| No. 13 | |||||||||
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| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1942-12-08)December 8, 1942 Cheviot, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | March 15, 2024(2024-03-15) (aged 81) Boone, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Elder (Cincinnati, Ohio) | ||||||||
| College | Florida St. (1961-1964) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1965: 16th round, 224th overall pick | ||||||||
| AFL draft | 1965: 4th round, 30th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||
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| Career NFL/AFL statistics | |||||||||
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Stephen Michael Tensi (December 8, 1942 – March 15, 2024) was an American professionalfootball player who was aquarterback in theAmerican Football League (AFL) and theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theFlorida State Seminoles. He played professionally for theSan Diego Chargers (1965–1966) and theDenver Broncos (1967–1970).
After graduating fromElder High School inCincinnati,Ohio,[1] where he had been his high school MVP and first-team All City andCincinnati Post All-Metro,[2] Tensi went toFlorida State University. His biggest collegiate successcame in 1964, his senior year at FSU. The Seminoles switched to apro set offense that year and had one of the highest scoring teams in college football, averaging nearly 24 points a game.[3] Tensi threw for 1,683 yards and 14 TDs in FSU's 10 games, many of which were thrown to first-team All American and futureOakland Raiders greatFred Biletnikoff. Behind the Tensi to Biletnikoff tandem, and a defense which had four shutouts, Florida State enjoyed its best record up until that time, going 9–1–1.[4] Their victories included a blowout win over #5 rankedUniversity of Kentucky and the Seminoles' first win ever against theUniversity of Florida.[3] Tensi capped the season with five touchdown passes and 303 yards in passing (and four interceptions) in Florida State's 36–19Gator Bowl victory over theUniversity of Oklahoma. He and Biletnikoff were named co-FSU players of the game.[1]
In 1981, Tensi was named to Florida State's athletic Hall of Fame.[5]
Tensi was drafted by the NFL'sBaltimore Colts and the AFL'sSan Diego Chargers.[6] Rather than go to the Colts—led then byJohnny Unitas—Tensi signed with the Chargers immediately after the Gator Bowl.[7] Seminoles coachBill Peterson learned his pro set offense from Chargers' coach Sid Gillman, and the Seminoles used some of the same terminology in their offense as the Chargers as well.[3] However, Tensi played little in San Diego, backing up quarterbackJohn Hadl.[8] Tensi did not throw a single pass in 1965, but threw fivetouchdownpasses against only one interception in limited duty in 1966,[9] including four touchdown passes in the second half to defeat theMiami Dolphins on October 2, 1966, in his first game in the AFL.[10][11]
TheDenver Broncos were in the market for a new quarterback for 1967. In 1966, they started four different quarterbacks and played a total of five. These five signal callers combined for a ratio of 12 touchdown passes to 30 interceptions, and finished last in theAmerican Football League in scoring. On August 15, 1967, shortly before the 1967 season, new coach and general managerLou Saban traded Denver's #1 draft picks in the 1968 and 1969 common AFL-NFL draft for Tensi.[12] These proved to be valuable picks for San Diego, becoming the #4 and #9 overall selections respectively.[13] Tensi started 12 of 14 games for the Broncos in 1967, who finished 3–11 and allowed the most points in the AFL. However, their offensive numbers were an improvement over 1966. According to former Broncos executive Jim Saccomano, Tensi's effectiveness and health in Denver was hamstrung by weak pass protection.[14] In 1968, Tensi's football career took a major hit as hiscollarbone was broken twice—first in a preseason game against theSan Francisco 49ers[15] and later in a regular season game.[12] Tensi's injuries helped open the door for rookieMarlin Briscoe to play quarterback for the Broncos and become the first African-American quarterback in modern American pro football history.[16] However, Tensi was back as the starting quarterback for1969 after Briscoe was traded to Buffalo.[12] He started every game, recorded 1,990 passing yards and 14 touchdowns,[17] but won only 4 of his 12 starts that year.[18] After theAFL–NFL merger,Pete Liske took over as the starting quarterback in1970, but it was Tensi who came off the bench in the season-opener to throw the Broncos' first touchdown pass in the NFL in a come-from-behind victory over the Bills.[19][20][21] Tensi's final game was against theOakland Raiders on November 15, 1970. After the season, Tensi recalled, "The injury affected my shoulder, and I just couldn't throw with strength anymore. I told Lou (Saban) to find someone else. I was retiring."[12]
Comments by football scouts on Tensi late in his career noted his excellent size (at 6'5", he was one of the tallest pro quarterbacks of his day) but gave him mixed reviews in other areas. One scout said, "Tensi has excellent size for a quarterback. He's tall enough to throw over defensive linemen from the pocket. He can set up shorter than most quarterbacks due to his height. He has a very strong arm and can throw long and he also has good accuracy on short routes. He can beat you with the bomb if his protection holds up, but he is not a good scrambler." Another scout said, "Tensi is just fair. He's a big tall guy who can throw the ball but he doesn't have the peripheral vision which allows you to look and pick things out. Other quarterbacks have better clarity of vision as far as seeing people in the secondary."[22]
After his playing career, Tensi remained in football as a coach for a few years. He served as a quarterbacks coach for theWichita State University Shockers for two seasons.[19][17] He then worked as receivers coach for the 1974Chicago Fire of theWorld Football League.[23]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Sacks | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | Y/G | Lng | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Sck | SckY | ||
| 1965 | SD | 1 | 0 | 0–0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966 | SD | 14 | 2 | 0–2–0 | 21 | 52 | 40.4 | 405 | 7.8 | 28.9 | 63 | 5 | 1 | 92.2 | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | -1 | 0 | 3 | 37 |
| 1967 | DEN | 14 | 12 | 3–9–0 | 131 | 325 | 40.3 | 1,915 | 5.9 | 136.8 | 76 | 16 | 17 | 54.8 | 24 | 4 | 0.2 | 13 | 0 | 39 | 350 |
| 1968 | DEN | 7 | 6 | 3–3–0 | 48 | 119 | 40.3 | 709 | 6.0 | 101.3 | 72 | 5 | 8 | 46.5 | 6 | 2 | 0.3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 42 |
| 1969 | DEN | 13 | 12 | 4–7–1 | 131 | 286 | 45.8 | 1,990 | 7.0 | 153.1 | 79 | 14 | 12 | 68.1 | 12 | 63 | 5.3 | 17 | 0 | 29 | 208 |
| 1970 | DEN | 7 | 2 | 0–2–0 | 38 | 80 | 47.5 | 539 | 6.7 | 77.0 | 42 | 3 | 8 | 42.7 | 4 | 14 | 3.5 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 35 |
| Career | 56 | 34 | 10–23–1 | 369 | 862 | 42.8 | 5,558 | 6.4 | 99.3 | 79 | 43 | 46 | 59.0 | 47 | 82 | 1.7 | 17 | 0 | 82 | 672 | |
Tensi was born on December 8, 1942, inCheviot, Ohio.[9] He married his college sweetheart Barbara Jean, whom he had met at freshman orientation at Florida State.[12] He later joined his father-in-law in the construction business in Miami and subsequently moved to a small town in North Carolina. He died inBoone, North Carolina, on March 15, 2024, at the age of 81.[19][17][20][24]
First Time: Oct. 2, 1966 – The expansion Dolphins led 10–6 at halftime in this game played in San Diego. Quarterback Steve Tensi came off the bench for the Chargers in the second half to replace starter John Hadl. He responded by firing four touchdown passes to lead San Diego to a convincing 44–10 victory.