Randy Rasmussen
Encyclopedia
Randall Lee Rasmussen was an American football
guard
for fifteen seasons for the New York Jets
, beginning with the 1967 American Football League
season. He played for the Jets in their AFL Championship game victory over the AFL's Oakland Raiders
in 1968, and started
in the third AFL-NFL Championship Game (Super Bowl III
), in which the Jets defeated the NFL's
Baltimore Colts
.
He was the last of the starting Jets players in the game to retire from playing pro football, playing his final game in the 1981 playoffs
against the Buffalo Bills
. Rasmussen is one of three professional football players in pro football history who attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
guard
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
for fifteen seasons for the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, beginning with the 1967 American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
season. He played for the Jets in their AFL Championship game victory over the AFL's Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in 1968, and started
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
in the third AFL-NFL Championship Game (Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III was the third AFL-NFL Championship Game in professional American football, but the first to officially bear the name "Super Bowl". This game is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history...
), in which the Jets defeated the NFL's
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
Baltimore Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
.
He was the last of the starting Jets players in the game to retire from playing pro football, playing his final game in the 1981 playoffs
NFL playoffs, 1981-82
The NFL playoffs following the 1981 NFL season led up to Super Bowl XVI. Both conference champions had losing records the previous season, the only time this has happened. All four of the AFC playoff games were between teams who had never faced each other in the postseason before...
against the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Rasmussen is one of three professional football players in pro football history who attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney
University of Nebraska at Kearney
The University of Nebraska at Kearney , founded in 1905 as the Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney, is the Kearney, Nebraska, United States campus of the University of Nebraska system.-History:...
.