Jan Stenerud
| Jan Stenerud | |
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Position (s): Kicker |
Jersey numbers: 3, 10 |
| born on November 26, 1942 in Fetsund , Norway | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1967 - 1985 | |
| AFL Draft : 1966 / Round: 3 / Pick: 39 | |
| College : Montana State | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Field Goals : Attempts | 373: 558 |
| average | 66.8% |
| PATs : try | 580: 601 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
Jan Stenerud (born November 26, 1942 in Fetsund ) is a former Norwegian American football player. He is considered one of the best kickers in NFL history and played for the Kansas City Chiefs , among others .
college
Stenerud began his career in a completely unusual way for a football player. Born and raised in Norway, he first played football and ice hockey there . He was an excellent ski jumper , which earned him a 1963 scholarship to Montana State University in Bozeman . After entering the United States, he visited his sister in Buffalo and saw his first football game between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs . Stenerud was impressed, but didn't think about playing football himself. It was only the baseball coach at his university that made the football coach aware of Stenerud after he saw him kick a few balls between the goal posts on the football field. He had previously copied the technique from the university's kicker at the time, who tried to reconnect with the team after an injury and for whom he held the ball so that it could kick the play equipment through the goal posts. Stenerud's incomparable career began.
He played for the Montana Bobcats , the university's football team , for two years and caused a sensation because he kept scoring field goals from a great distance. The longest field goal spanned the distance of 59 yards , which is still a college record today. Stenerud's skills enabled the Bobcats to score field goals from a distance that would normally have required a punt . Stenerud was also used in place of the punter, as he was able to cover greater distances with his kicks. The scouts of the professional leagues quickly noticed him.
Professional time
In 1967 Stenerud was elected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the 1967 AFL Draft . At this point, the NFL and AFL were still going their separate ways. After receiving $ 80,000 in cash from the Chiefs , he flew back to Norway to show his parents what he was going to do from now on through films about the Bobcats.
Stenerud was able to seamlessly transfer the skills he had acquired in college into the professional business. In 1970 he moved into Super Bowl IV with his chiefs . The Kansas City team won with their quarterback Len Dawson under coach Hank Stram against the Minnesota Vikings with their quarterback Joe Kapp 23: 7. Stenerud scored three field goals.
1980 Stenerud left the Chiefs and joined the Green Bay Packers . The Chiefs thought he was too old. A mistake, as it turned out later. In 1981 Stenerud was able to convert 35 of his 36 field goal attempts in the Packers' jersey. This was an NFL record at the time. 1984 Stenerud moved to the Vikings. There he ended his career in 1985 after 19 seasons. During his career in the regular season, Stenerud scored 295 field goals and 458 point after touchdown , extra points after a touchdown.
Honors
Stenerud played in six Pro Bowls and became a Pro Bowl MVP in 1972 . Since 1991 he has been the first and so far only player who only competed as a kicker and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame . He is also a member of the National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team , the Chiefs Hall of Fame and the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame . He is remembered in the Chiefs Stadium. The street in his hometown, where he grew up, has been renamed after him.
After the career
Stenerud is co-owner of a company that plans and builds sports facilities. He also commented on football games for Scandinavian television . He lives in Kansas City. He still visits Norway regularly today.
Web links
- Jan Stenerud in the Hall of Fame
- Statistics for Jan Stenerud
- Jan Stenerud in the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame
- Homepage of Jan Stenerud ( Memento from March 11, 2002 in the web archive archive.today )
- Jan Stenerud in the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame ( Memento from December 9, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
source
- Jens Plassmann: NFL - American Football. The game, the stars, the stories (= Rororo 9445 rororo Sport ). Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1995, ISBN 3-499-19445-7 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Stenerud, Jan |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Norwegian American football player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 26, 1942 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Fetsund , Norway |