KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Before Jan Stenerud became one of football’s most accomplished kickers, he was a ski jumper from a small town in Norway.
“In my little hometown of 2,000 people, we had 20 ski jumps,” Stenerud said.
Stenerud grew up competing on the hills near his home.
“We had two hills around our house,” he said. “We’d put the light on and yell at my dad so he could watch my brother and I come by the kitchen window and jump.”
His skill on the slopes earned him recognition. In 1962, Stenerud recorded the second-longest jump at the Junior Nationals in Norway — a performance that caught the attention of Montana State University, which offered him a full ski jumping scholarship.
He excelled at Montana State as both a skier and ski jumper. Then, while running steps inside the football stadium for fun, he tried kicking a football.
“I lined up in the kickoff, and I topped the first one — I’d never kicked off a tee before — but the next one went from the 40-yard line, went through the goalposts and into the seats,” Stenerud said.
Stenerud continued to ski jump, but found immediate success on the football field as well. Against rival University of Montana, he kicked a 59-yard field goal — at the time, the longest in college or professional football history.
That kick convinced the Kansas City Chiefs to draft him, news he said he received by telegram.
“So, instead of going back to Norway, I chose Kansas City,” Stenerud said.
Stenerud went on to become a Pro Football Hall of Famer. But ski jumping, he said, still holds a place in his heart.
“I miss that, I really do,” Stenerud said. “I wake up sometimes at the top of the hill — my turn to go. I wake up. I don’t get to go. And I’m disappointed.”
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