Christopher Kurt Bahr (born February 3, 1953) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player. He was a

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) and played

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

(NASL).

Early life and college

Bahr attended

Neshaminy High School Neshaminy High School is a public high school in Middletown Township ( Langhorne post office address) in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the only high school in the Neshaminy School District, serving students in Middletown Tow ...

Langhorne, Pennsylvania Langhorne Borough, formerly known as Attleboro, is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,643 at the time of the 2020 census. The mailing address "Langhorne" is used for Langhorne Borough but also broadly ...

. He attended

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

, where he was named an All-American three times for soccer and once for football. He led the Nittany Lions in scoring in 1975, including four field goals over 50 yards. He averaged 39 yards in punts. Bahr graduated in 1975 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

and later earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

Southwestern University School of Law Southwestern Law School is a private law school in Los Angeles, California. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and enrolls nearly 1,000 students. Its campus includes the Bullocks Wilshire building, an Art Deco National Register o ...

, attending school part-time while still playing with the Raiders.

Soccer

Bahr was the first round draft pick of the

Philadelphia Atoms The Philadelphia Atoms were an American soccer team based out of Philadelphia that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1973 to 1976, at Veterans Stadium (1973–75) and Franklin Field (1976). The club's colors ...

in the 1975

draft. As a rookie midfielder, he made an immediate impression, tying an NASL scoring record for goals by a locally-born American by netting 11, including two 2-goal games and four game winners. Bahr also netted the first sudden death goal in Atoms history against the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

in front of 20,124 at

Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street (Philadelphia), Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating ca ...

. He was named the 1975 NASL Rookie of the Year. Bahr played 22 games for the Atoms, scoring 11 goals before departing for the NFL. Bahr also joined his Atoms coach, Al Miller, on the 1976 U.S. National Team. He scored both goals for the United States in their 2–0 shutout of

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

in the qualifying rounds for the XXI Olympic Games in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada.

NFL

Bahr switched football codes in 1976, and was drafted by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

, becoming their placekicker. He played four seasons for the Bengals before being acquired by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

in 1980; he played for them for most of the 1980s, following them to Los Angeles in 1982, becoming a stalwart placekicker with them that saw him win two Super Bowl championships. He is the Raiders' second all-time leader in scoring (817 points), and his 162 career field goals was a Raiders record until 2007 when it was surpassed by

Sebastian Janikowski Sebastian Paweł Janikowski (; born March 2, 1978) is a Polish former professional player of American football who was a placekicker for 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Oakland Raiders. He played college fo ...

. Bahr kicked in two Raiders

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

victories, (1981 and 1984). Perhaps his best year as a pro came in 1983 when he compiled a 78% field goal percentage. He finished his career with a strong season, kicking 17 field goals and 29 PATs for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

in 1989. He was named to the All-Rookie team in 1976 and a ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' All-AFC in 1977.

Career regular season statistics

''Career high/best bolded''

Personal life

Bahr is the son of

Walter Bahr Walter Alfred Bahr (April 1, 1927 – June 18, 2018) was an American professional soccer player, considered one of the greatest ever in the United States. He was the long-time captain of the United States men's national soccer team, U.S. men's ...

, a member of the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a public-private partnership among FC Dallas, the City of Frisco, Frisco Independent School District, and the U.S. Soccer Federation, and currently located in Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, T ...

. His mother, Davies Ann, was a champion swimmer at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

and a physical education teacher at

. His brother Casey Bahr was an All American soccer player at

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, played professionally and was a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic soccer team. His younger brother,

Matt Bahr Matthew David Bahr (born July 6, 1956) is an American former professional American football, football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL), and professional soccer player in the North American Soccer League (1968–84), North Americ ...

played professional soccer and was also a standout placekicker in the NFL; he and Matt are two of six players to have played in both pro soccer and the NFL. Sister Davies Ann Bahr was an All-American gymnast at

Bahr holds an annual Chris Bahr Kicking Camp, a 3-day clinic for student in grades 7–12 at

Franklin & Marshall College Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1787 as Franklin College and later merged with Marshall College in 1853, it is one of the oldest colleges in the United St ...

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

. After his NFL career, Bahr graduated from

Southwestern Law School Southwestern Law School is a Private university, private Law school in the United States, law school in Los Angeles, California. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and enrolls nearly 1,000 students. Its campus includes the Bullocks ...

and practiced law in California and Pennsylvania until 1999 when his license was suspended for failing to pay bar fees. He is currently a financial consultant, managing assets for professional athletes fo
ProVest Management Group
in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

. He lives in

Boalsburg, Pennsylvania Boalsburg is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Harris Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,722 at ...

with his wife Eve, a corporate attorney, and their two children. Bahr's son, C.J., is the placekicker for

Slippery Rock University Slippery Rock University, formally Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (The Rock or SRU), is a public university in the Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania area of the United States. SRU is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Edu ...

References

External links

NASL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bahr, Chris 1953 births Living people American football placekickers American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Cincinnati Bengals players Los Angeles Raiders players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Oakland Raiders players Penn State Nittany Lions football players Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer players Philadelphia Atoms players San Diego Chargers players Southwestern Law School alumni Footballers who switched code People from State College, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Centre County, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania Soccer players from Pennsylvania All-American college men's soccer players Men's association football players that played in the NFL