Joseph Michael Senser (born August 18, 1956) is an American former professional football player who was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

of the

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 ...

(NFL). A 6'4", 240 lbs. tight end from

West Chester University West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the Middle ...

, Senser was selected in the sixth round of the

1979 NFL Draft The 1979 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astori ...

by the

. He ranks third in Vikings history among tight ends for catches (165) and touchdowns (16), and earned a berth in the

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 thro ...

after the 1981 season. He played in all sixteen games in 1981, setting career highs in receptions (79), yards (1,004), yards per catch (12.7) and touchdowns (8) He was also a onetime leader in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

statistics for field goal percentage. A serious knee injury forced Senser to miss the entire 1983 NFL season, but he returned in 1984.

Biography

Senser is a 1974 graduate of the Milton Hershey School, a home for underprivileged children and the prime benefactor of

Milton Hershey Milton Snavely Hershey (September 13, 1857 – October 13, 1945) was an American chocolatier, businessman, and philanthropist. Trained in the confectionery business, Hershey pioneered the manufacture of caramel, using fresh milk. He launched t ...

's legacy. Senser was the

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main ( play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and ...

for the Minnesota Vikings Radio Network in 1993–94 and from 2001 to 2006. He was hired by WCCO Radio to be the color commentator for University of St. Thomas football (NCAA Division III) broadcasts beginning in 2011. Senser is part owner o
Joe Senser's Restaurant & Sports Theater
which has locations in Bloomington and Roseville, Minnesota. He is married with four daughters and one granddaughter. One of his daughters is singer Brittani Senser. On August 23, 2011, a Mercedes SUV registered to Senser was involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident near the

Augsburg University Augsburg University is a private university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was founded in 1869 as a Norwegian-American Lutheran seminary known as Augsburg Seminarium. Today, the u ...

campus in Minneapolis. On September 2, 2011, the Senser family's attorney released a statement that "the driver in this incident was Ms. Amy Senser", who is his wife. She was convicted of felony criminal vehicular homicide and sentenced to forty-one months in prison. In May 2016, the state attorney general asked the

Hershey Trust Company The Hershey Trust Company is an American corporation incorporated on April 28, 1905, by Milton S. Hershey, Harry Lebkicher and John E. Snyder. The company is a minority owner of The Hershey Company and sole private owner of Hershey Entertainment ...

to remove Senser and two other long-serving board members. The attorney general cited "apparent violations" by the firm of a previous agreement to reform. On November 26, 2016, WCCO television news reported that Senser was undergoing physical therapy for a stroke suffered earlier in the year.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Senser, Joe 1956 births Living people American men's basketball players American football tight ends Minnesota Vikings announcers Minnesota Vikings players National Conference Pro Bowl players National Football League announcers West Chester Golden Rams football players West Chester Golden Rams men's basketball players Basketball players from Philadelphia Players of American football from Philadelphia Milton Hershey School alumni