Donald Bitterlich (born January 5, 1954) 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 ...

player who 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 ...

for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

of 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). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Temple Owls The Temple Owls are the college athletics, athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson (athletic director), Arthur Johnson. The owl has been the symbol and masco ...

. Bitterlich kicked the first

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

in the expansion Seahawks history, also the first points ever scored by a Seahawks player.

College career

A graduate of William Tennent High School, Bitterlich was scouted by

Temple Owls football The Temple Owls football team represents Temple University in the sport of college football. The Temple Owls compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the American Athletic Conference (The American). They play thei ...

head coach Wayne Hardin during his junior year. During his first tryout with the team, Bitterlich left early as he was scheduled to play accordion in a musical performance at Vitale's Restaurant in Bustleton, Philadelphia. He attended the school with a soccer scholarship, and wanted to major in music, but as athletes were prohibited from doing so, he majored in civil engineering. With the Owls, Bitterlich set six NCAA records. In 1974, Bitterlich was second in the nation for points scored on kicks. The next year, Bitterlich set the record for the longest field goal in Temple history, with a 56-yard field goal. During the year, against

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

, he also broke the NCAA record for the most consecutive conversions with 82, along with tying the NCAA record of for total kicking points with 84. He was inducted into the Temple Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.

Professional career

Bitterlich was selected with in the third round of the

1976 NFL draft The 1976 NFL draft was an annual player selection meeting held April 8–9, 1976, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, New York. The draft lasted 17 rounds, with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks making the first two ...

by the Seahawks with the 92nd overall pick, the final selection of the round. In the team's first game against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

, Bitterlich scored the first points in Seahawks history with a 27-yard field goal. However, he would miss three kicks later in the season against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, and was released after three games. After being released by the Seahawks, Bitterlich tried out with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

and two other teams, but was not signed.

Personal life

Bitterlich has a German ancestry. Bitterlich is currently a project manager for the Daniel J. Keating Company. Bitterlich is also an accordionist, an instrument he had been playing since he was 7. A Christian, Bitterlich was a

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

teacher for 27 years. He and his wife, Ellen, have two daughters: Lisa, a

Fellowship of Christian Athletes The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international nonprofit Christian sports ministry based in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City. History FCA was founded in 1954 by Eastern Oklahoma State College, Eastern Oklahoma A&M basketball c ...

missionary, and Elizabeth, a J.Crew Boston store manager.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bitterlich, Don 1954 births American football placekickers Living people People from Warminster, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Bucks County, Pennsylvania Seattle Seahawks players Temple Owls football players