Toni Linhart

Anton Hans Jörg "Toni" Linhart (24 July 1942 – 12 May 2013) was an Austrian football player. He played professional association football for 12 seasons in Europe and appeared 6 times for Austria before launching a successful second career as an American football placekicker in the United States, where in 1976 he led the National Football League (NFL) in scoring and was selected as a participant in the Pro Bowl for that season.

Early life and education Linhart was born in Donawitz, now part of Leoben, in Styria, and grew up Trofaiach. His father served in the German army during World War II and in June 1944 was stationed in France, where he was taken a Prisoner of War on the third day of the D-Day invasion. He was shipped to the United States, where he worked on a farm until repatriation. Linhart was a cousin of Peter Persidis, who was later a teammate at First Vienna FC.

Linhart was educated as an architectural engineer.

An accomplished skier, Linhart tried out for — and nearly made — Austria's 1960 Olympic downhill skiing team.

Career Association football Linhart began his professional career in June 1962 with Wiener Sportclub in the Austrian Bundesliga; he appeared in 195 matches, primarily as a defender, and scored 7 goals. In 1970 he was transferred to First Vienna, where he played for two seasons,

Internationally, Linhart made 6 appearances for Austria between 1963 and 1969. He scored his only international goal in a friendly against Scotland in Glasgow on 8 May 1963 that was abandoned for rough play after a confrontation with Denis Law left Linhart injured. His goal was the only one by Austria before the match was suspended with a score of 4–1.

American football After former Cornell kicker Pete Gogolak won a spot on the roster of the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League in 1964 as a specialist placekicker and demonstrated that kicking the ball "soccer-style", using the instep rather than the toe, improved accuracy and distance, an increasing number of teams added "soccer-style" specialist kickers. The first Austrian hired by an American football team was Toni Fritsch, who joined the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL in 1971. Linhart was scouted by J. D. Roberts, head coach of the New Orleans Saints of the NFL, and at a tryout three times in a row kicked the ball right into Roberts' hands, like a pass. He found it difficult to adjust to playing on Astroturf instead of grass, saying later, "In practice my left foot was always hurting from the sudden stopping when I landed on the hard surface. I preferred a softer field. The muddier it was, the better I liked it." Later in 1972 Linhart was activated for two games, during which he went 2-for-5 kicking field goals, hitting all 5 of his extra point tries.

In 1973, the Saints fired Roberts and Linhart was immediately cut, since the new head coach "didn't believe in a soccer-style kicker". Linhart returned to Austria, where he played for of Baden bei Wien. and this time following training camp made the roster as the Colts' regular kicker. He finished the 1974 season a perfect 22-for-22 kicking extra points, while going 12-for-20 on field goals, with a season (and career) long of 45 yards. He led the team with 58 points scored for the year. After the game, Linhart told a reporter in a "soft, almost high-pitched voice that sounds British" that the kick was merely a matter of execution. "You had better keep yourself calm ... There is no room for an emotional kicker in this game." In the locker room after the game, Colts owner Bob Irsay mockingly awarded him a $10,000 bonus, instantly, in the words of Baltimore Sun columnist Bill Tanton, "electrifying the room". Two days later, Linhart was waived and replaced by Steve Mike-Mayer.

Linhart found another opportunity with the New York Jets, who signed him before Week 8 to fill in for the injured Pat Leahy. In a November game against the Buffalo Bills, Linhart missed two extra points — the margin of defeat in a 14–12 loss for the Jets. The following week, Linhart missed an extra point and a field goal in a 23-13 Jets loss to the Chicago Bears. This would prove to be his final appearance in an NFL uniform; the Jets replaced him with Dave Jacobs.

Linhart played in a total of 82 games in the NFL, going 75-for-127 (59.1%) on field goals and scoring a total of 425 points.

Death and legacy On 12 May 2013, Toni Linhart died of cancer in Timonium, Maryland, at the age of 70.

Former Colts teammate Bruce Laird recalls Linhart as having been "the first kicker I ever knew who was an athlete first". Marty Domres, holder for Linhart on placekicks, said that Linhart was "way ahead of his time in seeing his craft as a professional." Domres recalled that Linhart developed his own specialized exercise regimen making use of medicine balls and rubber resistance bands, and former teammates remembered the demanding obstacle course he created in training camp, which they were also obliged to run.

At the time of his death, six Austrian-born players had made appearances in the NFL.