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. Your access to this page has been blocked. "I was out with some of the other skiers, getting my legs in shape for the season. He was respected, admired and loved by his teammates and coaches. He is best known for being a Football Player. re: Barefoot Kickers Posted on 8/6/10 at 9:30 am to SM6. Nineteenseasons in the greatest team sport ever invented produced a lot of memories. . Discover what happened on this day. 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. It is unbelievable. A year later, the Chiefs won a bidding war of sorts with the NFLs Atlanta Falcons when they signed Stenerud to a five-year, $250,000 contract that featured a no-cut provision. MSU students arrived at Gatton Field early to watch Stenerud kick on warmups. Passing, Rushing, & Receiving. 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. 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. He never missed a game because of injury or illness. In a perfect world, Stenerud would have scored a touchdown behind the two guards who had pulled. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991 as the first exclusive placekicker to receive the honor. Well, why not? Let me close by going back to where it started: ski jumping. We liked him coming out. "In fact, it's still embarrassing. Stenerud retired after the 1985 season, his 19th (3 AFL, 16 NFL). The story is that when Stenerud heard he had been drafted, he started looking on the map for Vietnam. I kicked off five times and two of them went through the goal post and that was from the 40-yard line in those days -- 70 yards to the goal post. [8] The Dolphins won 2724 in double overtime on a 37-yard field goal by Garo Yepremian. He was the longest-tenured player in the now-defunct American Football League, playing in the league for 19 years. His range stoked interest around the nation, and the Chiefs notified Stenerud by telegram that they had selected him in the 1965 AFL Redshirt Draft future dibs since he had a year of eligibility left. How much help can you give a guy like that? He kicked with his toe like [50 Greatest Vikings member] Fred Cox," Stenerud explained. "But I didn't know what a future was. That was 60 field goals ago. The kick sailed 5 yards farther than the previous collegiate mark and 3 yards beyond the existing NFL record. Now Coach Sweeney did not want to listen to, in Jim's own words, a goofy basketball coach, and a couple of weeks later, however, I was out there again and he summoned me down from the stands and he asked if I could kick off and showed me how to put the ball on the tee. $109.99. All Rights Reserved. Stenerud is distinguished as being the first . 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. The official source for NFL news, video highlights, fantasy football, game-day coverage, schedules, stats, scores and more. Thank you very much, coach. Always have, always will., It wasnt easy to overcome a game he still says kills me adding, I didnt want to play any more.. $169.22. I guess he liked what he saw, Jan said of his audition for Sweeney on the eve of the season finale. Stenerud, the Kansas City . The strengths of this sign are being generous, idealistic, sense of humor, while weaknesses can be to promise more than can deliver, impatient and say anything no matter how undiplomatic. He won Super Bowl IV under Chiefs head coach Hank Stram. Not so, he says. He's already made two from 52 yards this season. 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. 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. Wearing tennis shoes, Jans first attempts straight-on, as was the style of the era were lousy, and painful, so Jan changed his approach to match his soccer-playing background. 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. 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 . Though ineligible for football competition that season, Sweeney encouraged Stenerud to suit up with the team for the final home game of 1964, to help him better understand the unfamiliar American game. People born on a Thursday are naturally well-meaning and open. If you mis-hit the ball while kicking barefoot . We will continue to update information on Jan Steneruds parents. He was a seven-time All-Pro and won Super Bowl IV . "But really," says Stenerud, "I had my mind made up five minutes after I talked to Stram. 4 tight end prospects for Chiefs fans to watch at the NFL Scouting Combine. "No sense complicating this game. In the mid-1960s, the field goal became increasingly important to the game of football, about the same time as I had stepped onto the field at Montana State. In the AFL, Jan made his first kick - a 54-yard field goal in the 1967 season opener against Houston. 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. They snagged a drafted rookie without expending any draft capital, and will end up having him on a minimum-cost contract for almost four full seasons a point former sports agent Joel Corry noted last January. There are two people here today that are great kickers as well as outstanding football players: George Blanda and Lou Graza. Does all that add up to a player worth swapping for Mason Crosby? Forty yards and bull's-eye. After regularly making field goals of 60 yards in practice, Stenerud became a sensation on campus. Went down and tried a few with toes like everybody else kicked those days. Then, alas, theres the 32-yarder he missed with 35 seconds left. When was Jan Stenerud inducted to the Hall of Fame? Soon, the Norwegian who came here by way of a skiing scholarship at Montana State prepared for his first Chiefs camp by kicking with coach Hank Stram as his personal holder at the teams facility in Swope Park. I didn't know the first thing about a soccer-style kicker. He dropped back to midfield: same thing. "Right down the middle," Reid yelled. [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. In the Chiefs' upset victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV, Stenerud's three field goals, including a then-Super Bowl record 48-yarder, accounted for the first nine points. The street where he grew up, in the municipality Fetsund, was renamed in his honor. He scored 100 or more points in seven different seasons. If you are ready for it and some kind of occasion presents itself, who knows what can happen? . There also are a couple of other people I would like to acknowledge that were teammates at Montana State. Well I saw that kicker for Houston (85 Cotton Bowl) kick barefoot on a kickoff. He attended Montana State University on a ski jumping scholarship. He had been listed as a senior the year before, but purposely fell seven credits short of graduation in order to take another crack at this crazy game called football. He knows a lot more than I know. He isKansas City's record-holder in career points. "Ah, never mind, son," said Sweeney. For you barefoot kicking fans, heres a better video of Franklin kicking barefoot, this time for the Philadelphia Eagles. Butker had been raised in an environment where such things mattered. They kept both Gano and Butker on the active roster for the first week of the season, apparently hoping to trade one of them. Whos the richest Football Player in the world? An amateur placekicker attempts to kick a field goal. The Norwegian kicked for the Chiefs, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings in a 19-year football career, culminating in becoming the first dedicated kicker inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. He retired after the 1985 season. Back then, a field goal that fell short was merely considered a live ball. * 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). On one of the other days Jan was running steps, a kicker on the football team practicing on his own encouraged Jan to join him. Because of his strong leg and long kicks, he reduced the size of the playing field. When the Packers signed Norway native Jan Stenerud before the 13th game of the 1980 season . They had great players when I got there. Thirty years later, Jan Stenerud still isn't over The Christmas Day Game. The schools basketball coach noticed him booting the ball around the field, tipped off the football coaches, and the rest is history. During his first three years as professional, the last seasons for the AFL, Stenerud hit 70% of his field goals, compared with a 53% average for the other kickers in the AFL and NFL. The New England Patriots kicker Tony Franklin even made a 59-yard field goal while completely shoeless. They were too young to see action in World War II and too old to participate in the fun of the Summer of Love. He was hooked. But for the Panthers, thats all spilt milk. ", "Sure it helped," said Stram, grinning. Jan Stenerud. As a halfback at Purdue, Stram kicked a 22-yard field goal to beat Pitt 10-7 in 1946. The basketball coach saw him kicking and alerted the football coach, Jim Sweeney, who gave Stenerud a tryout. 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. Jan Stenerud, Kansas City Chiefs -- 1971 Before the AFC divisional playoff matchup between the Chiefs and Miami Dolphins on Christmas Day became the longest game in NFL history, Stenerud had a chance to end it in regulation. While Stenerud remains anguished and unreasonably stigmatized in some circles by a miserable day in 1971, its time to help him let that go by commemorating his improbable story a half-century after it began here. General 73 SPD 77 ACC 64 AGI Kicking 99 KPW 93 KAC Fake 37 SAC 33 MAC 38 THP 23 RUN Jan Stenerud attended Montana State University. In his postgame press conference, he took a cue from Butkers Twitter handle @buttkicker7, and referred to him as Buttkicker-dot-com.. In recent years, Stenerud has been involved in a Kansas City firm involved in designing stadiums and sports arenas. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991. He made another that day, but the Chiefs had seen enough. The other 42 field goals21 as a rookie last seasonhave been for the Chiefs, who surprised their rivals by drafting Stenerud as a future early in 1966. As young adults during the McCarthy Era, many members of this generation felt it was dangerous to speak out. 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. He won Super Bowl IV under Chiefs head coach Hank Stram. In making field goals and kickoffs forces they never had been, with consistent excellence for nearly 20 years, Stenerud became the first and for decades, only pure kicker in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Chiefs retired Stenerud's jersey number 3 in his honor. Butker is now well-established as the Chiefs placekicker, and its wouldnt be a stretch to think the Chiefs will do their best to hang on to him when his rookie contract expires in 2021. The coach thought I'd do better with my style of kicking. Those are very kinds words, and I appreciate them very much. Call 1-800-GAMBLER. They have one thing in common, however;Jan is named on all of them. I always felt that we would win or lose about four to six games a year with the kicking game. Heard you can kick!. He never changed. But if I don't hear the click of the snap before the play ends, I get a horrible feeling that I may miss. In his first collegiate season, Jan connected on seven field goals more than the Bobcats had converted in the previous three seasons combined. 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. He joined the football team his senior academic year and ended up playing two seasons of varsity football. If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. Weeks after his collegiate debut in 1965, Stenerud kicked a then-NCAA record 59-yard field goal also 3 yards longer than the then-NFL record. So in 2009, the Chiefs took Ryan Succop with the last pick of the draft. Generation. Jan Stenerud Net Worth Stats "One day of my junior year in 1964, I ran the stadium steps, and the kicker was kicking field goals. Ski jumping requires concentration and, of course, kicking field goals requires concentration as well. Jan Stenerud was 6 ft 2 inches, 187 lb (1.88 m, 84 kg). Nearly 30 years ago, I was recruited from Norway to Montana State on a ski scholarship. . 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 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. He led the league in field goal accuracy in 1981, making 22 of 24 kicks (91.7%). Well, why not? The video below features Franklin kicking in the 1985 AFC Championship game. The 40s also brought us the Slinky, Velcro, Jeep, Tupperware and Frisbee. He made five field goals twice against Buffalo the year we won the Super Bowl. Dating & Relationship status She is currently single. By David Eulitt Fifty years ago this. I hear you can kick. are recalled today as Jan steps into the Gold Jacket Spotlight. He did just that with three field goals in the first half of Super Bowl IV that in themselves would have been enough to beat the Vikings. The MSU basketball coach, Roger Craft, noticed Stenerud booming kicks straight and long toward the goal posts and told the football coach, Jim Sweeney, what he had seen. 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. If you think he needed help, let me show you some charts. He was sincere, had great pride and dedication. And while that may be true, Steneruds story might be worth bringing him through our hypothetical time portal. Against archrival Montana, he boomed a 59-yarder, shattering the NCAA record, in a 24-7 win. A reader suggestion gives us a great opportunity to reflect on Jan Steneruds brief but excellent run in Green Bay. It seemed like a great time to catch you up on Butkers story, and what we hope will be the beginning of another long period of excellence in the Chiefs kicking game. Stenerud couldn't participate that fall, 1964, because of eligibility rules. 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. Today my thoughts are with my parents. [2] Craft notified football head coach Jim Sweeney of the Norwegian ski jumper's kicking abilities, and Sweeney offered him a tryout, which was successful. Hall of Fame kicker Jan Stenerud was reliable and productive in Green Bay, Friday NFL Scouting Combine Review: WR/TE interviews, DB workouts, 4 receivers to look out for in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, Dynamic slot receivers will be available in the middle of the first round, he said in an interview with Monday Night Football in 2000, Packers WR Randall Cobb has ankle surgery ahead of free agency, Thursday NFL Scouting Combine Review: DB interviews, DL/LB workouts, Panthers have called Packers about possible Aaron Rodgers trade, per report, 3 top defensive back prospects have formal meetings with Packers at NFL Combine.