We had the greatest players that anybody had ever seen on the football field. Jan Stenerud - the Norwegian place kicker MSU students arrived at Gatton Field early to watch Stenerud kick on warmups. For that matter, Stenerud set a collegiate record that never will be broken: Technically, anyway, he attempted a 113-yard field goal. Stenerud kicked away the doubts until the age of 42, when a bad back forced him to retire after booting a league record 373 field goals. On Christmas Day 1971, the Chiefs hosted the Miami Dolphins in an AFC divisional playoff game. He was a consensus All-America selection. On top of the list we put together, our readers suggested a few great names in the comments. A daily roundup of all your Kansas City Chiefs news from Arrowhead Pride, By submitting your email, you agree to our, Arrowhead Pride | Kansas City Chiefs Schedule, News, Roster and Stats, The Chiefs have had a long, tortured journey from Nick Lowery to Harrison Butker, The hidden Super Bowl record Patrick Mahomes broke in Arizona. Kansas Citys star quarterback shattered a record no one thought could be broken. I didnt know the first thing about a soccer-style kicker.. I dont know anything about this new kicker, said Arrowhead Prides Joel Thorman when the move was announced, but presumably special teams coach Dave Toub signed off on it. He joined the football team his senior academic year and ended up playing two seasons of varsity football. The 6-2, 187-pound Stenerud excelled for 19 seasons and 263 games in pro football. When I mentioned my teammates earlier I didn't say much about Lenny Dawson, a great guy from Alliance, Ohio, which you all know. He was enjoying life in America immensely, fascinated by all things unfamiliar, including a peculiar sport played with an oval ball (as he put it). The Kansas City Chiefs were so impressed they selected Stenerud in the third round of the AFL's 1966 Future Draft. He kicked with his toe like [50 Greatest Vikings member] Fred Cox," Stenerud explained. You were exceptional, and I salute you. Jan Stenerud's extraordinary story should eclipse one bad day | The I just know getting the ball through the uprights is good, but Dustin he knows the finer points [from] doing it so long as a veteran, and [as] one of the best holders in the league. When I grew up in Norway, my dream was to become an outstanding ski jumper. They have AstroTurf there and we worked out on it. He was such a transformative presence as to become a factor in rules changes and led a wave that ultimately rendered obsolete the traditional straight-on kickers, a fact underscored by the 1.2 million patented tees and instructional books sold in his name. But Stenerud set another college record which should stand forever: a 113-yard field goal try. I did. "That was pretty darn good," Stenerud said. Football practice hadn't yet started that afternoon and some of the players, most of them fellows I knew, were fooling around kicking field goals. Odds & lines subject to change. When no deal could be made, the Panthers cut Butker, held their breath and placed him on their practice squad after he cleared waivers. Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Tynes would go on to kick game-winning overtime field goals in two different NFC Championship games, sending the Giants to the Super Bowl in both 2007 and 2011. Jan is a total Hall of Fame package:productive, consistent and enduring. Called the bank shot just forgot to tell Colquitt. Jan stayed in college and was a key member of a Bobcats team that won the 1966 Big Sky Conference title. Kicker: 1980-83. Generation. He'll show you how to put it on. After living in Colorado working in business development for HNTB Architecture, he and his wife, Patty, returned a few years ago, and its been a remarkable life even if he dwells more than anyone ought to on one dark moment. Jan Stenerud Career Stats | NFL.com His 373 career field goals and seven seasons of scoring 100 or more points were also NFL records. I love you and I appreciate that for the rest of my life. Stenerud, who made field goals of 50 yards or more in the pros, normally studied the goal posts before stepping into the ball - saying they looked "narrower" the farther you stood from them. Now he hustled up to Stram. Quiz People born under this sign are seen as warm-hearted and easygoing. When is Jan Steneruds birthday? "But really," says Stenerud, "I had my mind made up five minutes after I talked to Stram. The early 1940s were dominated by World War II. He was a total team player. As a placekicker at Tech, Butker will be long remembered for two field goals in 2014 one in the last second against Virginia Tech to win the game, and a 53-yarder against Georgia that sent the game into overtime along with another in the final minute of the 2015 game against Florida State. In 2008, free agent Nick Novak didnt last the season, either; he was replaced by Connor Barth after just six weeks. But on Sunday, Butker and his wife Isabelle informed the world about another chapter in it: the birth of their son James Augustine Butker. Now, he will simply call the day a horrible experience, one that he suffers more from because he believes its often referred to with little balance about his broader career. Jan Stenerud Net Worth Stats Fifty years ago this month, an exotic curiosity named Jan Stenerud signed a lease at the El Camino Real apartments on The Plaza. After three seasons particularly after Santos 2016 overtime kick against the Broncos in Denver doinked off the left upright and slipped in behind the right one to win the game it seemed that the Chiefs might have finally found a long-term solution at the position. The higher education of Jan Stenerud, a ski jumper from Fetsund, Norway, began one fall afternoon in 1965 when Jim Sweeney, then the head coach at Montana State, held up a bloated object and said, "Son, this is a football." The second kick: Thunk! One of the field goals was blocked, for instance. "When . Jan Stenerud is a Sagittarius and his 81st birthday is in, The 80-year-old Norwegian was born in the Silent Generation and the Year of the Horse. In a game better known for Stram being miked and 65 Toss Power Trap and Len Dawson being chosen MVP and dominant defense, Eller would later say Stenerud psyched us out. James and Augustine, Pray for Us! And while that may be true, Steneruds story might be worth bringing him through our hypothetical time portal. Your email address will not be published. Other kickers had trouble hitting the footballs sweet spot wearing their issued uniform cleats. While he went undrafted in 1967, he signed with the Chiefs, and once he did, he transferred to a National Guard unit in Kansas City. free shipping Jan Stenerud Autographed Signed Auto Official Wilson NFL Football W/HOF 91 JSA WIN. But Stenerud made the most of those opportunities. You dont see barefoot kickers in the National Football League anymore but there was a time when kicking with their shoes off was so common, it was cause for zero notice. The first Norwegian NFL player, he began his career in the AFL after being selected by the Chiefs during the . When was Jan Stenerud inducted to the Hall of Fame? When the Chiefs were playing the Miami Dolphins at the end of the 1966 season, they invited Stenerud to Miami for a tryout. He is the only player to get All-Prohonors in three decades -- the '60s, the '70s and the '80s. From 1994 until Ryan Succop joined the team in 2009, only one kicker had stayed with the team longer than three seasons: longtime Miami Dolphins placekicker Pete Stoyanovich handled placekicking from 1996 into the 2000 season. But I did get the ball out to mid-field. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. And this one day, I decided to go down and kick a few footballs, and all of us played a lot of soccer, and I guess I had one urge to try this oval ball. Its always worth reflecting on a player who was great in Green Bay and loved his time there, to boot. A lot of things happened to me that I had no control over. Arrowheadlines: Mahomes left-handed pass is Andy Reids favorite, Eric Bieniemy has recruited his first Chiefs player to Washington, according to a report. Big kick out of a strange game - Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com Up and Down arrows will open main level menus and toggle through sub tier links. Dustin is like a kicker whisperer, Toub told the media after Butkers first game. All along the way, he never forgot the first coach who gave him a shot. A six-time all-league selection, Stenerud played in two AFL All-Star Games and in four AFC-NFC Pro Bowls. On our way there he had us stop off at Indiana State University. Not so, he says. Placekicker - Casual World Sim Football League $169.22. When you get off that ramp and you fly through the air for a moment, you feel as though you have conquered the world as you are soaring high above the ground. Jan Stenerud - Pro-Football-Reference.com Few games were played in domes, and there was scant specialized coaching or equipment taken for granted today. The thrill of a "Monday Night Football" game, autumn Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field, and, of course, the satisfaction of a job well done. Jan Steneruds age is 80. Jan Stenerud was born in 1940s. Jan Stenerud is that body in motion, and I will elaborate on his impact with the Kansas City Chiefs, the American Football League and the National Football League, the record books and the Hall of Fame. And it. I mentioned Hank earlier, and you know his coaching record, but one thing you don't know about Hank that made the biggest impact on me. Jan Stenerud Death Fact Check, Birthday & Age | Dead or Kicking His first, a 48-yarder, was the longest field goal in a Super Bowl for 24 years, exceeded by Steve Christie of the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVIII in January 1994. Heard you can kick!. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. He was one of the first placekickers to use the "soccer style", a technique the Hungarian-born Pete Gogolak had recently introduced in the AFL. I'm sure no one in the stands actually thought I'd make it. Today my thoughts are with my parents. The result was that Stenerud became a football player. "The track surrounds the football practice field," said Stenerud. Jan Stenerud was born on the 26th of November, 1942. He quickly noticed that he booted it farther than the team's kicker. But the most glaring and, thus, lingering elements were three field goals that Stenerud didnt make, something that over the years he has alternately attempted to joke about, expressed incredible pain over or declined comment on. He was very demanding of himself and had a super attitude. Please enter a valid email and try again. Stenerud, the Kansas City . An athlete who excelled in track and field, soccer. Now how in the hell was I going to help him if he ever got in a slump if I didn't know what he was doing? Jan Stenerud: The man, the myths | Sports | bozemandailychronicle.com When the professional average was 50 percent, Stenerud hit better than 70 percent in his first four years with the Chiefs, and his deep kickoffs were part of a movement to push them back to the 35 (and later the 30). "Anytime we get to midfield we're a threat to score three points. Jan Stenerud's 20-yard field goal with 50 seconds left lifted Green Bay over Washington in the highest-scoring Monday Night game ever. In recent years, Stenerud has been involved in a Kansas City firm involved in designing stadiums and sports arenas. In 1984, the Packers traded Stenerud to the Minnesota Vikings for a seventh-round draft choice. To make the sea change clear, compare those figures to the career numbers of Jan Stenerud, who remains the only player enshrined in the Hall of Fame solely for his placekicking abilities.. Jan is alive and kicking and is currently 80 years old. The Chiefs retired Stenerud's jersey number 3 in his honor. They have one thing in common, however;Jan is named on all of them. pic.twitter.com/3N9Zv2HICJ. Sports Illustrated 366K subscribers Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame Kicker Jan Stenerud teaches SI Now host Maggie Gray the proper technique for kicking a field goal. Meanwhile, even his troubles that day are routinely oversimplified in the shorthand of scapegoating. General 73 SPD 77 ACC 64 AGI Kicking 99 KPW 93 KAC Fake 37 SAC 33 MAC 38 THP 23 RUN He also worked as a commentator for Scandinavian TV channel TV3's Super Bowl Sunday coverage in the 1990s, and still maintains strong ties with his native Norway. ", Coach Stram wouldn't want Stenerud to drop a single silly superstition. Ski jumping requires concentration and, of course, kicking field goals requires concentration as well. He began to laugh. Hes kicking distances I havent seen before, Jan recalled in an interview. Jan Stenerud - the Norwegian place kicker The Chiefs were the final AFL champions in 1969, and they met the NFL Champion Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV in New Orleans. Remembering the Christmas gift that was The Longest Game Ever We are all very, very proud of you, Jan. Good luck and God bless. Once they saw Stenerud kick, all doubts were erased. Baw Bakery. Stenerud joined the Kansas City Chiefs in 1967, and in his first three seasons he made 70% of his field-goal tries, while the other kickers in the NFL and AFL combined for 53%. A group of receivers are set to make some noise this week. Chiefs' Justin Reid makes field goal in front of Jan Stenerud at OTAs The Life And Career Of Jan Stenerud (Story) - Pro Football History If that scene sounds absurd by todays standards imagine Andy Reid doing the same for Cairo Santos this was about more than Strams endless innovations and eccentricities. A miss in the 2017 postseason a 48-yard attempt in the third quarter of the 22-21 loss to the Tennessee Titans that easily could have made a difference in the game might have removed some of Butkers luster among Chiefs fans, but most fans probably remember uhhh other failures in that game. And with all of his accomplishments, recognition, statistics and records, the best thing about Jan is Jan the person. George and Lou, your talents were remarkable. "Whenever the team got to the 50-yard line (the student section) would start yelling, 'Send in Jan!'" Stenerud said with a laugh. The New England Patriots kicker Tony Franklin even made a 59-yard field goal while completely shoeless. An example - Stram played percentages having Stenerud try a FG near end of regulation, 1971 playoff game vs MIA (Jan made Pro Bowl over Yepremian that year but the Dolphin actually had the better season.) If you think he needed help, let me show you some charts. Something went wrong. Im ready to be a starting kicker in the NFL. Former Bobcat Jan Stenerud, a Hero in Super Bowl IV, Named One of NFL's Ive been in Atlanta my whole life, now Im in Kansas City a different part of the country. If you are using a VPN, try disabling it. Most coaches don't, or at least I don't think they do. He's already made two from 52 yards this season. Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. ", "Plenty," Stenerud said later. Late in his sophomore year, Stenerud was spotted kicking a football by the college's basketball coach, who relayed the news of the Norwegian's abilities to the football coach. I'm even ashamed to tell my wife about it. He is the first pure placekicker to be. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. The street where he grew up, in the municipality Fetsund, was renamed in his honor. He got me started in this great American game, and Coach, without your enthusiasm, your intensity and desire to win, obviously I wouldn't be here today. He made five field goals twice against Buffalo the year we won the Super Bowl. Jan Stenerud Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images