John Jacob "Jack" Abendschan Jr. (born December 18, 1942) 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 ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

and

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 ...

who played for the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) from 1965 through 1975.

Professional career

Jack Abendschan began his career with the

in 1965 and remained with them throughout his 11-year CFL career. Abendschan played

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

and except for 1968, he played all 16 games of the regular season every year from 1965 to 1973. Abendschan was also an accurate

. His best field goal percentage was 63.2% (24 of 38) in 1970, his next best 60.7% (17 of 28) in 1967, considered very good for the era. In 1968 Abendschan signed a contract with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

of 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) but did not make the roster and he resumed his CFL career.John Duxbury and Larry Shainman (eds.), ''Football Register, 1968.'' St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1968; p. 3. Abendschan was part of the 54th Grey Cup championship-winning

in 1966 over the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

29–14, in which he converted their 4

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. He also played in the 55th Grey Cup the following year, the

57th Grey Cup 57th Grey Cup, the Canadian Football League's championship game, was played November 30, 1969, and the Ottawa Rough Riders defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 29–11 before 33,172 fans at Montreal's Autostade. It was the first time since 1931, ...

of 1969, and the

60th Grey Cup The 60th Grey Cup was played on December 3, 1972, before 33,993 fans at the Ivor Wynne Stadium at Hamilton. It was the last Grey Cup to be played in December until 2021, which, coincidentally, was also held in Hamilton. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats def ...

of 1972, losses to the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

in 1967 and 1972 and to Ottawa in 1969. During Abendschan's time as a member of the

, he was named to the CFL's All-Star team 5 times. In 2012, he was inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

Videos

References

1942 births Living people Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian football offensive linemen Canadian football placekickers New Mexico Lobos football players Players of Canadian football from San Francisco Players of American football from San Francisco Saskatchewan Roughriders players American football guards {{Canadianfootball-offensive-lineman-stub