Anton Linhart
Anton “Toni” Linhart (born July 24, 1942 in Donawitz , Austria ; † May 12, 2013 in Timonium , Maryland , United States ) was an Austrian soccer and American football player .
Club career
Linhart made his first division debut for the Wiener Sport-Club in June 1962 in the runner series. Subsequently, the player was able to quickly secure a regular place with the Dornbachers and was initially used alternately in the attack and in the defense. From 1964, his regular position was then permanently in the club's defensive row, where he ran alongside players such as Norbert Hof , Erich Hasenkopf and Wilhelm Kainrath . In the 1960s, the sports club was one of the top clubs in the top division and regularly placed in the top five of the final table. At the end of Linhart's time in Dornbach, the team reached the runner-up behind Austria twice in 1969 and 1970 .
In 1970, the player moved to Vienna , where he played two more seasons and ran up alongside his cousin Peter Persidis in the defensive row .
National team
In April 1963, Linhart made his debut in the national team under team boss Karl Decker , when he played in a 3-1 against Czechoslovakia as a right winger alongside his club colleague Erich Hof . A few weeks later he was called up again in this position in a scandalous game against Scotland . Linhart scored the consolation goal for the Austrians to make it 1: 4 in the 72nd minute, but shortly afterwards the game was called off by the referee after an argument between Linhart and Denis Law , in which the former was injured.
After a break of several years, the now defender was reappointed to the national team in 1969 and played twice internationally under team boss Leopold Šťastný .
American football
After the Austrian international Toni Fritsch had been a successful kicker in the National Football League since 1971 , NFL clubs were looking for other players who had mastered the European kicking style . Linhart received an offer from the New Orleans Saints in 1972 and moved to North America.
After he was only used sporadically at the Saints, found no club the following season and played football again in Austria at Badener AC in the second-rate Regionalliga Ost, he signed with the Baltimore Colts in 1974 , where he was able to secure the starting place as a kicker. Both 1975 and 1976 , the Colts reached the play-offs as division winners, where they failed each time at the Pittsburgh Steelers . In 1976 Linhart was also the most successful scorer in the league with 109 points. After the division win in 1977 and the team was eliminated in the first play-off round, there was a relapse of the Colts, who ended the 1978 season bottom of the table. During the 1979 season , Linhart was fired from Baltimore and ended his career with the New York Jets .
In the 1976 and 1977 seasons Linhart was also elected to the Pro Bowl .
After the end of his active career, the player stayed in the USA, where he ran a direct marketing company in Baltimore .
successes
Soccer
- 2 × Austrian runner-up: 1969, 1970
- 6 games and one goal for the Austrian national team
American football
- 3 × division winners AFC East: 1975, 1976, 1977
- 1 × top scorer NFL: 1976
- 2 × Pro Bowl: 1976, 1977
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Linhart, Anton |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Linhart, Toni |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian soccer and football player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 24, 1942 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Donawitz |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 12, 2013 |
| Place of death | Timonium , Maryland , United States |