Howard Wayne Kindig, Jr. (born June 22, 1941) 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 ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

who played ten seasons in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL) and 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), mainly with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. Kindig started his NFL career as a defensive end with 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 1965. After 3 seasons with San Diego he moved to the Bills, where he played defensive end,

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

and center. Kindig decided to retire after the 1971 season with the Bills, but the Miami Dolphins traded for his rights in exchange for

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

Frank Cornish and a conditional draft pick, and Dolphins coach

Don Shula Donald Francis Shula ( ; January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American professional American football, football player, coach and executive who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. He played seven s ...

was able to convince Kindig to unretire. Kindig was able to make the Dolphins 1972 team after Jim Langer beat out Miami's 1971 starting center Bob DeMarco for the 1972 starting center position and DeMarco did not want to serve as the backup, opening a spot for Kindig. Kindig was the

long snapper In gridiron football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a Center (gridiron football), center on American football positions#Special teams, special teams whose duty is to Snap (gridiron football), snap the football over a longer distance, ty ...

for the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins, which completed a 17-0 season by defeating the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

Super Bowl VII Super Bowl VII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

. After the Super Bowl, Redskin coach George Allen claimed that one of the key plays in Miami's victory was a penalty Kindig drew on Washington

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

Harold McLinton, when McLinton attempted to steal the ball from Kindig when he was long snapping on a punt, and the penalty allowed Miami to retain possession of the ball. Kindig broke his thumb during the 1973 preseason and missed the entire season, in which Miami won a 2nd consecutive Super Bowl. Kindig was traded by Miami to the Redskins before the 1974 season in exchange for a draft pick, but was cut by the Redskins before the 1974 season began. He started the 1974 season with the Jacksonville Sharks of the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

after signing a contract that was supposed to pay him $75,000 per year for three years. He signed with the NFL

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

after the Sharks stopped paying its players and disbanded in the middle of the 1974 season. He returned to the WFL with the Jacksonville Express for the 1975 season but was released before the end of the season. After retiring from football for good Kindig ran a real estate and appraisal company.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kindig, Howard 1941 births Living people People from Mexico, Missouri Players of American football from Missouri American football centers American football defensive ends American football offensive tackles San Diego Chargers players Buffalo Bills players Miami Dolphins players New York Jets players Cal State Los Angeles Diablos football players American Football League players Jacksonville Sharks (WFL) players Jacksonville Express players

See also

References