College Texas A&I Name Tom Janik AFL Draft 1963 / Round 3 | AFL All-Star 1965, 1967 Jersey number 27 Honors AFL Champion, 1965 | |
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Born September 6, 1940Poth, Texas, U.S. ( 1940-09-06 ) 1963-19641965-1968196919701971 AFL Denver BroncosAFL Buffalo BillsAFL Boston PatriotsNFL Boston PatriotsNFL New England Patriots Education Texas A&M University–Kingsville | ||
Tom Janik: Football Safety and Punter
Thomas Alvin Janik (September 6, 1940 – November 21, 2009) was an American football player. Born in Poth, Texas, he attended the Texas College of Arts and Industries—now knon as Texas A&M University–Kingsville— where he was an all-conference running back and punter. He was inducted to the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982. Janik was a safety for nine seasons of professional football. He played for the American Football League's Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, and Boston Patriots, and for the NFL's Patriots. He was an AFL All-Star in 1965, when he played for the AFL Champion Bills, and again in 1967.
One of Janik's biggest games was the September 18, 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 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.