 Benirschke with the Chargers c. 1982 | |||||||||
| No. 6 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Kicker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | February 7, 1955 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 171 lb (78 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | La Jolla (San Diego, California) | ||||||||
| College: | UC Davis | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1977 / Round: 12 / Pick: 334 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||
Rolf Joachim Benirschke (born February 7, 1955) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the San Diego Chargers from 1977 until 1986. He is probably most known for missing a potential 27-yard game-winning field goal in overtime of the playoff game known as the "Epic in Miami” but then getting a second chance and connecting from 29 yards fourteen minutes into overtime to win the game on January 2, 1982.
Following his retirement from football Benirschke was hired by Merv Griffin to replace Pat Sajak as host of the daytime game show Wheel of Fortune in 1989 after seeing him on a talk show.