Who cares? They're all furriners. "I'm gonna keeck a touchdown."
Former Cowboys kicker Toni Fritsch passes away VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Toni Fritsch, a former soccer player for Austria's national team who was discovered overseas by the Dallas Cowboys and became a record-setting NFL place-kicker, died Tuesday. He was 60. Peter Klingelmueller, a spokesman for Rapid Vienna, the soccer club on which Fritsch played for 14 years, confirmed Fritsch's death. The Austria Press Agency reported that Fritsch collapsed and died of heart failure in Vienna after eating at a restaurant. Fritsch played in nine matches for the Austrian national soccer team and, in 1965, scored two goals in a 3-2 victory over England in London. Six years later, soccer-style kickers were becoming popular in the NFL and the Cowboys sent a group of people to Europe in search for strong-legged soccer players who could be taught to boot footballs. "The first place we went was Vienna, and the first player we tried out was Toni Fritsch," then-Cowboys personnel director Gil Brandt recalled Tuesday in Dallas. "He had a hard time speaking English at first, but he did master it." In an interview last year, Fritsch recalled how he had never seen a football before meeting with the Cowboys' recruiter. A translator followed him during the early days of practice to help him understand the game. Brandt recalled that Fritsch kicked the game-winning field goal in his NFL debut. It was a 26-yarder with 1:53 left that gave Dallas a 16-13 victory over the Cardinals in St. Louis. "It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen," Brandt said. "A linebacker for the Cardinals was hollering, 'Choke, Fritsch, choke!' and Dave Edwards, our upback on the protection team, said, 'He can't understand English.'" Fritsch, a gregarious guy who was popular with teammates, shared kicking duties in Dallas in 1971, then had the job pretty much to himself for the 1972, '73 and '75 seasons. He led the NFC with 22 field goals in 1975. The Cowboys beat Miami in the Super Bowl after the 1971 season and lost the title game to Pittsburgh after the '75 season. After kicking for San Diego for part of the 1976 season, Fritsch settled in with the Houston Oilers from 1977-81 and was part of their Luv Ya Blue heyday under Earl Campbell and coach Bum Phillips. He finished his NFL career kicking for Phillips on the New Orleans Saints in 1982. Fritsch still holds an NFL record by having kicked a field goal in 13 straight playoff games. New England's Adam Vinatieri has an ongoing streak of 12 in a row. He lived in Houston for many years after he retired. Brandt recalled Fritsch attending a Cowboys reunion in June 2004. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.