[1] Upon selection to his first, the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, he was the first collegiate freshman to qualify for an Olympic games.^[10] He was part of the United States team that finished in seventh place in the team all-round event.^[11][12] Four years later, at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, the US team finished in eighth place in the same event.^[13][12]

From 1955 to 1968, Roetzheim coached high school gymnastics in Illinois.^[14] He had 3 Illinois team championships and a further 19 individual state champions.^[14][15]

In 1968, Roetzheim became the gymnastics coach at the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, a post he held until 1973.^[12] He compiled a record of 82–25 with the team and the following year, he became the athletic director at the University.^[16] He oversaw the transition of the school's athletic program to NCAA Division I status in 1981 before leaving the role in 1985.^[16]

He was also a judge at four consecutive Summer Olympics from 1984 to 1996.^[4][12]

Roetzheim was inducted into the US Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1975,^[4] the UIC Athletics Hall of Fame in 1990,^[16] the National Gymnastics Judges Association Hall of Fame and the Illinois High School Hall of Fame.^[17]

Roetzheim died in February 2014 in Plant City, Florida, at the age of 85.^[14][18]