Todd Christensen

Todd Jay Christensen (August 3, 1956 – November 13, 2013) was an American professional football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1978 until 1988, primarily with the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders. He played college football for the BYU Cougars and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round (56th overall) of the 1978 NFL draft. Following his retirement Christensen became a commentator for both professional and collegiate games, working for NBC Sports, ESPN, and CBS Sports Network among others.

Early life Christensen was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. His parents were Ned Jay and June Christensen. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His father was working on a doctoral degree at Pennsylvania State University when Todd was born. When he was five years old, Todd's father was offered a professorship in Eugene, Oregon and the family relocated.

He graduated from Sheldon High School in Eugene in 1974. He was selected in the 1974 Major League Baseball draft, but he elected to play football at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah.

Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders After being unclaimed, he was signed by the Oakland Raiders in 1979 and became a key player on special teams, which included the role of long snapper. Being the son of a college professor, he was scholarly and enjoyed the mastery of words, he also quoted famous authors and volunteered on different occasions poems, some of which were written by him. His eccentricities helped him fit in with the Raiders, even if he wasn't tailored to the renegade mold.

He finally agreed to play the tight end position and after three seasons of unspectacular statistics (including the Raiders' Super Bowl winning campaign in 1980, in which his only reception of the entire year was a 1-yard touchdown catch in the opening round of the playoffs), Christensen broke out in 1982, catching 42 passes for 510 yards and four touchdowns during the strike-shortened season, helping the Raiders tie the Washington Redskins for the best record in the NFL. The next year, Christensen caught 92 passes for a career-high 1,247 yards and 12 touchdowns and earned the first of his five trips to the Pro Bowl for his efforts.

NFL career statistics Legend Won the Super Bowl Led the league Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Receiving GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1979 NYG 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 OAK 12 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1980 OAK 16 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1981 OAK 16 0 8 115 14.4 30 2 1982 RAI 9 9 42 510 12.1 50 4 1983 RAI 16 16 92 1,247 13.6 45 12 1984 RAI 16 16 80 1,007 12.6 38 7 1985 RAI 16 16 82 987 12.0 48 6 1986 RAI 16 16 95 1,153 12.1 35 8 1987 RAI 12 12 47 663 14.1 33 2 1988 RAI 7 5 15 190 12.7 22 0 137 90 461 5,872 12.7 50 41

Playoffs Year Team Games Receiving GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1980 OAK 4 0 1 1 1.0 1 1 1982 RAI 2 2 11 124 11.3 31 0 1983 RAI 3 3 14 134 9.6 21 0 1984 RAI 1 1 1 21 21.0 21 0 1985 RAI 1 1 4 78 19.5 31 0 11 7 31 358 11.5 31 1

After the NFL Following his football career Christensen participated in Masters Track and Field, where he set an age-group world record in the Heptathlon and was the top decathlete in the world for ages 45-and-over. In 1990, during the Major League Baseball lockout, he tried out for the Oakland Athletics.

Christensen did color commentary for ESPN's college football coverage before moving to MountainWest Sports Network. Christensen would remain with "the mtn." until the network shut down on May 31, 2012. Christensen was announced as the new analyst for CBS Sports Network Navy games in August 2012. In 2000, he was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame.

Death Christensen died at age 57 on November 13, 2013, from complications during liver transplant surgery at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, near his home in Alpine. He had battled liver disease and related illnesses for about two years, though his son, Toby, said his liver issues began with a "botched" gallbladder surgery 25 years earlier.