Wade Lanier Traynham (born February 3, 1942) 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 with ...

player who played for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

of 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 ...

(NFL). 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 rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Frederick College Frederick College is a defunct four-year private co-educational college formerly located in Portsmouth, Virginia. The school was created in through a grant from the Fred W. Beazley Foundation (now thBeazley Foundation. It originally opened in ...

, but was "dismissed from the student body at Frederick College for disciplinary reasons."

NFL career

Wade Traynham was a kicker for the

in 1966 and 1967 after previously having kicked for the semi-pro Savannah Chiefs. He appeared in only 2 games in 1966, but was the Falcons' regular kicker in 1967. Although he was 0 for 1 on field goal attempts in 1966, and only 7 for 18 in 1967, he made all 24 extra point attempts in his career (22 of them in 1967). The Falcons traded Traynham to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

on July 30, 1968 in exchange for offensive lineman

Steve Duich Steve John Duich (born February 28, 1946) is a former American football guard in the National Football League for the Atlanta Falcons and the Washington Redskins. He played college football at San Diego State University. NFL career Duich was dr ...

, who the Packers had taken in the 5th round of the 1968 draft. But after going 1 for 4 on field goal attempts in three preseason games, the Packers cut Traynham on August 26, 1968.

The whiff that wasn't

Legend has it that Traynham was kicking off in the Falcons' very first pre-season game, and completely whiffed on the kick—a harbinger of tough days ahead for the Falcons. Traynham debunked the story in a 1999 interview. Traynham said the play in question was not in the Falcons' preseason debut, but in their second regular season game, against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. He said, "I never whiffed the ball, I just slipped planting my foot...But I got a little piece of the ball as I went down. It wound up being a perfect onside kick and we got it back." However, Traynham strained a thigh muscle on the play and did not kick the rest of the season.

Post-NFL life

Traynham coached football from 1981-1984 for Phoebus High School in his home town of Hampton, Virginia. He was later softball coach at the school.Wood, ibid.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Traynham, Wade 1942 births Living people American football placekickers Atlanta Falcons players Frederick Lions athletes Players of American football from Hampton, Virginia