Samuel Kenneth Gruneisen (January 16, 1941 – September 28, 2012) was an

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 ...

player and coach. He played professionally as a center in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL) for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

and in 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) for the Chargers and

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

. Gruneisen played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

. He kicked two point after touchdowns and a 26-yard

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

in Villanova's 17–9 victory over

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

in the

1961 Sun Bowl The 1961 Sun Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the Villanova Wildcats and the Wichita Shockers (now known as Wichita State). Background Wichita was the champion of the Missouri Valley Conference for the fourth time in seven ...

. After his playing career, Gruneisen coached at several levels of the sport.

References

1941 births 2012 deaths American football centers California Golden Bears football coaches Eastern Michigan Eagles football coaches Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football coaches Houston Oilers players Los Angeles Raiders coaches San Diego Chargers players San Jose State Spartans football coaches Villanova Wildcats football players United States Football League coaches Sportspeople from Louisville, Kentucky Players of American football from Louisville, Kentucky American Football League players {{Louisville-stub

See also

References