Stephen Michael Tensi (born December 8, 1942) is a former 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 wi ...
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
in the
American Football League (AFL) and 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). He played for the
San Diego Chargers (1965–1966) and the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
(1967–1970).
College career
Tensi came to Florida State from
Elder High School
, motto_translation = Strive for the higher things
, streetaddress = 3900 Vincent Avenue
, region = Price Hill
, city = Cincinnati
, county =
, state ...
in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...
,
[Nolefan.org, "Florida State Football – 1964 Year In Review", http://nolefan.org/summary/f1964.html. Retrieved August 19, 2013.] where he had been his high school MVP and first-team All City and ''Cincinnati Post'' All-Metro. His biggest collegiate success came in 1964, his senior year at FSU. The Seminoles switched to a pro-set offense that year and had one of the highest scoring teams in college football, averaging nearly 24 points a game.
[Garnet and Great podcast, "Steve Tensi talks about Biletnikoff, beating the Gators for the first time, and the Noles breakout season of '64". March 14, 2007. http://classicnoles.typepad.com/garnetandgreat/2007/03/steve_tensi_tal.html Retrieved August 19, 2013.] Tensi threw for 1,683 yards and 14 TDs in FSU's 10 games, many of which were thrown to first-team All American and future
Oakland Raiders great
Fred Biletnikoff
Frederick S. Biletnikoff (born February 23, 1943) is a former American football player and coach. He was a wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons and ...
. Behind the Tensi to Biletnikoff tandem, and a defense which had four shutouts, Florida State enjoyed its best record up until that time, going 9–1–1. Their victories included a blowout win over #5 ranked
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...
and the Seminoles' first win ever against the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
.
Tensi capped the season with 5 touchdown passes and 303 yards in passing (and four interceptions) in Florida State's 36–19
Gator Bowl victory over the
University of Oklahoma
, mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State"
, type = Public research university
, established =
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.7billion (2021)
, pr ...
. He and Biletnikoff were named co-FSU players of the game.
In 1981, Tensi was named to Florida State's athletic Hall of Fame.
Professional career
Tensi was drafted by the NFL's
Baltimore Colts and the AFL's
San Diego Chargers. Rather than go to the Colts—led then by
Johnny Unitas—Tensi signed with the Chargers immediately after the Gator Bowl. Seminoles coach
Bill Peterson
William E. Peterson (May 15, 1920 – August 5, 1993) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. His career included head coaching stops at Florida State University, Rice University and with the Houston Oilers of ...
learned his pro set offense from Chargers' coach Sid Gillman, and the Seminoles used some of the same terminology in their offense as the Chargers as well.
However, Tensi played little in San Diego, backing up quarterback
John Hadl
John Willard Hadl (February 15, 1940 – November 30, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 16 years. He won an AFL championship with the San Diego Cha ...
. Tensi did not throw a single pass in 1965, but threw 5 touchdown passes against only one interception in limited duty in 1966. On October 2, 1966, Tensi became the first quarterback since
Fran Tarkenton
Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at ...
to throw 4 touchdown passes in his first career start.
The
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
were in the market for a new quarterback for 1967. In 1966, they started four different quarterbacks and played a total of five. These five signal callers combined for a ratio of 12 touchdown passes to 30 interceptions, and finished last in the
American Football League in scoring. On August 15, 1967, shortly before the 1967 season, new coach and general manager
Lou Saban
Louis Henry Saban (October 13, 1921 – March 29, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He played for Indiana University in college and as a professional for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference between 1946 a ...
traded Denver's #1 draft picks in the 1968 and 1969 common AFL-NFL draft for Tensi.
These proved to be valuable picks for San Diego, becoming the #4 and #9 overall selections respectively. Tensi started 12 of 14 games for the Broncos in 1967, who finished 3–11 and allowed the most points in the AFL. However, their offensive numbers were an improvement over 1966. According to former Broncos executive Jim Saccomano, Tensi's effectiveness and health in Denver was hamstrung by weak pass protection. In 1968, Tensi's football career took a major hit as his collarbone was broken twice—first in a preseason game against the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
and later in a regular season game. Tensi's injuries helped open the door for rookie
Marlin Briscoe to play quarterback for the Broncos and become the first African-American quarterback in modern American pro football history. However, Tensi was back as the starting quarterback for 1969 after Briscoe was traded to Buffalo.
But after winning only 4 of his 13 starts that year, Tensi was replaced as the starter by
Pete Liske
Peter Adrian Liske ( ; May 24, 1942 – February 12, 2022) was an American football quarterback, star quarterback with Calgary Stampeders in the late-60s and later a university athletics administrator.
High school and college football careers
Lis ...
partway through the 1970 season. His last game was against the
Oakland Raiders on November 15, 1970. After the season, Tensi recalled, "The injury affected my shoulder, and I just couldn't throw with strength anymore. I told Lou (Saban) to find someone else. I was retiring."
Comments by football scouts on Tensi late in his career noted his excellent size (at 6'5", he was one of the tallest pro quarterbacks of his day) but gave him mixed reviews in other areas. One scout said, "Tensi has excellent size for a quarterback. He's tall enough to throw over defensive linemen from the pocket. He can set up shorter than most quarterbacks due to his height. He has a very strong arm and can throw long and he also has good accuracy on short routes. He can beat you with the bomb if his protection holds up, but he is not a good scrambler." Another scout said, "Tensi is just fair. He's a big tall guy who can throw the ball but he doesn't have the peripheral vision which allows you to look and pick things out. Other quarterbacks have better clarity of vision as far as seeing people in the secondary."
Post-playing career
Tensi worked as receivers coach for the 1974
Chicago Fire of the
World Football League.
[World Football League website, "1974 WFL Team Pages: Chicago Fire". http://wfl.charlottehornetswfl.com/team_pages_1974/02.php . Retrieved October 19, 2013.] He later joined his father-in-law in the construction business in Miami and later moved to a small town in North Carolina. He is married to his college sweetheart Barbara Jean, who he met at freshman orientation at Florida State.
See also
*
List of American Football League players
The following is a list of men who played for the American Football League (AFL, 1960–1969).
Players
A
B
C
D
Elbert Dubenion
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
Z
Notes
Player notes
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tensi, Steve
1942 births
Living people
Players of American football from Cincinnati
American football quarterbacks
Elder High School alumni
Florida State Seminoles football players
San Diego Chargers players
Denver Broncos (AFL) players
Denver Broncos players
American Football League players