Michael Eric Saxon (born July 10, 1962) is a former

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 ...

punter in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

. He won

Super Bowl XXVII Super Bowl XXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...

with the Cowboys over the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

Early years

Saxon attended Arcardia High School, where he played as a wide receiver,

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

and punter. He also practiced

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

. After graduation he moved on to

Pasadena City College Pasadena City College (PCC) is a public community college in Pasadena, California. History Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. From 1928 to 1953, it operated as a four-year junior college, combining the l ...

, punting for the 1980 Metropolitan Conference champion. He was a two-time All-Metro Conference selection. In 1982, he walked-on at

and was named the starter at punter. He lost his job after struggling with his production, but regained it in the tenth game of the season against

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

, setting a school record with an 80-yard punt. He finished the year with a 41.8-yard punting average. As a senior, he set school records with a 45.5-yard season punting average and a 54.8-yard average in one game (against

). He received honorable-mention All-American and second-team All-WAC honors. He also left with the school record for best career average (44.1-yards). In 2018, he was inducted into the Pasadena City College Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

Saxon was selected by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

in the 11th round (300th overall) of the

1984 NFL Draft The 1984 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 1–2, 1984, at the Omni Park Cen ...

. He was also selected by the

Arizona Wranglers The Arizona Wranglers were a professional American Football team in the United States Football League that, name-wise, existed from late 1982 to mid-1985. They played at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, a su ...

in the 13th round (268th overall) of the

1984 USFL Draft The 1984 USFL Draft was the second collegiate draft of the United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league playe ...

. On August 27, he was waived after averaging 43.5-yards per game during the preseason and the team deciding to keep incumbent Mike Black.

Arizona Outlaws

On October 27,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, he signed with the

Arizona Outlaws The Arizona Outlaws were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid-1980s. They were owned by Fresno banker and real estate magnate William Tatham Sr., who had briefly owned the Portland Thu ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

. He was released on February 11,

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

Dallas Cowboys

, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

by the

. In the 1970s and early 1980s the

had the luxury that they didn't need to carry a punter on their roster, because

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...

Danny White Wilford Daniel White (born February 9, 1952) is a former quarterback and punter for the Dallas Cowboys and an American football coach in the Arena Football League. He has been the color commentator for Cowboys games on Compass Media Networks' ...

could perform that role at a high level. In order to avoid a potential injury to White, the team kept searching for a replacement until finding Saxon. His first professional punt was a 57-yarder in the season opener against the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

, in a game where he had an average of 48.8-ýards, a net average of 43.3-yards and placed 4 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. He finished with a 41.9-yard average, best by a Cowboy in 16 years and by a rookie in franchise history. He also set a franchise playoff record with a 46.9-yard average against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...

. In

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

, he registered a 40.7-yard average, set a franchise record with 86 punts. He set a club record and led the league with 28 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. In

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

, he established himself as one of the best directional punters in the NFL, by leading the league for a second consecutive season with 20 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. In the season opener against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, he averaged 46-yards per punt, a net average of 40.5-yards had a career-long 63-yarder and placed 4 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. In

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, he was fourth in the NFC with a 40.9-yard per punt average, was among the league leaders with 24 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line and became the second player in club history with over 300 career punts. In

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

, he tallied a 40.9-yard average and was among the league leaders with 19 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. He set the second longest streak in club history with 190 punts without a block. In

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

, he was second in the NFC, fourth in the league and fourth highest in club history, with a career best 43.2-yard average. He tied for fourth on the league with 20 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. In

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

, he had a 42.6-yard average and 16 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. He was second in the NFC and tied for fourth in the NFL with a net punting average of 36.8 yards. In 1992, he was fourth in the NFC with a 43-yard average (fifth in club history). He was a part of the winning team in

, although he suffered a blocked punt in the game, ending a personal streak of 220 punts without a block. He also set the second longest streak in club history with 203 punts without a block. He played in 92 straight games. With 19 punts inside the 20 yard line, he set a club record with 166 career punts downed inside the opponent's 20, which at the time was the NFL-high since he came into the league in

. He set the franchise's career record in gross (41.5) and net (34.8) punting averages. He was the second player in franchise history to have two seasons with 43-yard or better gross punting average. In a total of 6 career postseason contests, he averaged 43.5 yards, ranking third in NFL playoff history. On July 7,

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

, he was released after the team decided to have a training camp battle with young punters, which was won by

John Jett John Jett (born November 11, 1968) is a former American football punter in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions. He played college football for East Carolina University. Jett won two Super Bowl rings with the ...

. He left with a streak of 92 straight games played.

New England Patriots

On July 26,

, he signed with the

and won the starter job over

Shawn McCarthy Shawn Michael McCarthy (born February 22, 1968) is a former American football punter in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the 12th round of the 1990 NFL Draft and later played for the New England Patriots. M ...

. He averaged 42.4 yards per punt and was named AFC special teams player for week 6, after his game against the

Phoenix Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

. On August 20,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

, he was released after the team decided to keep rookie Pat O'Neill.

Minnesota Vikings

On August 28,

, he was signed by the

to replace Harry Newsome. In his two years, he averaged 42.9 and 40.9 yards respectively. On August 26, 1996, he was cut in favor of

Mitch Berger Mitchell Shannon Berger (born June 24, 1972) is a Canadian former American football punter. He played college football at Colorado and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round of the 1994 NFL Draft. Berger has also been a memb ...

, who could also handle kickoffs.

Personal life

Saxon has a roofing business and is a co-founder of Servant Energy Partners.

References

External links

Former Aztec Saxon Gets His Foot in the Door With Cowboys

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saxon, Mike 1962 births Living people People from Arcadia, California Players of American football from California American football punters San Diego State Aztecs football players Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California Detroit Lions players Arizona Outlaws players Dallas Cowboys players New England Patriots players Minnesota Vikings players