Keith Krepfle

Last updated

Keith Krepfle
1986 Jeno's Pizza - 06 - Harold Carmichael (Keith Krepfle crop).jpg
Krepfle playing for the Eagles in 1977
No. 84, 88
Position Tight end
Personal information
Born (1952-02-04) February 4, 1952 (age 73)
Dubuque, Iowa, U.S.
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight227 lb (103 kg)
Career information
High school Potosi
College Iowa State
NFL draft 1974: 5th round, 115th overall pick
Career history
Awards and highlights
Career NFL statistics
Receptions152
Receiving yards2,425
Receiving touchdowns19
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Keith Robert Krepfle (born February 4, 1952) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons. He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones.

Contents

College career

During his three-year career at Iowa State, Krepfle dominated the Big Eight. He hauled in 94 passes for 1,368 yards and 15 touchdowns in addition to playing in two bowl games. [1] His inaugural Cyclone season Krepfle led the team to their first ever bowl game, the 1971 Sun Bowl. [2] The next season, Keith would again lead the Cyclones to a bowl berth with the 1972 Liberty Bowl. [3] Krepfle's best collegiate game was against #3 Nebraska during the 1972 season in which he caught two touchdowns. [4]

While at Iowa State, Keith was a member of the fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon. [5]

In 2002 he was inducted into the Iowa State Cyclones Hall of Fame. [6]

Professional career

Despite being drafted in the fifth round of the 1974 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, [7] Krepfle chose to sign with the Jacksonville Sharks of the World Football League. All-pro tight end Charle Young was already entrenched with the Eagles [8] and the Sharks offered Krepfle a guaranteed contract. Just 14 games into the season the Sharks went bankrupt and the team folded. [9] The following season Krepfle signed a contract with the Eagles to play in the NFL.

After limited playing time his first two seasons with the Eagles, Charle Young was traded to the Los Angeles Rams for QB Ron Jaworski prior to the 1977 season. [10] This created an opening for Krepfle to shine. As a full-time starter for the Eagles, Krepfle would have over 150 catches for nearly 2,500 yards and 19 touchdowns. Keith became the first Eagle to ever catch a touch down in the Super Bowl during their appearance in Super Bowl XV. [11]

Following seven seasons with the Eagles, Krepfle played one additional season with the Atlanta Falcons. [12]

Statistics

Regular season
YearTeamGGSReceiving
RecYdsAvgLngTD
1974 SHA 141468013.3300
1975 PHI 14011616.0160
1976 PHI 10168013.3301
1977 PHI 14142753019.6553
1978 PHI 10102637414.4343
1979 PHI 16164176018.5453
1980 PHI 13113045015.0274
1981 PHI 16162021010.5265
1982 ATL 40155.050
Total111821582,50515.85519
Reference: [13]
Playoffs season
YearTeamGGSReceiving
RecYdsAvgLngTD
1979 PHI 223237.7120
1980 PHI 3366510.8201
1981 PHI 1111818.0180
1982 ATL 1111818.0180
Total771112411.3201
Reference: [13]

Post-NFL career

After his NFL career, Krepfle embarked on a career in the health care industry, working for large pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis, Bristol Myers Squibb and Delta Pharma before starting his own company. Today he lives in the Poconos in Pennsylvania. [11]

References

  1. "Keith Krepfle - Hall of Fame Class of 2002". www.cyclones.com. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  2. "LSU 33, Iowa State 15 | Recaps - Hyundai Sun Bowl | December 29, 2017 | El Paso, Texas". www.sunbowl.org. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  3. "Iowa State 2017 Liberty Bowl: George Amundson remembers Iowa State's 1972 Liberty Bowl two-point conversion against Georgia Tech" . Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  4. "Nebraska vs. Iowa State 1972 -- HuskerMax™". www.huskermax.com. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  5. "Distinguished Alumni | Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity". www.tke.org. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  6. "Iowa State Athletics". www.cyclones.com. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  7. "1974 NFL Draft Results by Position - Tight Ends - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  8. Klein, Gary (August 13, 2005). "USC's Young Goes Into the Hall Today". Los Angeles Times. ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  9. "World Football League". wfl.charlottehornetswfl.com. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  10. Yowell, Keith (March 9, 2011). "Today in Pro Football History: 1977: Eagles Trade Charle Young to Rams for Ron Jaworski". Today in Pro Football History. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  11. 1 2 "Where Are They Now? TE Keith Krepfle". Archived from the original on January 5, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  12. "Keith Krepfle". NFL.com. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  13. 1 2 "Keith Krepfle Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 4, 2018.