Steve Junker

Steven Norbert Junker (July 22, 1935 – December 13, 2023) was an

Junker was born in 1935 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Elder High School in that city.^[1]

College football

Junker enrolled at

Junker suffered a knee injury in an Xavier alumni football game in the spring of 1958. Junker later recalled that, despite four knee surgeries, "The knee just never quite came back."[2] As a result of the injury, he missed the entire 1958 NFL season.^[15]

Junker returned to the Lions in 1959, but he continued to be hampered by his bad knee and had no catches.^[16] During the Lions' pre-season camp in 1960, Junker impressed observers and led to his being "hailed as the 'comeback star' of 1960."^[17] However, he managed only six catches for 55 yards during the 1960 regular season.^[1]

In September 1961, the Lions traded Junker to the

In 1963, after retiring from football, Junker began a long association with Wilson Realty Co. in the Cincinnati area.[19] He remained with the company through at least 1976.^[2] He later formed his own company known as Steve Junker Realty.^[20] He also worked for a time in the mid-1960s as a scout for the Atlanta Falcons and later for the Dallas Cowboys.^[2][21] He died on December 13, 2023, at the age of 88.^[22]

References