Rolf Benirschke

Rolf is the Founder and CEO of Legacy Health Strategies. Rolf, the son of a world-renowned Medical School professor, began his career in the National Football League, where he was the place-kicker for the San Diego Chargers from 1977 until 1986. He set 16 team records before retiring as the third most accurate kicker in NFL history. He received numerous honors including NFL Man of the Year; Comeback Player of the Year; Most Courageous Athlete; NFL Players Association Hero of the Year; NFL Justice Byron Whizzer White Award; and was selected to play in the Pro Bowl. He became the twentieth player to be inducted into the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame in 1997, and in 1999 was inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions. In 2004 he was inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame.

During his second season, Benirschke was struck with ulcerative colitis, an intestinal illness that required major surgery the following season, and nearly cost him his life. He feels fortunate to have survived and especially lucky to have been able to come back and play professional football. His story was featured on numerous shows including Good Morning America, The Today Show, Instant Recall, and The Sally Jesse Raphael Show. His illness led him to create, Great Comebacks, a patient advocacy program that has provided information, support, and inspiration to ostomy patients in countries around the world who live with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, colorectal and bladder cancer or other circumstances that can lead to the surgery for more than 30 years.

He has written three books — Alive & Kicking, his autobiography that details his battle with ulcerative colitis, Great Comebacks from Ostomy Surgery, and Embracing Life; two books featuring inspirational stories of people who have survived and thrived following ostomy surgery. He is the national spokesman for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, and is involved in many other philanthropic organizations including The San Diego Blood Bank, the San Diego Zoo, and created The Rolf Benirschke Legacy Golf Invitational, that raises money for numerous San Diego community organizations.

During his playing days, he created Kicks for Critters; a program developed to support CRES, the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species, at the San Diego Zoo, and helped raise in excess of $1.5 million. He also established Cans for Critters, an environment, and a wildlife education program ongoing in over 100 schools in San Diego. Rolf has also remained actively involved for over 36 years with the San Diego Blood Bank and the annual Chargers Blood Drive helping to create the nation’s largest single-day collection blood drive annually.

In 1988, Benirschke had a brief stint in Hollywood when he was named the host of NBC’s, Wheel of Fortune. He co-starred with Vanna White until the show was sold to CBS in June 1989. He remains a much sought after motivational speaker and has traveled the world providing his message of hope, overcoming adversity, managing change and leading successful teams, and speaking on behalf of patients supporting development and innovation in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. His work in health and patient management has led him to become an industry thought-leader inpatient experience and patient care. He is currently working with the University of California San Diego Health System to reshape their patient experience care model.

In 1998 Rolf discovered he had contracted the Hepatitis C virus from the many units of blood he received during his operations in 1979. He underwent three difficult yearlong treatments over an eight-year period before finally clearing the virus and is now considered cured. As a result of his experiences he speaks now for the National Center for Disease Control, the American Liver Foundation, pharmaceutical companies, and many other organizations to “get the word out” and encourage patients to get tested and face their challenge.