Larry Csonka
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2008-07-06T00:17:13Z
Rlendog
4057701
/* Miami and the Super Bowl years */ 1000 yeard duo
{{Infobox NFLretired
|image=
|caption=
|position=[[Running back]] / [[Fullback (American football)|Fullback]]
|number=39
|birthdate={{birth date and age|1946|12|25}}<BR>[[Stow, Ohio|Stow]], [[Ohio]]
|debutyear=1968
|finalyear=1979
|draftyear=1968
|draftround=1
|draftpick=8
|college=[[Syracuse University|Syracuse]]
|teams=<nowiki></nowiki><!--This forces MediaWiki to recognize the first bullet. Kind of a workaround to a bug.-->
* [[Miami Dolphins]] ([[1968 NFL season|1968]]–[[1974 NFL season|1974]])
* [[Memphis Southmen]] (1975)
* [[New York Giants]] ([[1976 NFL season|1976]]–[[1978 NFL season|1978]])
* Miami Dolphins ([[1979 NFL season|1979]])
|stat1label=Rushing Yards
|stat1value=8,081
|stat2label=Average
|stat2value=4.3
|stat3label=[[Touchdown]]s
|stat3value=64
|nfl=CSO415291
|highlights=<nowiki></nowiki><!--This forces MediaWiki to recognize the first bullet. Kind of a workaround to a bug.-->
* 5x [[Pro Bowl]] selection ([[1971 Pro Bowl|1970]], [[1972 Pro Bowl|1971]], [[1973 Pro Bowl|1972]], [[1974 Pro Bowl|1973]], [[1975 Pro Bowl|1974]])
* 2x [[Super Bowl]] champion ([[Super Bowl VII|VII]], [[Super Bowl VIII|VIII]])
* [[Super Bowl VIII]] MVP
* {{nowrap|1979 [[NFL Comeback Player of the Year]]}}
* [[Miami Dolphins#Retired Numbers|Miami Dolphins #39]] retired
|HOF=50
}}
'''Lawrence Richard Csonka''' (born [[December 25]], [[1946]]) is an [[US|American]] former collegiate and professional [[running back]] in [[American football]] who played in the late 1960s and 1970s.
One of six children, Csonka was born in [[Stow, Ohio|Stow]], [[Ohio]]. He was raised on a farm in a [[Hungary|Hungarian]] family in Stow, learning out of necessity to stoically endure injuries and pain. He weighed almost ten pounds at birth,<ref name=csonkawebsite>[http://www.larrycsonka.com Csonka's website] accessed on 10–22–07</ref> 150 pounds at the age of 12,<ref>Underwood, John, "The Blood and Thunder Boys," ''Sports Illustrated'', August 7, 1972</ref> 237 pounds at the age of 16.<ref name=csonkawebsite/> He began his football career at [[Stow-Munroe Falls High School]] as the starting tailback on the 1963 Stow Bulldogs squad that won the Metropolitan League of the Akron, Ohio, area championship under coach Dick Fortner. He played for Stow from 1960–1963.
Csonka became a running back by accident. Because of his size, he played defensive end on the varsity team as a sophomore. In the last game that year, he was sent in as a substitute on the kickoff return team. The ball just happened to go to him and he took off running with it. Wrote Csonka,
:I ran over two tacklers before I realized what I was doing. I didn't score or save the game, but I got a tremendous feeling carrying the ball. I was thrashing around, trying to run six ways at once. I loved it. I knew then that I wanted to run with the ball.<ref>Csonka, Larry, Jim Kiick, with Dave Anderson, ''Always on the Run'', p.101. Random House, 1973 ISBN 0-394-48589-0</ref>
Even so, the next year Csonka had a tough time before the start of the season convincing his teammates and coaches that he could play running back. They said he was too big and too slow. But he did well in the first game of the season, and from then on no one doubted him.
==College career==
Csonka was recruited by Clemson, Iowa, Vanderbilt, and [[Syracuse University|Syracuse]]. He chose Syracuse, where he played fullback from 1965–67 and was named an [[All-American]]. He broke many of the school's [[rush (football)|rushing]] records, including some previously held by [[Ernie Davis]], [[Jim Nance]], [[Floyd Little]], and [[Jim Brown]].
In his three seasons at Syracuse, Csonka rushed for a school record 2,934 yards, rushed for 100 yards in 14 different games, and averaged 4.9 yards per carry. From 1965 to 1967, he ranked 19th, 9th and 5th in the nation in rushing. He was the Most Valuable Player in the East–West Shrine Game, the Hula Bowl, and the College All-Star Game. In 1989, he was enshrined in the [[College Football Hall of Fame]].
==Pro career==
===Miami and the Super Bowl years===
Csonka was the #1 pick by the [[American Football League]]'s [[Miami Dolphins]] in the [[1968 AFL season|1968]] [[Common Draft]], the eighth player and first running back drafted in the first round. He signed a three-year contract for $20,000 the first year, $25,000 the second, $30,000 the third, plus a $34,000 bonus, including a car.<ref>''Always on the Run'', p.187</ref>
Csonka's pro career got off to a shaky start. In the fifth game of the 1968 season, versus Buffalo, he was knocked out and suffered a [[concussion]] when his head hit the ground during a tackle. He spent two days in the hospital. Three weeks later, versus San Diego, he suffered another concussion, plus a cracked eardrum and a broken nose.<ref>Hyde, Dave, ''Still Perfect! The Untold Story of the 1972 Miami Dolphins'', p90. Dolphins/Curtis Publishing, 2002 ISBN 0-9702677-1-1</ref> There was talk he might have to give up football. He missed three games in 1968 and three more in 1969. Writes his teammate [[Nick Buoniconti]],
:There was some question [after the 1969 season] whether Csonka would ever play fullback again—not just because of injuries but because he didn't play well...When Shula came in [in 1970] he literally had to teach Csonka how to run with the football. He used to run straight up and down and Shula impressed upon him that he had to lead with his forearm rather than his head. Shula and his backfield coach [[Carl Taseff]] basically reengineered Csonka to where he became the Hall of Fame player. Csonka emerged as the offensive leader of the Dolphins....<ref>Danny Peary, ed., ''Super Bowl: The Game of Their Lives'', pp.100–101. Macmillan, 1997 ISBN 0-02-860841-0</ref>
Over the next four seasons, Csonka never missed a game, and he led the Dolphins in rushing the next five seasons. Writes teammate [[Jim Langer]], "Csonka had the utmost respect of every player on the team, offense and defense."<ref>Peary, ''Super Bowl: The Game of Their Lives,'' p. 116</ref>
By the 1970s he was one of the most feared runners in professional football. Standing 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) and 235 lb (107 kg), he was one of the biggest running backs of his day and pounded through the middle of the field with relative ease, often dragging tacklers 5–10 yards. He was described as a bulldozer or battering ram. His running style reminded people of a legendary power runner from the 1930s, [[Bronko Nagurski]]. Said [[Minnesota Vikings]] linebacker [[Jeff Siemon]] after [[Super Bowl VIII]], "It's not the collision that gets you. It's what happens after you tackle him. His legs are just so strong he keeps moving. He carries you. He's a movable weight."<ref>Herskowitz, Mickey, "Purple People Eaten by Dolphins," ''The Super Bowl: Celebrating a Quarter-Century of America's Greatest Game''. Simon and Schuster, 1990 ISBN 0-671-72798-2</ref> He rarely fumbled the ball or dropped a pass. He was also an excellent blocker.
Stories abound about Csonka's toughness. He broke his nose about ten times playing football in high school, college, and the pros, causing it to be permanently deformed, and he would remain in the game with blood pouring out of it. He may be the only running back to receive a personal foul for unnecessary roughness while running the ball, when, in a game against the [[Buffalo Bills]] in 1970, he knocked out Safety John Pitts with a forearm shot that was more like a right cross.<ref>Hyde, ''Still Perfect!,'' pp.89–90.</ref> In a close game against the Minnesota Vikings in the perfect season of 1972, Csonka was hit in the back and nearly cut in two by linebacker [[Roy Winston]] in a tackle so grotesque it was shown on [[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson|''The Tonight Show'']]. Csonka thought his back was broken and he actually crawled off the field. Once on the sideline, he "walked it off" and in a few minutes was back in the game. His return to the game was crucial, as the winning touchdown pass to tight end [[Jim Mandich]] was set up by a fake to Csonka. He was named the 10th toughest football player of all time in the 1996 NFL Films production ''The NFL's 100 Toughest Players''. Dolphins' offensive line coach [[Monte Clark]] was asked about Csonka's bruising running style, and he responded, "When Csonka goes on safari, the lions roll up ''their'' windows."
The Dolphins had one of professional football's best rushing attacks in the early 1970s. The Dolphins led the NFL in rushing in 1971 and 1972, setting a new rushing record in 1972 at 2,960 yards. Csonka's 1,117 yards that season combined with [[Mercury Morris]] contributing exactly 1,000 yards made them the first 1,000 yard rushing duo in NFL history. That rushing attack led the Dolphins to [[Super Bowl]]s [[Super Bowl VI|VI]], [[Super Bowl VII|VII]], and [[Super Bowl VIII|VIII]], with victories in the last two. Csonka's powerful running style set the tone for the ball-control Dolphins. He chose to run through defenders instead of around them, leading to three straight 1,000-yard seasons (1971–1973) and two seasons (1971–1972) in which he averaged more than 5 yards per carry, amazing for a fullback. Teammate [[Bob Kuechenberg]] said that Csonka was the best back he ever saw for turning a 2-yard gain into a 5-yard gain. "The line got him the start, he got the finish and it added up to 4 or 5 yards every time," said Kuechenberg.<ref>Hyde, ''Still Perfect!,'' p.96.</ref>
During the 1972 season, the Dolphins became the only team since the [[AFL-NFL Merger]] to go undefeated, and Csonka was an instrumental part of the success, rushing for a career best 1,117 yards. Csonka led all rushers in Super Bowl VII with 112 yards on only 15 carries. Late in the third quarter, Csonka had a run that epitomized his style. After breaking several tackles near the line of scrimmage, he rumbled for 49 yards. Near the end of that run, [[Washington Redskins]] cornerback [[Pat Fischer]], who was known as a fearless and gritty tackler, came up to try to tackle Csonka. Instead of trying to avoid Fischer, Csonka actually turned toward him and threw a forearm at him, brushing the 175-pound Fischer aside.
In 1973, Csonka was voted Super Athlete of the Year by the [[Professional Football Writers Association]].<ref name=csonkawebsite/> That season, the Dolphins won a second straight title and "Zonk", as he was known, was the [[Super Bowl VIII]] MVP. Exploiting brilliant blocking by his offensive line, he rushed 33 times for two touchdowns and a then-record 145 yards.
[[Image:KiickCsonkaSI.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Famous cover photo by Walter Iooss, Jr., from [[August 7]], [[1972]] issue of ''Sports Illustrated'' showing Jim Kiick (standing) and Larry Csonka]]
Csonka and his friend, Dolphins [[running back]] [[Jim Kiick]], were known as [[Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid]]. The [[August 7]], [[1972]] issue of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' featured a profile of Csonka and Kiick. This issue has become a collector's item because of the cover photograph of Csonka and Kiick by famed ''Sports Illustrated'' photographer [[Walter Iooss]], with Csonka making [[The finger|an obscene gesture]] with the middle finger of his right hand. In 1973, Csonka and Kiick, in collaboration with sportswriter [[Dave Anderson]], wrote a book, ''Always on the Run''. (A second edition, with an additional chapter covering the 1973 season, Super Bowl VIII, and their signing with the [[World Football League]] was published in 1974.) Csonka and Kiick discuss their childhoods, their college football careers, their sometimes stormy relationship with Don Shula, their experiences as pro football players, and the sometimes outrageous behavior of their teammates. The book provides insight into the history of the Dolphins and the state of pro football in the late 1960s and early and mid-1970s.
===Move to WFL===
In March 1974, Csonka, Kiick and Dolphin wide receiver [[Paul Warfield]], announced they had signed contracts to play in the fledgling [[World Football League]] starting in 1975. Csonka signed a three-year guaranteed contract for a salary of $1.4 million. While their signings are credited with giving the WFL credibility, the league was plagued by financial problems right from the start. The three played for the [[Memphis Southmen]], but Csonka and the others had minimal success and the league folded midway through its second season.
===Giants and return to NFL===
A free agent again, he joined the [[New York Giants]] in 1976, along with Memphis coach [[John McVay]]. (The Giants' head coach at the time was [[Bill Arnsparger]], who had previously been the Dolphins' defensive coordinator.) While hopes among fans were high that he could reverse the team's fortunes, these did not bear out. He tore [[ligament]]s in his [[knee]], prematurely ending his first season there. He blamed the injury in part on [[Giants Stadium]]'s [[artificial turf]], and has been a vocal critic of the surface and its injury potential ever since (The Giants currently use a newer, more flexible Fieldturf). When the Giants started the season 0–7, Arnsparger was fired and replaced by McVay.
Two seasons later, he was on the field for [[The Miracle at the Meadowlands]], the play that for years epitomized Giants' fans exasperation with the franchise's long-term mediocrity. On [[November 19]], 1978, New York had apparently secured a 17–12 victory over the favored [[Philadelphia Eagles]]. However, with 31 seconds left to play and the Eagles out of [[Sport time-out|timeout]]s, [[offensive coordinator]] Bob Gibson overruled quarterback [[Joe Pisarcik]] and called for the ball to be handed off to Csonka for a run up the middle, as Gibson felt Pisarcik was risking too much injury falling on the ball in an era before the [[quarterback kneel]] to [[running out the clock|run out the clock]] was allowed. However, Pisarcik botched the handoff and Eagles [[cornerback]] [[Herman Edwards]] returned the fumbled ball 29 yards for the winning touchdown. The Giants went into a tailspin afterwards, and finished 6–10 after a hopeful start.
The Giants let McVay go after the season ended. Csonka's contract was up, too, and he returned to Miami the next year. He ran for over 800 yards, his best since their Super Bowl days, and scored 13 touchdowns. On that high note, and unable to come to terms with the Dolphins on a new contract, he retired after the year was over.
In his 11 NFL seasons, Csonka carried the ball 1,891 times for 8,081 yards and 64 touchdowns. He also caught 106 passes for 820 yards and four touchdowns. He was among the NFL's top 10 ranked players in rushing yards four times, in rushing touchdowns five times, total touchdowns three times and yards from the line of scrimmage once. He earned All-AFC honors four times and was named All-Pro in 1971, 1972, and 1973. He was also selected to play in 5 [[Pro Bowl]]s.
==After football==
Since his retirement, he has become a [[motivational speaker]] and has hosted several [[hunting]] and [[fishing]] shows for [[OLN]]. He worked for the [[United States Football League]] (USFL) [[Jacksonville Bulls]] in the mid-1980s, first as director of scouting and then as General Manager. Csonka was also an analyst on the syndicated show ''[[American Gladiators (1989 TV series)|American Gladiators]]'' from 1990–1993.
Csonka was inducted into the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]] in [[1987]] and his #39 was retired by the Miami Dolphins in [[2002]]. Csonka was named a member of the [[Super Bowl Dream Team]] in an [[NFL Films]] production.
Between 1985 and 1990 Csonka started spending time in [[Alaska]], eventually spending most of the year in [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]]. While observing the 1,161-mile (1,962-km) [[2005 Iditarod]] [[dogsled racing|dog sled race]] he said, "when I was playing and practicing in that heat in July and August in Miami with shoulder pads on, it just vaporized me".<ref>Wilstein, Steve. [http://web.archive.org/web/20050312151221/http://www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205~29579~2751903,00.html Csonka feels right at Nome at Iditarod], Associated Press, SVGTribune.com, 8 March 2005. (archived link)</ref>
In early September 2005, Csonka and five others were returning by boat to the village of Nikolski on Umnak Island in Alaska's Aleutian's after filming a reindeer hunt on the island for Csonka's TV show, ''North to Alaska''. The boat was caught in a severe storm and nearly capsized. They rode out the storm for 10 hours before a Coast Guard helicopter could reach them and rescue them one-by-one in a basket.<ref>[http://www.larrycsonka.com/RescueNews.htm Rescue profile on Csonka's website], accessed on 24 October 2006.</ref>
In [[2006]], Csonka pled guilty and paid a small fine for filming on [[National Forest]] land in Alaska and failing to obtain the required special use permit for production of his cable show.<ref>[http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2414238 Csonka fined $5K for filming without permit], Associated Press, ESPN.com, 19 April 2006.</ref>
Csonka currently resides in Anchorage. He also maintains a farm in [[Lisbon, Ohio]] and operates Goodrich Seafood House in [[Oak Hill, Florida]]. Csonka currently appears in television commercials for the Alaska Spine Institute, an Anchorage-based physical rehabilitation center.
==Media references and film appearances==
Csonka had a non-credited role as "Cmdr. Delaney" in the 1976 film [[Midway (film)|Midway]]. He also made periodic guest appearances on episodes of various TV series.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0190760/ Csonka's IMDB page]</ref>
Csonka is referenced frequently in Episode 910 ("The Final Sacrifice") of the [[cult following|cult]] TV show ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' (since a character resembles him).
Csonka is also mentioned in [[MC Ren]]'s "Same Ol'..." track.
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==See also==
*[[List of American Football League players|Other American Football League players]]
==External links==
*[http://www.larrycsonka.com/ Official website]
*[http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=50 Pro Football Hall of Fame biography]
*[http://pro-football-reference.com/players/CsonLa00.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com stats]
*[http://collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=60028 College Football Hall of Fame biography]
*[http://www.mst3kinfo.com/aceg/9/910/ep910.html MST3k Episode Guide: The Final Sacrifice]
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{{succession box | title=[[National Football League|NFL]] [[Super Bowl MVP]]s | before=[[Jake Scott (defensive back)|Jake Scott]] | years=[[Super Bowl VIII]], 1974 | after=[[Franco Harris]]}}
{{succession box | title=[[NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award]]| before=[[John Riggins]]| years=1979| after=[[Jim Plunkett]]}}
{{succession box | title=''[[American Gladiators (1989 TV series)|American Gladiators]]'' co-host with [[Mike Adamle]]| before=[[Todd Christensen]]| years=1990-1993| after=[[Lisa Malosky]]}}
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{{Miami Dolphins First Round Picks}}
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{{Super Bowl VIII}}
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{{NFL Comeback Players of the Year}}
{{Super Bowl MVPs}}
{{1987 Football HOF}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Csonka, Larry}}
[[Category:Pro Football Hall of Fame]]
[[Category:American football running backs]]
[[Category:Syracuse Orange football players]]
[[Category:Miami Dolphins (AFL) players]]
[[Category:Miami Dolphins players]]
[[Category:New York Giants players]]
[[Category:American Conference Pro Bowl players]]
[[Category:World Football League players]]
[[Category:Hungarian-Americans]]
[[Category:American motivational speakers]]
[[Category:People from Akron, Ohio]]
[[Category:People from Alaska]]
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Super Bowl MVPs]]
[[de:Larry Csonka]]