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.

Keith Krepfle
refer to caption
Krepfle playing for the Eagles in 1977
No. 84, 88
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1952-02-04) February 4, 1952 (age 72)
Dubuque, Iowa, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:227 lb (103 kg)
Career information
High school:Potosi
College:Iowa State
NFL draft:1974 / round: 5 / pick: 115
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:152
Receiving yards:2,425
Receiving touchdowns:19
Stats at Pro Football Reference

College career

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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

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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 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

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Regular season
Year Team G GS Receiving
Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
1974 SHA 14 14 6 80 13.3 30 0
1975 PHI 14 0 1 16 16.0 16 0
1976 PHI 10 1 6 80 13.3 30 1
1977 PHI 14 14 27 530 19.6 55 3
1978 PHI 10 10 26 374 14.4 34 3
1979 PHI 16 16 41 760 18.5 45 3
1980 PHI 13 11 30 450 15.0 27 4
1981 PHI 16 16 20 210 10.5 26 5
1982 ATL 4 0 1 5 5.0 5 0
Total 111 82 158 2,505 15.8 55 19
Reference:[13]
Playoffs season
Year Team G GS Receiving
Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
1979 PHI 2 2 3 23 7.7 12 0
1980 PHI 3 3 6 65 10.8 20 1
1981 PHI 1 1 1 18 18.0 18 0
1982 ATL 1 1 1 18 18.0 18 0
Total 7 7 11 124 11.3 20 1
Reference:[13]

Post-NFL career

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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

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  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. ^ a b "Where Are They Now? TE Keith Krepfle". Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  12. ^ "Keith Krepfle". NFL.com. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  13. ^ a b "Keith Krepfle Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 4, 2018.