Chris Gartner was born on July 12, 1950, in Gothenburg, Sweden. He is one of only 9 Swedish NFL players.[2] He went to high school in Princeton, New Jersey, and attended college at Indiana.[3] Gartner played for their football team, the Hoosiers, and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2019.[4] In 1972 (his senior year), he was selected to first-team All-America and first-team All-Big Ten after setting school records for single-season scores (14), field goals in a game (4), and longest field goal (52 yards).[5] In a 35–34 win against Kentucky, he became the only IU player to have two 50+ yard field goals in a single game.
In 1974, Gartner was signed by the Cleveland Browns as a second kicker to handle kickoff duties, where he played in 11 games.[6][7] As of 2025, his 11 games stands as the most played by a Swedish player in the Super Bowl era. He was released by the Browns before the start of the 1975 season.
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