American Football
In 1971, Tom Landry, coach of the Dallas Cowboys, went to Europe looking for strong-legged soccer players. The first city he went to was Vienna, and the first player he tried was Fritsch. Though hardly speaking any English at all, Fritsch decided to take a chance. He accepted the offer, moved to the US and joined the National Football League team as a placekicker. In 1972, he won the Super Bowl with his team, and is next to Ray Wersching as the only other Austrian to do so. In 1976, he switched to the San Diego Chargers, and later he played for the Houston Oilers, the New Orleans Saints and the USFL's Houston Gamblers. In 1979, he was voted into the Pro Bowl.
He scored 758 points in 125 games during his 11-year NFL career, among those 317 for Dallas. While with the Houston Gamblers in the USFL, Fritsch converted 42 of 50 field goals in 1984 and 1985 and 126 of 131 PATS for a total of 252 points in two seasons. His NFL record of having kicked a field goal in 13 straight playoff games has been beaten by Adam Vinatieri on January 13, 2007.
Even though Fritsch worked for his former Austrian football (soccer) club Rapid Vienna for one year in 1992/1993, he remained a resident of Houston throughout the rest of his life.
Read more about this topic: Toni Fritsch
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