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Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Specialized role The kicker initially was not a specialized role. Prior to the 1934 standardization of the prolate spheroid shape of the ball, drop kicking was the prevalent method of kicking field goals and conversions, but even after its replacement by place kicking, until the 1960s the kicker almost always doubled at another position on the roster. George Blanda, Lou Groza, Frank Gifford and Paul Hornung are prominent examples of players who were stars at other positions as well as being known for their kicking abilities. When the one-platoon system was abolished in the 1940s, the era of "two-way" players gave way to increased specialization, teams would employ a specialist at the punter or kicker position. Ben Agajanian, who started his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Björn Nittmo
Björn Arne Nittmo (born July 26, 1966) is a former Swedish born American football placekicker, being the only Swedish-born player ever to complete as much as a full season in the National Football League. Football career The left-footed Nittmo, famous for his very long kickoffs, came to the U.S. as a foreign exchange student at Enterprise High School in Enterprise, Alabama. After high school, he played college football at Appalachian State University (1985–1988), where he also was the all-time leading scorer with 277 points. In 2003, he was named to the university's 75th Anniversary Football Team. Nittmo 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 make the Kansas City Chiefs' roster the following year, but was cut, then the following year was hired by the Buffalo Bills as a potential replacement for Scott Norwood after his infamous wide-right kick in Super Bowl XXV (the Bills nonetheles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adam Vinatieri
Adam Matthew Vinatieri (born December 28, 1972) is an American former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 24 seasons with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Considered one of the greatest kickers of all time, he is the NFL's all-time leading scorer at 2,673 points. He also holds the NFL records for field goals made (599), postseason points (238), and overtime field goals made (12). Vinatieri joined the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 1996, where he played for 10 seasons, and was a member of the Colts for 14 seasons. A four-time Super Bowl winner—three with the Patriots and one with the Colts—he has the most Super Bowl wins for a kicker. He is also the only player to score 1,000 points for two different franchises. Retiring in 2021 after a year in free agency, Vinatieri was the last active player whose career began in the 1990s. Celebrated for his kicking accuracy and success under pressure, Vinatieri co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Justin Tucker (cropped)
Justin Paul Tucker (born November 21, 1989) is an American football placekicker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas and was signed by the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2012. Known for his near-perfect accuracy, Tucker is regarded as one of the greatest placekickers of all time. Tucker owns two major NFL records for kickers: career field goal percentage (minimum 100 attempts) with 91.0 percent and longest field goal at 66 yards. Early years Tucker graduated from Westlake High School in Austin, Texas. At Westlake, he was a teammate of future NFL quarterback Nick Foles. Tucker played wide receiver, safety, and placekicker on the Westlake Chaparrals. Tucker also played soccer from age 3-4 up until his sophomore year. He played in the 2008 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. College career Tucker attended the University of Texas and played on the Texas Longhorns football team. In 2011, concluding a rivalry that saw Tex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morten Andersen
Morten Andersen (born 19 August 1960), nicknamed the "Great Dane", is a Danish former American football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 25 seasons, most notably with the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. Following a career from 1982 to 2007, Andersen holds the NFL record for regular season games played at 382. He also ranks second in field goals (565) and points scored (2,544). In addition to his league accomplishments, he is the Saints' all-time leading scorer at 1,318 points. Andersen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017 and, along with Jan Stenerud, is only one of two exclusive placekickers to receive the honor. Early life Andersen was born in Copenhagen and raised in the west Jutland town of Struer. As a student, he was a gymnast and a long jumper, and just missed becoming a member of the Danish junior national soccer team. He visited the United States in 1977 as a Youth For Understanding exchange student. He first k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gary Anderson (placekicker)
Gary Allan Anderson (born 16 July 1959) is a South African former American football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. The first South African to appear in an NFL regular season game, he spent the majority of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and is also known for his tenure with the Minnesota Vikings. Anderson earned four Pro Bowl and two first-team All-Pro honors after joining the league in 1982 and was named to the NFL's second All-Decade teams of the 1980s and 1990s, as well as the Steelers All-Time Team. He is one of 29 individuals to be selected to multiple All-Decade teams. With the Vikings in 1998, Anderson became the first NFL kicker to convert every field goal and extra point in the regular season. During the postseason, however, he missed a critical field goal in the 1998 NFC Championship Game, which is regarded as a primary factor for the Vikings' subsequent defeat. Anderson continued his NFL career for six more seas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Agajanian
Benjamin James "The Toeless Wonder" Agajanian (August 28, 1919 – February 8, 2018) was an American American football player, primarily a placekicker in the National Football League, the All-America Football Conference and American Football League. Early life Born in Santa Ana, California, he graduated from San Pedro High School in the San Pedro community in Los Angeles. A placekicker, he played college football at Compton Junior College and the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II as a physical training instructor. While playing in college, Agajanian had four toes of his kicking foot crushed in a work accident and then amputated in 1939, Pro football career Agajanian played professionally in the National Football League from 1945 through 1959, then in the newly formed American Football League for the Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers in 1960, 1961, and 1964. He also played for the Dallas Texans in 1961 and the Oak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One-platoon System
The one-platoon system, also known as iron man football, is a platoon system in American football where players play on both offense and defense. It was the result of smaller roster sizes in the early days of the game and rules that limited player substitutions, rules that are also standard procedure in many other sports but were eliminated in the 1940s as free substitution was legalized. The alternative system is the two-platoon system (or simply the ''platoon system''), which uses separate offensive and defensive units (three platoons if special teams is also counted). Each system was used at different times in American college football and in the National Football League. One-platoon football is seen in modern times mostly on lower-end and smaller teams at the high school and semi-pro levels, where player shortages and talent disparities require it; the system allows teams to play with a smaller roster than a two-platoon or multiple-platoon team, but because players are on the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Carney (American Football)
John Michael Carney (born April 20, 1964) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 1987. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Carney was also a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Diego Chargers, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, and New York Giants. He was a Pro Bowl selection with the Chargers in 1994 and with the Giants in 2008. When he was released from the Saints' active roster in December 2009, Carney was third on the NFL career scoring list with a career total of 2,044 points. He was the last remaining player from the 1980s still active in professional football. He has also worked as a kicking consultant for the Saints. Early years Carney attended Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Florida, and lettered in football. In football, he won All-St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lou Groza
Louis Roy Groza (January 25, 1924 – November 29, 2000), nicknamed "the Toe", was an American professional football player who was a placekicker and offensive tackle while playing his entire career for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Groza was professional football's career kicking and points leader when he retired after the 1967 season. He played in 21 seasons for the Browns, helping the team to win eight league championships in that span. Groza's accuracy and strength as a kicker influenced the development of place-kicking as a specialty; he could kick field goals from beyond at a time when attempts from that distance were a rarity. He set numerous records for distance and number of field goals kicked during his career. Groza grew up in an athletic family in Martins Ferry, Ohio. He enrolled at Ohio State University on a scholarship in 1942, but after just one year in college, he enlisted in the U.S. Army ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Blanda
George Frederick Blanda (September 17, 1927 – September 27, 2010) was an American football placekicker and quarterback who played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Blanda played 26 seasons of professional football, the most in the sport's history, and had scored more points than anyone in history at the time of his retirement. Blanda retired from pro football in August 1976 as the oldest player to ever play at the age of 48. One of only two players to play in four different decades (the other being John Carney), he holds the record for most extra points made (943) and attempted (959). During his career, he played under head coaches Bear Bryant, George Halas, Clem Crowe, Lou Rymkus, Wally Lemm, Pop Ivy, Sammy Baugh, Hugh Taylor, John Rauch, and John Madden. Collegiate career Blanda was a quarterback and kicker at Kentucky from 1945 to 1948. Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who later won fame and set countless records at Southe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sebastian Janikowski
Sebastian Paweł Janikowski (; born March 2, 1978) is a Polish former American football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. He played college football at Florida State and was selected 17th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft by the Raiders, where he spent all but one season of his professional career. During his final season in the NFL, he played for the Seattle Seahawks. One of only three NFL placekickers to be selected in the first round of an NFL draft, Janikowski is the Raiders' all-time leading scorer and appeared in more games with the franchise than any other player. He also tied the then-NFL record for the longest successful field goal at 63 yards, which is the third-longest in league history. Early years Sebastian Janikowski was born on March 2, 1978, as an only child to Henryk and Halina Janikowski in Wałbrzych, Poland. His father was a professional soccer player, and moved to the United States ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rob Bironas
James Robert Douglas Bironas (January 29, 1978 – September 20, 2014) was an American football placekicker who played the majority of his professional career with the Tennessee Titans. He played college football for Auburn University and Georgia Southern University. He was originally signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2002. Bironas' active professional career began in Arena football where he was a member of the Charleston Swamp Foxes, Carolina Cobras, and the New York Dragons and had intermittent offseason stints with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2005, he signed with the Titans, with whom he played for nine seasons and was an All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection in 2007. Bironas was killed in a car crash on September 20, 2014. Early life Bironas attended Trinity High School in Louisville, Kentucky, and was a four-year varsity letterman in soccer, a two-year varsity letterman in football and swimming, and added a one-year le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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