John LeRoy Christiansen (December 20, 1928 – June 29, 1986) was an American professional football player who became a college and pro coach. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions as a safety and return specialist from 1951 to 1958. He helped lead the Lions to three NFL championships in 1952, 1953, and 1957 and was a first-team All-NFL player in six of his eight years in the league. He led the NFL in interceptions in 1953 and 1957 and in punt returns for touchdown in 1951, 1952, 1954, and 1956. His eight career punt returns for touchdowns was an NFL record until 1989 and remains the fourth best in league history. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in . After retiring as a player, Christiansen served as a football coach for 25 years from 1959 to 1983, including stints as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, compiling a 26–38–3 record from 1963 to 1967, and at Stanford, where he compiled a 30–22–3 record from 1972 to 1976. He concluded his career as an assistant coach for the Kansas City Chiefs (1977), Seattle Seahawks (1978–1982), and Atlanta Falcons (1983). Early years Christiansen was born in Sublette, Kansas, in 1928, and was raised an orphan at the Odd Fellows Orphanage in Cañon City, Colorado. He attended Colorado A&M in Fort Collins, where he received eight varsity letters in football, track, and baseball, won three Skyline Conference championships in the quarter mile, and received all-conference honors in football twice. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1951. Detroit Lions Christiansen was selected in the sixth round of the 1951 NFL Draft, 69th overall, by the Detroit Lions. As a rookie in 1951, he appeared in all 12 games as a defensive halfback for the Lions. In his third NFL game, playing in front of "the largest crowd ever to see a football game in Detroit" (52,907 in attendance), he returned two punts for touchdowns (returns of 69 and 47 yards) against the Los Angeles Rams. Six weeks later, Christiansen repeated the feat, returning two punts for touchdowns (returns of 71 and 89 yards) against the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit. He returned 18 punts for a total of 343 yards (19.1 yards per return), as the 1951 Lions compiled a 7–4–1 record and finished in second place