did jan stenerud kick barefoot

The Chiefs had 79-year-old Pro Football Hall of Famer Jan Stenerud out at practice on Thursday. Jan Stenerud was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991. Its a special experience. In 1994, he was selected to the NFL's 75th Anniversary Team. Odds & lines subject to change. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Thats how the scouts from around the league heard about me, Jan said. The 80-year-old football player was born in Norway. Stenerud is distinguished as being the first . He was released immediately. I'm sure someday he'll make one from 60 yardsheck65 yards away. Does all that add up to a player worth swapping for Mason Crosby? 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. And though its hardly the headline in the overall scope of a wild game, Stenerud did kick the game-winner in the Packers 48-47 Monday Night Football romp with the Washington Redskins that year. During a game, Stenerud gives in to assorted superstitions. Enter and space open menus and escape closes them as well. He began to laugh. I can do this, he told the Journal-Constitution. Oops. In 1969 he made 27. Jan Stenerud. A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fames Class of 1991, Jan was the first pure placekicker someone who didnt also play another position to be enshrined. 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. Stenerud couldn't participate that fall, 1964, because of eligibility rules. AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. Super Bowl IV and some of the great coaching with Hank Stram, of course, who won the Coach of the Year title four times. 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.) Everyone in the Hall of Fame was a great player, but only a few were the very best ever at their position. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. Well I saw that kicker for Houston (85 Cotton Bowl) kick barefoot on a kickoff. Over his 14-year career with the Chiefs, he scored 1,466 points still a franchise record and was routinely counted as one of the best in the game. Website design & development by americaneagle.com copyright 2021 Pro Football hall of fame all rights reserved, Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic. 11834 posts. "One day of my junior year in 1964, I ran the stadium steps, and the kicker was kicking field goals. ", 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. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. After regularly making field goals of 60 yards in practice, Stenerud became a sensation on campus. The reasons some kickers preferred a barefoot kick were twofold: kickers believed they could control their kicks better with their feet than they could wearing kicking cleats of the time period. 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. well your foot will feel like you nailed a cinder block. James and Augustine, Pray for Us! Like many famous people and celebrities, Jan Stenerud keeps his personal life private. He had an impact on the record books. In 1981, when he was with the Green Bay Packers, he made 22 of 24 field goals, a league record of 91% -- 91.7 -- and he had an impact also on the Hall of Fame because he was the very first specialist to enter Pro Football's Hall of Fame. Passing, Rushing, & Receiving Table . He was one of the winningest coaches in all of college football. Stenerud went on to a highly successful 19-year NFL career. 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. ", Former ski jumper Jan Stenerud of the Kansas City Chiefs has become the best field-goal kicker in a sport he hardly understands, 2023 ABG-SI LLC. The site navigation utilizes arrow, enter, escape, and space bar key commands. Back then, a field goal that fell short was merely considered a live ball. AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. Jan holds the record for career field goals, 373. The Chiefs have had decades of missteps after decades of excellence. 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. I remember it so well. Along with his 13 seasons in Kansas City, Stenerud was a member of the Green Bay Packers for four seasons and the Minnesota Vikings for two seasons until retiring in 1985. Passing, Rushing, & Receiving. Call 1-800-GAMBLER. He knows all the finer points to kicking.. But here he was, kicking with Jackson more and more, when one day basketball coach Roger Craft saw how far the ball was going and alerted football coach Jim Sweeney. On Christmas Day 1971, the Chiefs hosted the Miami Dolphins in an AFC divisional playoff game. He isKansas City's record-holder in career points. In the season opener, Medlock missed a 30-yard field goal in the first drive. He wasn't only one of the greatest quarterbacks of all times, he was my holder, of course, my first 19 years in the NFL, and he was very instrumental in my success. The early 1940s were dominated by World War II. If you mis-hit the ball while kicking barefoot . Following the end of the war, it was the start of the Baby Boomer years and technology advancements such as the jet engine, nuclear fusion, radar, rocket technology and others later became the starting points for Space Exploration and Improved Air Travel. 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. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991. That's why I got out there every day; I was the guy doing the learning. Well, I didn't know that until Stram pointed it out. By 2014, Succop had been solid if not great for the Chiefs over five seasons. A six-time all-league selection, Stenerud played in two AFL All-Star Games and in four AFC-NFC Pro Bowls. To keep in shape for the ski season, I would always run the stadium steps at Montana State to get ready for the long, hard ski season, and the football team was always practicing. "Ah, never mind, son," said Sweeney. I wasn't really sure if I had done OKor not. Dave Rayner came in and lasted 10 games before giving way to 18-year veteran John Carney to finish the 2007 season. Went down and tried a few with toes like everybody else kicked those days. Kansas City, MO 10/8/1967 CREDIT: Rich Clarkson Football: Super Bowl IV, Kansas City Chiefs Jan Stenerud and QB Len Dawson in action vs Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans, LA 1/11/1970 He scored 100 or more points in seven different seasons. He was a great competitor, and no one was better than Jan when the game was on the line. Jan Stenerud attended Montana State University. He kicked 11 field goals and 49 extra points (in 50 attempts) to set an NCAA record with 82 points. He would later go on to kick for the Green Bay. We are all very, very proud of you, Jan. Good luck and God bless. Gambling problem? He went on to help us become one of the winningest teams in the National Football League with two divisional championships, three playoffs and a Super Bowl win over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV. In the AFL, Jan made his first kick - a 54-yard field goal in the 1967 season opener against Houston. When the Packers signed Norway native Jan Stenerud before the 13th game of the 1980 season . "In fact, it's still embarrassing. He won Super Bowl IV under Chiefs head coach Hank Stram. [fetch instagram= display=posts show=2 ]. Its a perfect example of why you should never try and stash a good kicker on your NFL practice squad. Stenerud is the first pure placekicker to enter the Hall. Soon, Stenerud was running steps during a football practice when he heard Sweeneys gruff voice: Skier, get your butt down here. He was respected, admired and loved by his teammates and coaches. Jan Stenerud was selected to the Pro Bowl six times. A free education in what his father considered the greatest country on Earth couldnt be passed up. "Right down the middle," Reid yelled. "Whenever the team got to the 50-yard line (the student section) would start yelling, 'Send in Jan!'" Stenerud said with a laugh. He kicked with his toe like [50 Greatest Vikings member] Fred Cox," Stenerud explained. He was an All-American ski jumper on a ski scholarship. "I was out with some of the other skiers, getting my legs in shape for the season. Odds & lines subject to change. But he came into the NFL with a statistical oddity: at Tech, he had been more accurate at long distances than medium distances. After Butkers miss in the second quarter, it was Colquitt, a 13-year veteran, who gave the rookie a pep talk that boosted Butkers spirits, so much so that in critical situations late in the fourth quarter, Reid had no qualms in trusting Butker to make his kicks. Not only did Butker make two more field goals in that game including the game-winning 43-yard attempt with eight seconds left he also didnt miss either a PAT or a field goal for the next two months. Jan Stenerud has had two reoccurring dreams during his 70 years. 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. "But it was me it helped, not Jan. He made another that day, but the Chiefs had seen enough. Now he hustled up to Stram. 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. Jan is a total Hall of Fame package:productive, consistent and enduring. 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. 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. 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. "It's really silly," he says. The Kansas City Chiefs were so impressed they selected Stenerud in the third round of the AFL's 1966 Future Draft. pic.twitter.com/Uu5Bm27dSq. A reader suggestion gives us a great opportunity to reflect on Jan Steneruds brief but excellent run in Green Bay. I guess he liked what he saw, Jan said of his audition for Sweeney on the eve of the season finale. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. Enshrined in 1991, Stenerud, along with George Blanda, Lou Groza, Ray Guy, and 2017 inductee Morten Andersen, is one of only five kicking specialists in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and is one of three who did not play another position (Blanda played quarterback, Groza was a tackle). He was elected in his first year of eligibility after a pro career in which he converted 373 out of 558 field goals (67%) and 580 out of 601 extra points (97%) for a total of 1,699 points scored. They went something like this: "4 out of 5, 25-yard line, right hash mark; 5-5, 25, middle; 5-5, 25, left; 4-5, 40, right; 5-5, 40, middle; 5-5, 40, left; 4-5, 50, left; 4-5, 50, middle; 3-5, 50, right. For you barefoot kicking fans, heres a better video of Franklin kicking barefoot, this time for the Philadelphia Eagles. He told Sweeney, Youve got to take a look at this Norwegian skier out there. "I've been kicking a ball since I was old enough to walk.". I had to read that about three times before I understood it. He holds the record of the longest field goal in Super Bowl history of 48 yards, which has been matched but not eclipsed. Every day he had me out there kicking 50 ballsand he was doing all the holding. We will continue to update information on Jan Steneruds parents. Always have, always will., It wasnt easy to overcome a game he still says kills me adding, I didnt want to play any more.. Stram sighed; there was a hitch. Field conditions generally werent as accommodating, and the ball wasnt as aerodynamic. quote: However if you try to smash the ball on a 50 yarder. 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. Barefoot kickers, cats and dogs living together, MASS HYSTERIA. Stenerud retired after the 1985 season, his 19th (3 AFL, 16 NFL). 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). "What do you call that?" The difference was four field goals, with Kansas City winning 26-21. We have Bobby Bell, a great linebacker, Len Dawson, Buck Buchanan, Willie Lanier and, of course, our owner Lamar Hunt, who is also in the Hall of Fame. Robert Holmes 3 yard rush (Jan Stenerud kick) 3: 7: 2: Chiefs: Jan Stenerud 52 yard field goal : 3: 10: Chiefs: Jan Stenerud 8 yard field goal : 3: 13: 3: Bills: Bruce Alford 34 yard field goal : 6: 13: . It's all his own natural ability. This story was originally published May 13, 2017, 4:50 PM. He was the longest-tenured player in the now-defunct American Football League, playing in the league for 19 years. One of the field goals was blocked, for instance. This one could hurt.. The greatest overall compatibility with Sagittarius is Gemini and Aries. More tangibly, at a time goalposts still were at the goal line, he suddenly made any excursion into the opponents side of the field a threat to score. He quickly noticed that he booted it farther than the team's kicker. You just trot into that building over there and have the man fit you to a suit. Stenerud, the middle of Johan and Klara Steneruds three children, was skiing since before he can remember: from the jumps his father built outside their house in Fetsund (population approximately 7,000) to the improvised ones hed contrive like other local kids or at any of a half-dozen venues that lit the town at night. Stenerud promptly picked up where he had left off in his native Norway. Member since Aug 2006. His three field goals of 48, 32 and25 yards against the Vikings gave us a 9-0 lead, and his 48-yard kick had a stunning effect on Minnesota. 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. 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. People of this zodiac sign like freedom, travel, philosophy, being outdoors and dislike clingy people, constrained, off-the-wall theories. There are two people here today that are great kickers as well as outstanding football players: George Blanda and Lou Graza. Your email address will not be published. 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. "Do you want to loosen your leg?" The thrill of a "Monday Night Football" game, autumn Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field, and, of course, the satisfaction of a job well done. 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. They have AstroTurf there and we worked out on it. Stenerud shrugged, boomed two through from the 40-yard line. When I came to Kansas City in 1967, he went out on the practice field several weeks before training camp started. 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. So in 2009, the Chiefs took Ryan Succop with the last pick of the draft. Atlanta had drafted Stenerud at the end of the season, and he had promised to talk with the Falcons before making a decision. Jokingly, he tried anothersoccer-styleoff his instep. Ten minutes later he was telling Sweeney. He was a seven-time All-Pro and won Super Bowl IV as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. 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.. After the 23-7 victory, Minnesota defensive end Carl Eller pronounced Stenerud the true most valuable player of the game. Jan Stenerud was born on the 26th of November, 1942. . And while that may be true, Steneruds story might be worth bringing him through our hypothetical time portal. KANSAS CITY Mo. If you are ready for it and some kind of occasion presents itself, who knows what can happen? . While his field-goal percentage of 66.8 (373 of 558) might seem pedestrian today, he was a revelation in the context of the times. 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. But Stram reassured and convinced him that he had much left to give. This page is updated often with new details about Jan Stenerud. And nowadays teams have so much invested in their players, kickers and punters included, that kicking a ball barefoot poses an undue risk for a potentially season-ending toe injury, to say nothing of the idea that the opposing team always seems to fight their way to the kicker these days. Stenerud came to the United States on a ski jumping scholarship to attend . NFL placekicker who became the first pure placekicker to earn an induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jan Stenerud Position: K 6-2 , 187lb (188cm, 84kg) Born: November 26 in Fetsund, Norway (Age: 80-097d) More bio, uniform, draft, salary info Hall of Fame 6x Pro Bowl 1x All-Pro 1x SB Champ 1x AFL Champ 3 10 3 SUMMARY Career G 263 AV 78 FGM 373 FGA 558 XPM 580 XPA 601 Jan Stenerud Overview Game Logs Career Postseason 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 I also want to tell the football fans and the football organization with the three teams that I played, Kansas City, Green Bay and Minnesota, a heartfelt thank you for your loyalty and support. Broncos & Steelers to pay tribute to Hall of Famers during special ceremonies during Week 6 of NFL season. ProFootballHistory.com. She is not dating anyone. Three months later, he signed a free agent contract with the Green Bay Packers, with whom he stayed with for four seasons. NFL placekicker who became the first pure placekicker to earn an induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In his first four seasons with Kansas City, he made 72%of his field goals when the league average was 50%. The Kansas City Chiefs have just concluded their 59th season as a professional football franchise. He didn't just talk to me about signing, he talked about kicking. On top of the list we put together, our readers suggested a few great names in the comments. I always felt that we would win or lose about four to six games a year with the kicking game. "You can forget that," says Stram. He can, he says,. 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. I'd be better off to get rid of all those small and foolish things. Since Butker came to the Chiefs in the middle of the 2017 season and came into his own in the midst of a season well forever remember as The Season of Mahomes we probably havent devoted enough attention to his story in these pages. An athlete who excelled in track and field, soccer. At 80 years old, Jan Stenerud height is 6' 2" (1.88 m) . His name was Jim Sweeney. This is the land of opportunity, Stenerud remembered thinking. With no agent to represent him, Stenerud scoffs now at how the no-cut might have worked out if he hadnt produced. 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. "That was pretty darn good," Stenerud said. 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. As the Montana State Bobcats practiced for their final home football game in 1964, Jan Stenerud was going through his own fall routine: conditioning his legs for the upcoming ski season by running the stadiums steps. And painfulhe was wearing tennis shoes. The Chiefs returned to the playoffs in 1971 to play the Dolphins in the Christmas classic double-overtime loss that remains so poignantly alive to Stenerud that he cant help but bring it up himself. In the AFL, Jan made his first kick a 54-yard field goal in the 1967 season opener against Houston. Is Butker finally the right man for the job? At Montana State I had a coach, I mentioned him earlier, but I need to recognize him more. Whos the richest Football Player in the world. Other kickers had trouble hitting the footballs sweet spot wearing their issued uniform cleats. When the Chiefs were playing the Miami Dolphins at the end of the 1966 season, they invited Stenerud to Miami for a tryout. 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. 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. It was supposed to be a fake, with the ball snapped directly to Stenerud. pic.twitter.com/3N9Zv2HICJ. In 1984, the Packers traded Stenerud to the Minnesota Vikings for a seventh-round draft choice. When training camp arrived and with Succop due a big payday the team brought in competition: free agent Cairo Santos. The 40s also brought us the Slinky, Velcro, Jeep, Tupperware and Frisbee. I am, of course, aware that I am the first person elected to this great shrine based on kicking alone. 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. Gano was great in 2017 but the Panthers could have had a kicker at $1.935M for the next 3 seasons (2018-2020) if Harrison Butker had been kept instead. He was obviously a good kicker in college, Chiefs coach Andy Reid told the media after Butker had been poached from Carolina. . The Chiefs retired Stenerud's jersey number 3 in his honor. [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. "I didn't have one thing to do with developing Stenerud as a kicker. But that was about to change profoundly because of Stenerud, who revolutionized a major part of the game. Jan also made a great impact on the American Football Leagueand National Football League,as he helped usher in the age of soccer-style kickers. 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 . Independence is one of their greatest strengths, but sometimes they're overly frank with others. If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. Couldnt they have picked another team? he joked. No one has more respect for the people seated behind me that are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. According to our Database, She has no children. 35% OFF + Free Shipping $100+ *exclusions . 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. But he missed a potential go-ahead field goal with 35 seconds remaining. Ive been in Atlanta my whole life, now Im in Kansas City a different part of the country. He was sincere, had great pride and dedication. Quiz He dropped back to midfield: same thing. Enter and space open menus and escape closes them as well. CelebsMoney has recently updated Jan Steneruds net worth. 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. Get in-depth, sideline coverage of Kansas City area sports - only $1 a month. Stenerud told Kleiner some 54 years later, Stenerud compared playing for the Packers, Stenerud told MontanaSports.com in February 2020, The Life And Career Of Bobby Bell (Story), The Life And Career Of Mack Lee Hill (Story), The Life And Career Of Priest Holmes (Complete Story), The Life And Career Of Len Dawson (Story), The Life And Career Of Albert Lewis (Story), The Life And Career Of Tamba Hali (Story), The Life And Career Of Johnny Robinson (Complete Story), The Life And Career Of Trent Green (Complete Story), The Life And Career Of Neil Smith (Complete Story), The Legend Of LB Derrick Thomas (Complete Bio), The Life And Career Of Steve DeBerg (Complete Story), The Life And Career Of Christian Okoye (Complete Story). The story is that when Stenerud heard he had been drafted, he started looking on the map for Vietnam. 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. 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. Well, why not? Like snapping my helmet before a third-down play ends. ", "Sure it helped," said Stram, grinning. Ryan Succop's new deal (reportedly $4M per year) should become an important data point for Graham Gano. And he knew what he was talking about. Jan Stenerud 25 yard field goal : 19: 22: Game Info. Thunk! 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. He finished the season without missing a single PAT, and made 90.5 percent of his field-goal attempts. Butkers field goal tied the game, but then this happened as time expired. Jan Stenerud Net Worth Few games were played in domes, and there was scant specialized coaching or equipment taken for granted today. 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.