 Stenerud in 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3, 10 | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Placekicker | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1942-11-26)November 26, 1942 (age 82) Fetsund, Norway | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 187 lb (85 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||
| College | Montana State (1964–1966) | ||||||||||||||||||
| AFL draft | 1966: 3rd round, 24th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Career AFL/NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
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Jan Stenerud (/ˈstɛnəruːd/,Norwegian:[ˈstèːnərʉːd]ⓘ; born November 26, 1942) is a Norwegian-American former professionalfootballplacekicker who played in theNational Football League (NFL) andAmerican Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with theKansas City Chiefs. The first Norwegian NFL player, he playedcollege football for theMontana State Bobcats and earnedAll-American honors. Stenerud began his career in the AFL after being selected by the Chiefs during the1966 draft and joined the NFL following theAFL–NFL merger. Along with his 13 seasons in Kansas City, Stenerud was a member of theGreen Bay Packers for four seasons and theMinnesota Vikings for two seasons until retiring in 1985.
Stenerud was a six-timeall-star (four NFLPro Bowls and twoAFL All-Star games) during his career, as well as a four-time first-teamAll-Pro in the NFL and a two-time first-teamAll-AFL. The season prior to the AFL–NFL merger, he also helped the Chiefs win their firstSuper Bowl title inSuper Bowl IV. He was inducted to thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1991 as the first exclusive placekicker to receive the honor, a distinction he held alone until the induction ofMorten Andersen in 2017.
Born inFetsund, in the county ofAkershus,Norway to parents Johan and Klara (Kjustad) Stenerud, Stenerud came to theUnited States as a college student, on aski jumpingscholarship toMontana State University inBozeman.[1][2] In the fall of 1964, Stenerud was training for the upcoming ski season by running the stadium steps ofGatton Field, the football venue through 1971. That day, he was cooling down from a workout by kicking a football with injured halfback Dale Jackson. Stenerud had playedsoccer as a youth in Norway, and his right leg's prowess was observed bybasketball head coach Roger Craft, while he walked to the nearbyFieldhouse.[2] Craft notifiedfootball head coachJim Sweeney of the Norwegian ski jumper's kicking abilities, and Sweeney offered him a tryout, which was successful. 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.[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 24–7 home win overrivalMontana.[3][5] 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,[4] whoseelevation exceeded 4,900 feet (1,495 m) abovesea level.[6] He was named anAll-American byThe Sporting News as a senior in1966,[4] and was also an All-American in ski jumping and a three-timeBig Sky champion.[7]
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Stenerud was one of the first professional football players to be used as a dedicated kicker, because of his excellent "sharpshooting" ball-kicking performance. He was one of the first placekickers to use the "soccer style", a technique the Hungarian-bornPete Gogolak had recently introduced in theAFL. 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 Chiefs were the final AFL champions in1969, and they met the NFL ChampionMinnesota Vikings inSuper Bowl IV inNew Orleans. The underdog Chiefs won 23–7, and Stenerud kicked three field goals, scoring the first nine points of the game.[8] His first, a 48-yarder, was the longest field goal in a Super Bowl for 24 years, exceeded bySteve Christie of theBuffalo Bills inSuper Bowl XXVIII in January1994.
OnChristmas Day1971, the Chiefs hosted theMiami Dolphins in anAFC divisional playoff game. In perhaps his toughest day as a professional, Stenerud made a 24-yard field goal in the first quarter, but then missed from 29 and 32 yards, the latter with 35 seconds remaining in regulation, and had a 42-yarder blocked three minutes into overtime.[9] The Dolphins won 27–24 in double overtime, on a 37-yard field goal byGaro Yepremian.[10][11] The game, also the last the Chiefs played in Kansas City'sMunicipal Stadium, remains the longest in NFL history as of2023, at 82 minutes, 40 seconds of playing time.
Stenerud retired after the1985 season, his 19th (3 AFL, 16 NFL).[12] 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 the time of his retirement, he was the longest-tenured (19 years) professional football player to have played in the AFL.
Enshrined in 1991, Stenerud, along withGeorge Blanda,Lou Groza,Ray Guy, and 2017 inducteeMorten Andersen, is one of only five kicking specialists in thePro Football Hall of Fame, and is one of three who did not play another position (Blanda playedquarterback, Groza was atackle). The Chiefs retired Stenerud's jersey number 3 in his honor. In 1991, he was inducted into theGreen Bay Packers Hall of Fame.[13] He was selected to theNFL's 75th Anniversary Team in 1994 and to theNFL's 100th Anniversary Team in 2019.[14]
In recent years, Stenerud has been involved in a Kansas City firm involved in designing stadiums and sports arenas. He also worked as a commentator for Scandinavian TV channelTV3's Super Bowl Sunday coverage in the 1990s, and still maintains strong ties with his native Norway. The street where he grew up, in the municipality Fetsund, was renamed in his honor.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Season | Team | G | FGM | FGA | % | LNG | XPM | XPA | % | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | KC | 14 | 21 | 36 | 58.3 | 54 | 45 | 45 | 100.0 | 108 |
| 1968 | KC | 14 | 30 | 40 | 75.0 | 52 | 39 | 40 | 97.5 | 129 |
| 1969 | KC | 14 | 27 | 35 | 77.1 | 54 | 38 | 38 | 100.0 | 119 |
| 1970 | KC | 14 | 30 | 42 | 71.4 | 55 | 26 | 26 | 100.0 | 116 |
| 1971 | KC | 14 | 26 | 44 | 59.1 | 54 | 32 | 32 | 100.0 | 110 |
| 1972 | KC | 14 | 21 | 36 | 58.3 | 50 | 32 | 32 | 100.0 | 95 |
| 1973 | KC | 14 | 24 | 38 | 63.2 | 47 | 21 | 23 | 91.3 | 93 |
| 1974 | KC | 14 | 17 | 24 | 70.8 | 50 | 24 | 26 | 92.3 | 75 |
| 1975 | KC | 14 | 22 | 32 | 68.8 | 51 | 30 | 31 | 96.8 | 96 |
| 1976 | KC | 14 | 21 | 38 | 55.3 | 52 | 27 | 33 | 81.8 | 90 |
| 1977 | KC | 14 | 8 | 18 | 44.4 | 37 | 27 | 28 | 96.4 | 51 |
| 1978 | KC | 16 | 20 | 30 | 66.7 | 47 | 25 | 26 | 96.2 | 85 |
| 1979 | KC | 16 | 12 | 23 | 52.2 | 46 | 28 | 29 | 96.6 | 64 |
| 1980 | GB | 4 | 3 | 5 | 60.0 | 40 | 3 | 3 | 100.0 | 12 |
| 1981 | GB | 16 | 22 | 24 | 91.7 | 53 | 35 | 36 | 97.2 | 101 |
| 1982 | GB | 9 | 13 | 18 | 72.2 | 48 | 25 | 27 | 92.6 | 64 |
| 1983 | GB | 16 | 21 | 26 | 80.8 | 48 | 52 | 52 | 100.0 | 115 |
| 1984 | MIN | 16 | 20 | 23 | 87.0 | 54 | 30 | 31 | 96.8 | 90 |
| 1985 | MIN | 16 | 15 | 26 | 57.7 | 49 | 41 | 43 | 95.3 | 86 |
| Career | 263 | 373 | 558 | 66.8 | 55 | 580 | 601 | 96.5 | 1,699 | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
