Sadly, he’s best known for the Super Bowl IV recordings of Hank Stram, when he was out of position and confused by the Chiefs’ offense, and Stram commented, “Kassulke’s running around out there like it was a Chinese fire drill.” ESPN and NFL Films have made that clip immortal–sadly for Kassulke, who was an all-pro safety.
There’s another clip of him on YouTube of him absolutely clobbering Greg Landry, which is far more exemplary of his skills–and saddened with the recent passing of Landry.
I got to know of him because he was the uncle of a classmate of mine in junior high school (Kassulke’s brother was a Lutheran minister in Nebraska for many years). Kassulke was a long-time starting safety for the Minnesota Vikings before an off-season motorcycle accident left him a paraplegic…
He donated an autographed edition of his autobiography to the school, and I read it–an inspiring story about an unknown who came from Drake University and ended up starting in a Super Bowl–but who overcame paralysis to continue living a good life working with a Christian outreach program.
He also had a partying side, which his ex-wife wrote about in her own book. You can find that on your own.
But, thanks to Hank Stram and NFL Films, he is “Chinese Fire Drill Guy”. Immortality has a price.
Here is the video showcasing the aforementioned hit of Karl Kassulke
