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Toni Linhart
Anton Hans Jörg Linhart (24 July 1942 – 12 May 2013) was an Austrian football player who later started a successful career in American football in the U.S. Career Linhart was born in Donawitz, now part of Leoben, Austria. He played association football for Wiener Sportclub in the Austrian Bundesliga and also for the Austria national football team. In 1972 he moved to the US and joined the New Orleans Saints in the National Football League as a placekicker. He spent most of his NFL career with the Baltimore Colts. Linhart was voted into the Pro Bowl twice, and was the NFL's leading scorer in 1976. Toni Linhart is one of only three Austrians who have played in the NFL, the other two being Ray Wersching and Toni Fritsch, also placekickers in the 1970s. Linhart started the 1979 season with the Baltimore Colts, but was cut after playing 3 games. The New York Jets signed him before week 8 to fill in for the injured Pat Leahy. On 11 November 1979, the Jets lost to the Buffalo B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with possession of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with the ball or passing it, while the defense, the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over the football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue the drive. Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins. American football evolved in the United States, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NFL Championships, including one Super Bowl, and hold the NFL record for the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the most retired jersey numbers. The Bears have also recorded the second-most victories of any NFL franchise, only behind the Green Bay Packers. The franchise was founded in Decatur, Illinois, on September 20, 1919 and became professional on September 17, 1920, and moved to Chicago in 1921. It is one of only two remaining franchises from the NFL's founding in 1920, along with the Arizona Cardinals, which was originally also in Chicago. The team played home games at Wrigley Field on Chicago's North Side through the 1970 season; they now play at Soldier Field on the Near South Side, adjacent to Lake Michigan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. Founded in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL), they joined the NFL in 1970 following the AFL–NFL merger. The Bills' name is derived from an All-America Football Conference (AAFC) franchise from Buffalo that was in turn named after western frontiersman Buffalo Bill. Drawing much of its fanbase from Western New York, the Bills are the only NFL team that plays home games in that state. The franchise is owned by Terry and Kim Pegula, who purchased the Bills after the death of original owner Ralph Wilson in 2014. The Bills won consecutive AFL Championships in 1964 and 1965, the only major professional sports championships from a t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pat Leahy (American Football)
Patrick Joseph Leahy (born March 19, 1951) is a former placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets. He played college soccer at Saint Louis University. Early years Leahy attended Augustinian Academy. He accepted a soccer scholarship from Saint Louis University. As a starting midfielder, he helped lead the school to 4 soccer NCAA finals, winning 3 national championships, while also receiving All-American honors. In 1994, he was inducted into the Billiken Hall of Fame. In 2007, he was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Inductee. Professional career St. Louis Cardinals Leahy was signed as an undrafted free agent by the St. Louis Cardinals after the 1973 NFL Draft, having participated in an open try-out, even though he didn't play football in college. In 1974, he was re-signed to be a part of training camp. Even though the Cardinals made the unusual move of keeping 2 kickers on the final roster, they chose to keep Jim Bakken and fellow rooki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toni Fritsch
Anton K. "Toni" Fritsch (10 July 1945 – 14 September 2005) was an Austrian footballer who later started a successful career in American football in the United States. He is distinguished as being the first Austrian to play in the National Football League. 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. Association football career Fritsch started to play association football at an early age and joined the Austrian record titleholder Rapid 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 the Austrian Championship three times (1964, 1967, 1968) and the Austrian Cup twice (1968, 1969). He was described as a small, but extremely fast striker. He played for the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Wersching
Raimund "Ray" Wersching (born August 21, 1950) is an Austrian former placekicker in the NFL. He played in the NFL for a span of 15 years, from 1973 through 1987. Early career He attended Warren High School in Downey, California. NFL career Undrafted after his career at Cerritos College and the University of California, Berkeley, Wersching was signed by the San Diego Chargers, where he played for four years. In 1977, Wersching joined the San Francisco 49ers. In Super Bowl XVI, Wersching tied a Super Bowl record by kicking four field goals, and his field position kick-offs also helped his team win, 26–21. He won another Super Bowl ring with the 49ers in Super Bowl XIX, defeating the Miami Dolphins 38–16. When he retired, Wersching held 49ers records for points, field goals and extra points. He was the 12th player in NFL history to score 1,000 points in a career, and is the most recent player to have scored from a fair catch kick. Wersching had a unique kicking style. U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1976 NFL Season
The 1976 NFL season was the 57th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 28 teams with the addition of Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This fulfilled one of the conditions agreed to in 1966 for the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, which called for the league to expand to 28 teams by 1970 or soon thereafter. For this season only, the Seahawks played in the NFC West while the Buccaneers played in the AFC West. The Seahawks would return to the NFC West with the realignment prior to the 2002 season. The Buccaneers became the first NFL team to finish a season 0–14. The Buccaneers lost their first 26 games as they also lost their first 12 games in 1977. The season ended with Super Bowl XI when the Oakland Raiders defeated the Minnesota Vikings 32–14 at the Rose Bowl. The Raiders were the first original AFL team to appear and win a Super Bowl in the post-merger era. Player movement Draft The 1976 NFL Draft was held from April 8 to 9, 1976 a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed throughout the years. Between 1939 and 1942, the NFL experimented with all-star games pitting the league's champion against a team of all-stars. The first official Pro Bowl was played in January 1951, matching the top players in the American/Eastern Conference against those in the National/Western Conference. From the merger with the rival American Football League (AFL) in 1970 up through 2013 and also in 2017, it was officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference (AFC) against those in the National Football Conference (NFC). From 2014 through 2016, the NFL experimented with an unconferenced format, where the teams were selected by two honorary team captains (who are each in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Specialized role The kicker initially was not a specialized role. Prior to the 1934 standardization of the prolate spheroid shape of the ball, drop kicking was the prevalent method of kicking field goals and conversions, but even after its replacement by place kicking, until the 1960s the kicker almost always doubled at another position on the roster. George Blanda, Lou Groza, Frank Gifford and Paul Hornung are prominent examples of players who were stars at other positions as well as being known for their kicking abilities. When the one-platoon system was abolished in the 1940s, the era of "two-way" players gave way to increased specialization, teams would employ a specialist at the punter or kicker position. Ben Agajanian, who started his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and the highest professional level of American football in the world. Each NFL season begins with a three-week preseason in August, followed by the 18-week regular season which runs from early September to early January, with each team playing 17 games and having one bye week In sport, a bye is the preferential status of a player or team that is automatically advanced to the next round of a tournament, without having to play an opponent in an early round. In knockout (elimination) tournaments they can be granted eit .... Following the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams from each conference (four division winners and three wild card teams) advance to the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1972 NFL Season
The 1972 NFL season was the 53rd regular season of the National Football League. The Miami Dolphins became the first (and to date the only) NFL team to finish a championship season undefeated and untied when they beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII. The Dolphins not only led the NFL in points scored, while their defense led the league in fewest points allowed, the roster also featured two running backs who gained 1,000 rushing yards in the same season. Colts and Rams exchange owners On July 13, Robert Irsay and Willard Keland bought the Los Angeles Rams from the estate of Dan Reeves and transferred ownership to Carroll Rosenbloom, in exchange for ownership of the Baltimore Colts. Draft The 1972 NFL Draft was held from February 1 to 2, 1972 at New York City’s Essex House. With the first pick, the Buffalo Bills selected defensive end Walt Patulski from the University of Notre Dame. New officials Referee Jack Vest, the referee for Super Bowl II, the 1969 AFL ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
