Steve Myhra (April 2, 1934 – August 4, 1994) was a professional

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 who played as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

and

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

for six seasons for the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

Football career

After playing at the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...

, Myhra was drafted in the 12th round of the 1956 NFL Draft by the Colts as an offensive guard and linebacker. In 1957, Myhra became the Colts' placekicker, and was successful on 88% of his extra point attempts (14 of 16) and 4 of 6 on field goals. The next season, Myhra was only 4 for 10 on field goal attempts, which many have speculated may be why

Johnny Unitas John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 ...

and the Colts went for the touchdown in overtime of the championship game rather than line up for a game-winning field goal attempt. Myhra is known for kicking the game-tying field goal for the

with seven seconds to go in the fourth quarter of the 1958 NFL Championship Game. His field goal pushed the game into overtime, marking the first occasion in professional football history that any game had moved into an extra period. The game was eventually won by the Colts on a touchdown by

Alan Ameche Alan Ameche (; June 1, 1933 – August 8, 1988), nicknamed "The Iron Horse", or simply "The Horse", was an American football player who played six seasons with the Baltimore Colts in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...

, and has since become referred to as "

The Greatest Game Ever Played ''The Greatest Game Ever Played'' is a 2005 American biographical sports film based on the early life of amateur golf champion Francis Ouimet and his surprise winning of the 1913 U.S. Open. The film was directed by Bill Paxton, and was his last ...

". Myhra kicked for the Colts for three more seasons. He finished 180 for 189 on extra points, and 41 for 91 on field goal attempts.

Personal

Myhra died of a heart attack in 1994 at age 60.Steve Myhra, 60, Ex-Colt Kicker Who Had Key Role in '58 Title
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Myhra, Steve 1934 births 1994 deaths People from Wahpeton, North Dakota People from Richland County, North Dakota Players of American football from North Dakota American football offensive linemen American football placekickers North Dakota Fighting Hawks football players Baltimore Colts players