UC Davis, 1977
Rolf Benirschke was an Honorary Inductee to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame in 2004.
When you get a second chance at life, you live it differently. These are the words of former San Diego Chargers kicker Rolf Benirschke, who long before he was named Man of the Year by the National Football League or declared one of the “Points of Light” by President George H. W. Bush, was a University of California-Davis standout and overcame a battle with ulcerative colitis during his third professional season in the NFL.
Benirschke’s father was a German immigrant and pathologist at the University of California-San Diego Medical School Hospital. Upon graduating from La Jolla High School outside of San Diego, he kept his California roots and attended UC Davis. There he was an outstanding two-sport athlete in both soccer and football, earning All-Far Western Conference honors and graduating as the leading scorer in both sports. Despite his busy schedule - often shuttling between both sports in the same day - Benirschke finished his college career with a degree in zoology, an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Award and the W.P. Lindley Award as UC Davis’ most outstanding scholar-athlete.
Upon graduation in 1977, Benirschke opted to pursue professional football and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the 12th round. However shortly before the 1977 season, Benirschke found himself back at home in San Diego as a member of the Chargers. During his rookie year, he made 12 out of 12 of his field goals. The young professional athlete’s career looked promising. However, Benirschke started to develop dehabilitating symptoms that were eventually diagnosed as the severe ulcerative colitis, a form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
The news of his disease was devastating in the face of the beginning of his bright career; however Benirschke showed resilience in the face of darkness. He was ill for much of that season, at times spending weeks hospitalized only leaving to play football, and he played it well. He would be discharged, suit up to play, do his job, and then return to the hospital after the game to repeat the cycle of treatment, rest and intravenous nourishment.
Despite what was going on off the field, he continued to keep up his momentum from his rookie season. He played every game in his second season and put up impressive numbers, converting 34 of 38 field goal attempts. However his disease came to a head in his 1979 season, when, on the plane coming home from an away game, Benirschke collapsed. He underwent two surgeries to remove his large intestine that left him in the intensive care unit for weeks.
It was then Benirschke was inspired to return to the gridiron and, after vigorous physical therapy, he did return for the 1980 NFL, converting 24 field goals and scoring a career-high 188 points. He earned NFL Comeback Player of the Year, NFL Man of the Year, a Pro-Bowl Selection and the NFL Players’ Association’s Hero of the Year. He continued his remarkable career for seven more seasons until 1987 when he retired as the Charger’s all-time leader in points scored with 766, was the third-most accurate kicker in NFL history and was inducted into the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame a decade later.
Benirschke went on to serve as an inspiration and philanthropic leader. Following his zoology education, he founded the Kicks for Critters campaign at the San Diego Zoo. His work included meeting with 10-15 patients weekly and serving as the spokesman for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation and the Great Comebacks Organization that both reach out and assists people who have suffered intestinal disorders and have undergone ostomy procedures.