Place of birth Port Huron, MI Name Dick Raaphorst College Ohio State | 1966-1967 AFL San Diego Chargers Positions Placekicker | |
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Date of birth (1942-12-10) December 10, 1942 (age 73) NFL draft 1964 / Round: 10 / Pick: 138(By the Cleveland Browns) | ||
Richard William Van Raaphorst (born December 10, 1942 in Port Huron, Michigan) is a former American football placekicker in the American Football League for the San Diego Chargers. He also played in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Ohio State University.
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Early years
Van Raaphorst attended Charlevoix High School, before moving on to Ohio State University.
He was named the starter of the 1961 team coached by Woody Hayes that won the Big Ten Conference, but the Ohio State faculty council wanting to show that football was not overemphasized, voted against sending the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl. The University of Minnesota was the replacement team that beat UCLA 21-3.
As a senior, he broke the school and conference distance record with a 48-yard field goal. The next game he broke it again with a 49-yard field goal. He also set a record with 6 field goals in Big Ten Conference games and 8 in the season. The next game he broke it again with a 49-yard field goal.
Cleveland Browns
Van Raaphorst was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the tenth round (138th overall) of the 1964 NFL Draft. On August 24, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a draft choice, after the team decided to keep 40-year-old Lou Groza as the starter.
Dallas Cowboys
In 1964, the Dallas Cowboys were looking for a replacement for Sam Baker, and when rookie Billy Lothridge couldn't fill the kicker role, the team acquired Van Raaphorst and named him the starter. He struggled throughout the year and was replaced the next season with Danny Villanueva.
Chicago Bears
On January 13, 1965, he was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Bears, but was waived before the start of the season.
San Diego Chargers
In 1965, he was signed by the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League, to their taxi squad. The next year, he was named the starter and kicked 16 field goals, while also setting a franchise record with 7 field goals attempts against the New York Jets on October 8. In 1968, he was released after being passed on the depth chart by Dennis Partee. At the time, he left with the second most field goals (31) made in franchise history.
Personal life
After football, he worked as a real estate developer. He served as a color analyst on the San Diego Chargers radio broadcasts in the 1970s.
His son Jeff Van Raaphorst played quarterback in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons. He won the 1968 Professional Football Players Golf Tournament.