Thomas Alvin Janik (''Pronounced:'' Yah-NICK) (September 6, 1940 – November 21, 2009) was an American 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 back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

and punter.

Early life

Thomas Alvin Janik was born on September 6, 1940, in

Poth, Texas Poth ( ) is a city in Wilson County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,819 at the 2020 census. It is part of the San Antonio metropolitan area. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.2&nb ...

. He played one season of college football with

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

and three seasons with Texas A&I. He was an all-conference

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and punter. He was inducted to the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982.

Professional career

Janik was a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

for nine seasons of professional football. He played eight 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 ...

. He played 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 ...

and 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 ...

. On August 27, 1969, he was traded to the

Boston Patriots Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

. He played one season with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

after the AFL–NFL merger. In his career, he had 21 or 25 interceptions, sources differ, and 6 touchdown returns. In 1967, he tied the record of 10 single season interceptions held by Billy Atkins. In 1968, he broke the record for longest interception return (100 yards) after an interception from

Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943), nicknamed "Broadway Joe", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seaso ...

of the

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 ...

. He was an

AFL All-Star The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the lea ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

, when he played for the AFL Champion Bills, and again in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

. In April 1972, he retired. One of Janik's biggest games was the September 29, 1968, contest at home against the New York Jets, in which the Bills' defensive backfield picked off Joe Namath five times, three times for touchdowns as

Butch Byrd George Edward "Butch" Byrd (born September 20, 1941) is an American former professional football cornerback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Boston Universit ...

and Booker Edgerson had 53 and 45-yard TD interceptions within 1:02, and Janik had one of two picks go for a 100-yard score. The Bills won a barn-burner, 37–35, which was Buffalo's only win of the season. The Jets went on to finish 11–3, and won the AFL title before going on to defeat the Colts in

Super Bowl III Super Bowl III was an American football championship game played on January 12, 1969, at the Miami Orange Bowl, Orange Bowl in Miami, Miami, Florida. It was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the fi ...

. At the time of his death in 2009, he was third in interception return yards (495), behind Butch Byrd and Tony Greene. He was 11th in interceptions (21).

Personal life

Janik died on November 21, 2009, aged 69, in Poth.

References

1940 births 2009 deaths American football punters American football safeties Boston Patriots players Buffalo Bills players Denver Broncos (AFL) players Texas A&M–Kingsville Javelinas football players New England Patriots players American Football League All-Star players People from Wilson County, Texas Sportspeople from Greater San Antonio Players of American football from Texas American Football League players {{defensiveback-1940s-stub

Early life

Professional career

Personal life

See also

References