Name: Rich Karlis

Claim to Fame, Minnesota: was a barefoot kicker for the Purple in 1989. Although it was his only season in Minnesota, he did manage to set a franchise record by barefoot kicking 7 field goals in one game. [Proprietor note: per the link, note the Vikings needed an overtime safety to win. Those were your late 80s Vikes, folks].

Claim to Fame, Everywhere Else: was a barefoot kicker everywhere else, too, most notably with Denver, for whom he barefoot kicked the game-winning field goal in the 1986 AFC Championship Game (a.k.a “The Drive” game). His Wikipedia page alleges that he was the last barefoot kicker in the NFL. Chuck Klosterman wonders why this is.

Where He Is Now: is the presumably non-barefoot kicking Director of Sponsorships and Events for Qwest. If any Seattle-ites (that can’t be right, can it?) are upset about the name of Qwest Field, blame him.

Glorious Randomness: his favorite song is Born to Run and he kicked barefoot in Denver in the winter. He’s alright by me.

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