Placekickers | They both could kick a ball, but it was round, not oval. Before their careers were over, it was the oval football they kicked that made all the difference.
What a treat to listen to two of the NFL’s all-time great placekickers relate the unlikely roads they both took to become legends in the game.
The Placekickers
Jan Stenerud was on the field for the Chiefs, Packers and Vikings during a career that covered 1967-1985. He is the first pure placekicker to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Along with a Super Bowl win with the Chiefs and 4 Pro Bowls, he also transformed the placekicking game for all of football.
All of this coming almost by accident to a man who came from Norway to Montana State on a ski jumping scholarship.
Rolf Benirschke was a placekicker for the San Diego Chargers from 1978-1986. He retired as the all-time leader in points for the Chargers, an NFL Man of the Year Award winner and a fan of Stenerud.
Listen to his story of the inadvertent chance to kick a football that leads to his time in the NFL.
They watched each other kick, they learned from each other and they competed at the highest level with a talent that brought with it real sport’s pressure.
Two exuberant men, two unlikely careers, and two joyful stories told in their own words.
Further Listening:
Be sure to subscribe to the Sports Rivals podcast to listen to this rivalry on your favorite podcast app:
If you loved this episode, check out our others:
- The Crawl of Fame | Ep 1
- 1985 American League Championship | Ep 2
- Red Sox-Yankees Rivalry | Ep 3
- 1984 Tigers vs Blue Jays | Ep 4
- 2002 World Series | Giants vs Angels | Ep 5
- UCLA vs Arizona | NCAA Mens’ Basketball | Ep 6
- ACC College Basketball | MD vs VT | Ep 7
- Army vs Navy | NCAA Football | Ep 8
- GM vs Agent | Major League Baseball | Ep 9
- 1988 NLCS | Dodgers vs Mets | Ep 10
- In The Press Box | Nightengale vs Miller | Ep 11
- Reporters | Adamson vs Coakley | Ep 12
- Coaches | Raftery vs Carlesimo | Ep 13
- Pitchers | Blyleven vs Langston | Ep 14
- Public Relations | Horwitz vs Swanson | Ep 15
- Swimming | USA vs East Germany | Ep 16
- 1983 Sugar Bowl | PSU vs GA | Ep 17
- OSU vs Oregon | NCAA Basketball | Ep 18
- Olympic Diving | Potter vs King | Ep 19
- HOF Pitchers | Palmer vs Eckersley | Ep 20
- Ironman World Championships | Iron War | Ep 21
- 1981 London Marathon | A Historical First | Ep 22
- 1984 College World Series | Ep 23