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Kicker | |
Personal information | |
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Date of birth: June 26, 1966 | |
Place of birth: Lomma, Sweden | |
Career information | |
College: Appalachian State | |
Debuted in 1989 for the New York Giants | |
Last played in 2005 for the Ottawa Renegades | |
Career history | |
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Career highlights and awards | |
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Stats at NFL.com |
Björn Arne Nittmo (born June 26, 1966 in Lomma, Sweden) is a retired American football placekicker, being the second Swedish-born player ever in the National Football League (behind only Ove Johannson, who briefly played in the NFL in 1976).
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The left-footed Nittmo, famous for his very long kickoffs, played college football at Appalachian State University. He was the first Swedish-born player to play a full season in the NFL, when he played for the New York Giants in 1989. He also tried to cut the roster of the Kansas City Chiefs the following year, but didn't make the team. Other teams of his career include the Montreal Machine of the World League of American Football (this league later became the NFL Europe). He has also played for the Cleveland Thunderbolts, Arizona Rattlers and the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League, as well as the Shreveport Pirates of the Canadian Football League. In 2005, Nittmo was invited to the Ottawa Renegades' training camp, but was cut prior to the start of the season.
Nittmo appeared on Late Night with David Letterman a few times during his stint with the New York Giants. Letterman seemed to be obsessed with the kicker's name and even coined a new catchphrase to both celebrate and mock him: "Who do you think you are, Bjorn Nittmo?"[1] (season 8, episode 162). Nittmo's celebrity continued briefly when in 1999, he appeared as a kicker in the football flick Any Given Sunday.