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SALEM – On a whim, Rich Karlis decided to go out for the Salem High School football team before his senior year.
That fateful decision forever altered the course of his life, catapulting him to one of the most famous moments in NFL history and a spot on the Super Bowl stage two seasons in a row.
“You could say I’ve led a very charmed existence,” Karlis said. “I feel very blessed.”
Now, those back at Karlis’ alma mater will have a gleaming reminder of what resulted when one of their own took a leap of faith.
As part of its Super Bowl 50 celebration, the National Football League is handing out commemorative golden footballs to every high school which had a graduate play in a Super Bowl. Each school receives one ball per representative.
Karlis, who graduated from Salem in 1977, spent his senior season as the Quakers punter and placekicker before kicking for nine seasons in the NFL. His most prominent stretch came with the Denver Broncos from 1982-1988.
He was part of Denver’s Super Bowl runner-up squads in the 1986 and 1987 seasons and kicked the game-winning field goal in the Broncos’ 23-20 overtime win over the Browns in the famous 1986 AFC Championship game, a contest forever known because of John Elway’s 98-yard game-tying fourth-quarter drive.
“It’s really cool to see the NFL do something to recognize the high schools of all those players instead of just the colleges,” Karlis said. “It’s a wonderful thing for the communities and the schools.”
Karlis played football as a freshman at Salem, but did not enjoy the experience and thought his football days were over. He ran track the next two years before deciding to give football another try just before his senior year.
“I had no plans for college and really didn’t know what I wanted to do after high school,” Karlis said. “I decided to try football again purely on a whim.”
Though he had never before kicked a football, Karlis discovered he was quite good at it and quickly won a spot as Salem’s placekicker and punter. The next year, he walked onto the University of Cincinnati as a punter before switching permanently to placekicker. The rest is history.
“Back then there were no instructional videos on kicking, I was basically self-taught,” Karlis said. “It was mostly hours and hours of repetition.”
Karlis still lives in the Denver area, where he manager of corporate sponsorships for CenturyLink. He returns to the Salem area three or four times a year to visit family.
Every time he returns, his friends don’t hesitate to bring up the kick that delivered a dagger to the hearts Browns fans everywhere.
“Even now, 29 years later, my friends from Northeastern Ohio still remind me of it,” Karlis laughed. “A lot of them were rooting for me to do well, but not quite that well.”
The famous kick landed Karlis on the cover of that week’s Sports Illustrated, along with his holder Gary Kubiak, now the Broncos’ head coach.
“I’ve autographed more of those covers over the years than I can remember,” Karlis said. “I get them mailed to me every year as well as trading cards. It’s amazing what the memorabilia industry has become.”
Kubiak is in his first season as Denver’s head coach and will lead the Broncos against the Panthers in Super Bowl 50 Sunday. Karlis has kept in touch with his old holder over the years and welcomed the chance to re-connect at training camp this year.
“I hadn’t met with Gary in a few years while he was down coaching in Houston,” Karlis said. “But we saw each other at training camp this year. It was nice to be able to share some old stories.”
Karlis attended four Broncos games this season and watched with pride as Denver defensive lineman Derek Wolfe – a fellow Columbiana County native – became a budding star.
Like Karlis, Wolfe – a 2008 Beaver Local graduate – also went on to the University of Cincinnati after high school before being drafted by the Broncos. Wolfe is set to join Karlis on Sunday as the only county products to play in the Super Bowl.
“I don’t know Derek personally, but it’s very cool for the county to be able to claim someone else who’s made it to this level,” Karlis said. “A lot of people out here questioned the Broncos decision to pick him, but he turned into a very impactful pick. I think it’s an inspirational story.”
Karlis kept up with the exploits of the Salem football team this fall as the Quakers went 10-2, becoming the first Salem team to win 10 games since 1929.
“It was just an outstanding accomplishment when you consider how much the city has changed over the years,” Karlis said. “I was very proud to hear about the season they had.”