He influenced the Rules Committee to change the field goal and kickoff rules in 1974, his seventh year in the league. Jan Stenerud on the Kansas City bench on Jan. 1, 1976. Please enter a valid email and try again. This one could hurt.. And while that may be true, Steneruds story might be worth bringing him through our hypothetical time portal. But it was me it helped, not Jan, Stram told Sports Illustrated in 1968 as he rummaged through files for charts of those kicks. 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). Eighteen of them were for Montana State, the most spectacular of which was a 59-yarder, an NCAA small college record later broken by Bill Shear of Cortland State. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Having retired in 1985, Stenerud doesn't kick field goals any more. Still Salvy after all these years: Stolen base symbolizes Sal Perezs endless energy, Jackson Mahomes accused of assault by Overland Park restaurant owner and waiter, Is Travis Kelce Chiefs most eligible bachelor? Sponsored by USAA, the 2023 Salute to Service Sign up for our newsletter and receive the mighty updates! While Santos got off to a rough start, eventually he became an effective (and popular) placekicker, becoming the most accurate field goal kicker in team history, making 84.8 percent of his field-goal attempts. When no deal could be made, the Panthers cut Butker, held their breath and placed him on their practice squad after he cleared waivers. Stenerud was one of the first professional football players to be used as a dedicated kicker, because of his excellent "sharpshooting" ball-kicking performance. I always felt that we would win or lose about four to six games a year with the kicking game. The discovery that the star ski jumper (three-time Big Sky champion) was a super football kicker was made, naturally enough, by Montana State's basketball coach, Roger Craft. "When . And he knew what he was talking about. Is that dumb talk when youre 74 or 75?. Jan Stenerud was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991. He's already made two from 52 yards this season. He made five field goals twice against Buffalo the year we won the Super Bowl. And painfulhe was wearing tennis shoes. The season prior to the AFLNFL merger, he also helped the Chiefs win their first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl IV. The first time I saw Jan, he was kicking 40-yard field goals like they were extra points in the preseason, pre-warm up game against Tulsa and Montana State in Tulsa, Okla.,in 1966. And Bart, I assume you are listening somewhere,I appreciate that very much. I'm sure no one in the stands actually thought I'd make it. Jan Stenerud (/stnrud/, Norwegian:[stnrd] (listen); born November 26, 1942) is a Norwegian-American former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with Kansas City Chiefs. We will continue to update information on Jan Steneruds parents. With tight ends set to work out on Saturday, here are a few players Kansas City fans should be watching. Like just before our first game against Houston this year. Now he hustled up to Stram. He didn't just talk to me about signing, he talked about kicking. 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. Jan Stenerud kicks a field goal in the second quarter of Super Bowl IV against the Vikings in 1970. . Also, it can get really cold out there. The Chiefs had 79-year-old Pro Football Hall of Famer Jan Stenerud out at practice on Thursday. As a halfback at Purdue, Stram kicked a 22-yard field goal to beat Pitt 10-7 in 1946. He converted 373 out of 558 field goals (67 percent) and 580 out of 601 extra points (97%) for a total of 1,699 points scored. At first blush, it seems a little odd. Why barefoot kicking went away is because the rise of the NFL as a big money sport finally created a market for shoe companies to create an athletic shoe designed for kickers. He holds the record of the longest field goal in Super Bowl history of 48 yards, which has been matched but not eclipsed. In October he kicked a 59-yard field goal against Montana, the longest kick in football history to that point. Those are very kinds words, and I appreciate them very much. After the 23-7 victory, Minnesota defensive end Carl Eller pronounced Stenerud the true most valuable player of the game. Its a special experience. We don't have much information about She's past relationship and any previous engaged. He knelt down and held the football for me 50 times for the last few weeks leading up to camp and that told me a lot about Hank Stram. And it. 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. Jan Stenerud, who was born November 26, 1942, in Fetsund, Norway, was an outstanding ski jumper who attended Montana State on a skiing scholarship. If you are using a VPN, try disabling it. One autumn afternoon, my junior year in 1964, I did something that would dramatically change my life forever:I attempted to kick a football a couple of times. See our ethics statement. Shortly after receiving a recruitment letter from Montana State Bobcats ski coach Bob Beck, Jan Stenerud set foot on American soil to begin his college athletic career. A reader suggestion gives us a great opportunity to reflect on Jan Steneruds brief but excellent run in Green Bay. Stenerud came to the United States on a ski jumping scholarship to attend . win and I believe a home title tilt (certainly with the next day's "Balti" win at Cleveland, it would have manifested), it was certainly very possible, a . Jan Stenerud flew off a ski jump in Norway and landed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Description MUT20 Ultimate Legends Career Edition: The only Kicker in the Hall-of-Fame, Stenerud was selected to the Pro Bowl six times and scored 1,699 points in 19 seasons. I always felt if I had two bad games in a row, I would be unemployed. If you think he needed help, let me show you some charts. There are certain occasions in everybody's life that make you think about the people that influenced you the most and helped you. According to USA Todays story on the 2017 Redskins game, Colquitt made the difference after Butkers first miss in the NFL. Fifty years ago this month, an exotic curiosity named Jan Stenerud signed a lease at the El Camino Real apartments on The Plaza. Jan Stenerud made a stop in Minocqua, Wisconsin, in 2012. Jan Stenerud Net Worth He made his very first field goal inhis first attempt, a 54-yarder against Houston in 1967. Though hes most notable for his time with the Chiefs and also played for the Vikings (hey, nobodys perfect), Stenerud cites his time with the Packers as possibly the best and definitely the most unique. And all of a sudden, I realized if I approach this ball at an angle and hit it with the side of my foot, it was more comfortable for me. Reaching back with his right leg, Stenerud slammed the football so hard with the ball of his right foot that it sounded like two horses colliding. His name was Jim Sweeney. A junior ski jump champion in his native Norway, Jan was recruited to Bozeman and already had earned all-conference and All-American honors as a member of the universitys ski team. Yes, he is aware who the Chiefs are playing on Christmas Eve in the 2017 season. Thats how the scouts from around the league heard about me, Jan said. The discovery that the star ski jumper (three-time Big Sky champion) was a super football kicker was made, naturally enough, by Montana State's basketball coach, Roger Craft. An athlete who excelled in track and field, soccer. "But really," says Stenerud, "I had my mind made up five minutes after I talked to Stram. Oops. The thrill of a "Monday Night Football" game, autumn Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field, and, of course, the satisfaction of a job well done. And in the 2018 postseason, Butker was perfect including a 39-yard field goal with 11 seconds left that sent the AFC Championship into overtime. Passing, Rushing, & Receiving. 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. Im so used to seeing Carolina blue and Panthers stuff having been in Charlotte and now its red, which is weird, having gone to Georgia Tech.. ", Stram dug around inside the two huge files in his office, grumbled for a moment when the charts eluded his search, finally came up with the prize. 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. ProFootballHistory.com. After regularly making field goals of 60 yards in practice, Stenerud became a sensation on campus. Stenerud shrugged, boomed two through from the 40-yard line. Norwegian-American football player (born 1942), "Hometown Hero: Bobcat legend Jan Stenerud honored by MSU, Pro Football Hall of Fame", "Stenerud to be honored by Hall of Fame in Bozeman Thursday", "Bobcat legend Stenerud to be honored in Bozeman", "The distinctions aren't as easy to make any more, but, God willing, some things will never change", National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, National Football League 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jan_Stenerud&oldid=1142242649, American Football League All-Star players, National Football League players with retired numbers, Short description is different from Wikidata, NFL player missing current team parameter, Infobox NFL biography articles missing alt text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 08:20. 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. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. They had great players when I got there. The NFL Hall of Famer and Montana State legend's story of growing up a prodigious skier in Norway before transforming into the only kicker in Canton makes it seem like Stenerud has been living a dream all his life. Enter and space open menus and escape closes them as well. Sign up for the Inducted: 1991. But Succop wasnt the first young kicker the team had tried. But I got rid of that one this year. He attended Montana State on a ski jumping scholarship (and was an All-American in 1964), but later was. He had an impact on the record books. In 1967, Norwegian kicker Jan Stenerud was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs and began a journey that earned him a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Then Sweeney put his arm around Stenerud and offered him a place on the team, a moment frozen in Steneruds mind. If you are ready for it and some kind of occasion presents itself, who knows what can happen? . The underdog Chiefs won 237, and Stenerud kicked three field goals, scoring the first nine points of the game. Jan Stenerud, a native of Fetsund, Norway, took a crooked path to football immortality. Stenerud, who grew up playing soccer, went down to the field and tried kicking the football. Jokingly, he tried anothersoccer-styleoff his instep. And look at this: 136 out of 153. I can honestly say that if you havent played football in Green Bay and youve been in the NFL a long time, youve missed out on something special, he said in an interview with Monday Night Football in 2000. While we don't know Jan Stenerud birth time, but we do know his mother gave birth to his on a Thursday. At the time this story was made Jan Stenerud was still kicking for the team most people still associate him with: The Kansas City Chiefs. 35% OFF + Free Shipping $100+ *exclusions . Went down and tried a few with toes like everybody else kicked those days. 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. Jan Stenerud (/stnrud/, born November 26, 1942) is a former professional football player for the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs (1967-1969), and the NFL's Chiefs (1970-1979), Green Bay Packers (1980-1983), and Minnesota Vikings (1984-1985). 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). He won Super Bowl IV under Chiefs head coach Hank Stram. [3][4], Following the ski season, Stenerud joined the football team for spring drills in 1965 and as a junior that fall he kicked a 59-yard field goal, then a college football record, in a 247 home win over rival Montana. Chiefs meet with Florida defensive tackle ahead of NFL Draft. But he came into the NFL with a statistical oddity: at Tech, he had been more accurate at long distances than medium distances. 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. 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. And in the meantime, some of my teammates at Montana State had informed me that they see a guy on television from the Buffalo Bills, Pete Gogolak, who had been kicking in the same style that I had displayed, and they also had convinced me to go out for the team. He was a consensus All-America selection. You just trot into that building over there and have the man fit you to a suit. Chiefs can find defensive line value on Day 2. He never missed a game because of injury or illness. After awhile they asked me to try. In 1994, he was selected to the NFL's 75th Anniversary Team. He also looked within and told himself that everyone gets knocked down, but some people dont get back up, and that he would have been ashamed of himself if he had been so weak as to surrender before a career that was just beginning and would continue to flourish. There isn't a doubt in my mind that he's the greatest long-distance field-goal kicker who ever played the game. 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. Once more details are available on who he is dating, we will update this section. Down went the ball. Its always worth reflecting on a player who was great in Green Bay and loved his time there, to boot. It is unbelievable. Jan Stenerud (born November 26, 1942) is a former professional football player for the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs (1967-1969), and the NFL's Chiefs (1970-1979), Green Bay Packers (1980-1983), and Minnesota Vikings (1984-1985). Like many famous people and celebrities, Jan Stenerud keeps his personal life private. The official source for NFL news, video highlights, fantasy football, game-day coverage, schedules, stats, scores and more. Stenerud retired after the 1985 season, his 19th (3 AFL, 16 NFL). Clark Hunt, Mark Donovan need to listen | Opinion, Couple stops at gas station for Michigan lottery tickets. After completing a training session, Stenerud noticed some football players kicking field goals and, recalling his background in soccer, he figured hed give it a try. The ball curved upward at about 90 m.p.h. pic.twitter.com/Uu5Bm27dSq. Kemp will join new Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy in the nations capital. By the time he was 20, he was among the best jumpers in the nation and performing in front of 80,000 people at Norways most imposing skiing site, Holmenkollbakken. As Stenerud recalls it now, after badly topping his first attempt, he boomed several some 70 yards. Up and Down arrows will open main level menus and toggle through sub tier links. Jan Stenerud. Hed become all the more enchanted with the sport after attending the nearby Oslo Olympics in 1952. But both of them along with his fiancee Isabelle and his kicking coach Jamie Kohl flew to Kansas City for Butkers Chiefs debut in Week 4: a Monday night game against the Washington Redskins. Tommy O'Boyle, our Director of Player Personnel, and I went to the game and watched him kick the opening kickoff through the uprights and eight rows into the bleachers. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. Thats what you do when The ButtKicker finally finds his way to your team. He was respected, admired and loved by his teammates and coaches. Today my thoughts are with my parents. They used skills learned in one sport--soccer -- to become successful in another -- football. The coach thought I'd do better with my style of kicking. * 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). In 2013, Stenerud recalled that he had a significant tail-wind aiding him on that kick in Bozeman; the ensuing kick-off went over the end-zone bleachers at Gatton Field, whose elevation exceeded 4,900 feet (1,495 . The basketball coach saw him kicking and alerted the football coach, Jim Sweeney, who gave Stenerud a tryout. One day, Stenerud was running stadium steps as part of his ski training and paused to kick a ball around with Bobcats kicker Dale Jackson. He can, he says,. This planet represents abundance, prosperity and the principle of expansion. Gambling problem? Kansas Citys star quarterback shattered a record no one thought could be broken. Because of his strong leg and long kicks, he reduced the size of the playing field. It is a job with intense pressure. Lawrence Tynes had the job from 2004 through 2006 but was traded to the New York Giants in 2007. If you see something that doesnt look right, contact us.