Toni Fritsch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Toni Fritsch (left) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1945-07-10)10 July 1945 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 13 September 2005(2005-09-13) (aged 60) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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American football player American football career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Kicker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Weight: | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Undrafted: | 1971 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Anton K. "Toni" Fritsch (10 July 1945 – 14 September 2005) was anAustrianfootballer who later started a successful career inAmerican football in theUnited States. He is distinguished as being the firstAustrian to play in theNational Football League (NFL). He is the only player in history to win professional titles in both association football and American football: he won the Austrian League in 1964, 1967 and 1968, and the Super Bowl in 1972.
Fritsch started to play association football at an early age and joined the Austrian record titleholderRapid Vienna at the age of 13. After six seasons, he was admitted to the club's first league team and played his first professional game in fall 1964. During his time there, he played 123 games for Rapid, scoring 15 goals. The team won theAustrian Championship three times (1964, 1967, 1968) and theAustrian Cup twice (1968, 1969). He was described as a small, but extremely fast striker.
He played for theAustria national football team nine times. He scored two goals when Austria defeatedEngland 3–2 inLondon'sWembley Stadium on 20 October 1965, from which his nickname "Wembley-Toni" is derived. This was only the third time for a continental team to beat England at home (followingHungaryin 1953 andSweden in 1959).
Fritsch was anassociation football (soccer) player who had never played a down ofAmerican football that theDallas Cowboys converted into aplace kicker. He was discovered by the team's scouts during a 1971 European tour in which they were looking for soccer-style kickers, which at the time was becoming popular in theNational Football League. The first city they went to wasVienna and the first player they tried was Fritsch. Though hardly speaking any English at all, he decided to sign a contract as anundrafted free agent, move to the United States and join the team's training camp.
He was activated on 1 November after starting the season on thetaxi squad,[1] making his NFL debut against theSt. Louis Cardinals, where he kicked a game-winning field goal in a 16–13 victory.[2] That year, he suffered from a pulled hamstring muscle, the majority of the kicking duties went toMike Clark.[3] Fritsch did get a Super Bowl ring that season though, as he was on the roster of theSuper Bowl VI-winning team.
In1972 he made a club record 21 field goals, the first Austrian to do so.[4] He also was the first knownAmerican football player to use a football style crossed-kick (now known as arabona) late in the fourth quarter of the 1972 NFC Divisional playoffs, during anonside kick that contributed to a historic come from behind 30–28 victory against theSan Francisco 49ers.[5]
In1974, he was lost for the season after injuring his knee and was replaced withEfren Herrera.[6] The next year Herrera was placed on theinjured reserve list and Fritsch came back to lead theNFL in points (104) and field goals (22, tied withJan Stenerud). On 6 September,1976, because of inconsistencies,[7] he was traded to theSan Diego Chargers in exchange for an eighth round draft choice (#208-Al Cleveland).
With theSan Diego Chargers he played in 5 games before being waived because he was inconsistent.[8]
On 18 September1977, he was signed as afree agent by theHouston Oilers and led theAmerican Football Conference with a 75% field goal average.[9] He was a part of the franchise's "Luv Ya Blue" period. In1979, he receivedAll-Pro andPro Bowl honours. The next year, he led the league with a 79.2% field goal average. He was cut on 3 September1982, after being beaten byFlorian Kempf.[10]
Fritsch was signed as afree agent by theNew Orleans Saints in1982, to replace an injured rookieMorten Andersen and reuniting with his former head coachBum Phillips.[11] On 21 December,1982, he announced his retirement.[12] He finished with 758 points in 125 games during his 11-year NFL career, among those 317 for Dallas. He led the NFL in field goal percentage three times (1977, 1979, 1980). His NFL record of having kicked a field goal in 13 straight playoff games was tied byAdam Vinatieri on 13 January,2007.
In1984, he came out of retirement to sign with theHouston Gamblers of theUnited States Football League and at the end of the season received All-League honours.[13] He converted 42 of 50 field goals and 126 of 131 extra points for a total of 252 points in two seasons.
After his retirement he worked in Europe as a sports commentator and in the world of finance, providing support to Austrian businessmen who wanted to settle in the United States. Even though Fritsch worked for his former Austrian football (soccer) clubRapid Vienna for one year in 1992–1993, he remained a resident ofHouston throughout the rest of his life.
On 13 September 2005, Fritsch suddenly collapsed on a Vienna street after a meal at a restaurant. He died ofheart failure at the age of 60.[14]
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