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Jack Leroy Christiansen (December 20, 1928 – June 29, 1986) was an American football player and coach and is perhaps most recognized for his eight-year Hall of Fame playing career with the Detroit Lions in the National Football League (NFL). Following his retirement in Detroit, he also served as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers for nearly five seasons, then later served in the same capacity at Stanford University. ==Playing career== Born in Sublette, Kansas, Christiansen's humble beginnings included being raised in an orphanage in Cañon City, Colorado. He played three seasons of college football at Colorado State University, and was a sixth round selection of the Lions in the 1951 NFL Draft. In his first year with the team, he became an integral part of the defensive backfield, a unit that would become known as "Chris's Crew", in tribute to his leadership. As strong as his defense was, Christiansen also developed a well-deserved reputation as the most dangerous return man in the game, returning eight punts for touchdowns during his career. In both situations, opponents changed their strategy to avoid either throwing near or kicking toward him. In both 1952 and 1953, Christiansen helped the Lions to an NFL championship, leading the league in interceptions with 12 during the latter season. He continued this high standard of play, tying for the interception lead with 10 pickoffs in 1957 to help the Lions win their third title in six years, then retired after the conclusion of the 1958 NFL season. His 46 career interceptions ranks fourth on the Lions' all-time list. As a punt returner, he had 85 returns for 1,084 yards, and his 12.8 average still stands as a Detroit record and is third all-time in NFL history. His 21.5 average for the 1952 season (15 for 322) is second all-time to Herb Rich's 1950 mark of 23.0 yards for the Baltimore Colts. He is tied with Lem Barney at 11 for the most return touchdowns in Detroit history. Christiansen still has the team record with eight punt return touchdowns. He was the first player in NFL history to record two punt return touchdowns in the same game. In fact, he returned two punts for touchdowns in the same game twice in his career (vs. Los Angeles October 14, 1951 and vs. Green Bay November 22, 1951), and is still just one of three players in league history to accomplish this feat. After winning All-Pro six consecutive years from (1952–1957) and playing in five consecutive Pro Bowls beginning in 1954, Christiansen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970. He was recognized in the 1972 ''Football Digest'' as one of the top 25 players ever to play in the NFL. He was an All-NFL defensive back for six-straight years, played in five Pro Bowls (opening the 1956 game with a 103-yard kickoff return) and led the league in interceptions twice. He was a member of the All-Decade Team of the 1950s. In 1999, he was ranked number 86 on ''The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jack Christiansen」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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