| No. 30, 39 | |||||||||||
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| Position | Placekicker | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | (1942-12-10)December 10, 1942 Port Huron, Michigan, U.S | ||||||||||
| Died | October 3, 2020(2020-10-03) (aged 77) San Diego, California, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||
| Listed weight | 218 lb (99 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school | Charlevoix (Charlevoix, Michigan) | ||||||||||
| College | Ohio St. (1960-1963) | ||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1964: 10th round, 138th overall pick | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL/AFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Richard William Van Raaphorst (December 10, 1942 – October 3, 2020) was an American professionalfootballplacekicker in theAmerican Football League (AFL) for theSan Diego Chargers. He also was a member of theDallas Cowboys in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football atOhio State University.
Van Raaphorst attended Charlevoix High School, before moving on toOhio State University.
He was named the starter of the 1961 team coached byWoody Hayes that won theBig Ten Conference, but the Ohio State faculty council wanting to show that football was not overemphasized, voted against sending the Buckeyes to theRose Bowl. TheUniversity of Minnesota was the replacement team that beatUCLA 21-3.[1] He was injured as a junior.
As a senior, he broke the school and conference distance record with a 48-yard field goal.[2] The next game he broke it again with a 49-yard field goal.[3] He also set a record with 6 field goals inBig Ten Conference games and 8 in the season. The next game he broke it again with a 49-yard field goal.[4]
Van Raaphorst was selected by theCleveland Browns in the tenth round (138th overall) of the1964 NFL draft.[5] On August 24, he was traded to theDallas Cowboys in exchange for a draft choice, after the team decided to keep 40-year-oldLou Groza as the starter.[6]
In1964, theDallas Cowboys were looking for a replacement forSam Baker, and when rookieBilly Lothridge couldn't fill thekicker role, the team acquired Van Raaphorst and named him the starter.[7] He struggled throughout the year and was replaced the next season withDanny Villanueva.
On January 13,1965, he was claimed off waivers by theChicago Bears,[8] but was waived before the start of the season.
In1965, he was signed by theSan Diego Chargers of theAmerican Football League to theirtaxi squad. The next year, he was named the starter and kicked 16 field goals, while also setting a franchise record with 7 field goals attempts against theNew York Jets on October 8. At the time, he had the second most field goals (31) made in franchise history.
Van Raaphorst was selected by theCincinnati Bengals in the 1968 AFL expansion draft from theSan Diego Chargers roster,[9] but he opted to retire instead of reporting to the team.
After football, he worked as a real estate developer. He served as acolor analyst on theSan Diego Chargers radio broadcasts in the 1970s. He won the 1968 Professional Football Players Golf Tournament.[10]
His sonJeff Van Raaphorst playedquarterback in theNFL for theAtlanta Falcons and received the1987 Rose Bowl MVP award.
Van Raaphorst died on October 3, 2020, inSan Diego,California at the age of 77.[11]