Bill W. McClard (born October 15, 1950 in

Purcell, Oklahoma Purcell is a city in and the county seat of McClain County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,651. Founded in 1887, Purcell was a railroad town named after Edward B. Purcell, who was an official with th ...

) is a former professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player. A kicker, McClard played college football for the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

, where he was named American Football Coaches Association All-America after the 1970 season and by ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' in 1971. He kicked a then-NCAA record 60-yard field goal in 1970. This was only about one week before

Tom Dempsey Thomas John Dempsey (January 12, 1947April 4, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Houston Oilers and ...

, with his half-foot, kicked the first 60+-yard field goal in the NFL. Both were responsible for changes in rules regarding returning field goal attempts. Out of college, McClard was drafted in the 3rd round of the

1972 NFL Draft The 1972 NFL draft was held February 1–2, 1972, at the Essex House in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Buffalo Bills selected defensive end Walt Patulski. Player selections Round one Round two ...

by the San Diego Chargers. He played one year for the Chargers, kicking two

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

during his rookie season. For the next three seasons, McClard played for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, where he was successful on 26 of 51 field goal attempts and 31 of 32 extra points. Since retiring from football, McClard has been a commercial real estate broker in

Rogers, Arkansas Rogers is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. Located in the Ozarks, it is part of the Northwest Arkansas region, one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country. Rogers was the location of the first Walmart store, whose cor ...

References

1950 births Living people People from Purcell, Oklahoma American football placekickers New Orleans Saints players San Diego Chargers players Arkansas Razorbacks football players People from Rogers, Arkansas University of Arkansas alumni {{Amfoot-kicker-stub