Czesław Bolesław "Chester" Marcol (born October 24, 1949) 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 with ...

player. A

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. Spe ...

for 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 ...

from 1972 to 1980, he was inducted into the

Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combina ...

in 1987.

Early years

Marcol lived in Poland until the age of 14, when his father committed suicide, forcing Marcol's mother to send their family to the United States. He attended

Imlay City Imlay City is a city in Lapeer County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,869 at the 2000 census and 3,585 at the 2020 census. History Imlay City was founded on April 1, 1850 by Charles Palmer, the chief engineer of the Port Huro ...

High School in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

without much knowledge of the English language. In Poland, Marcol had great kicking abilities in

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. His gym teacher discovered his talent and showed him the game of football. He attended

Hillsdale College Hillsdale College is a Private university, private Conservatism in the United States, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan. It was founded in 1844 by Abolitionism, abolitionists known as Free Will Baptists. Its missio ...

where he was named NAIA All-American and holds the record for longest field goal.Marcol still kickin' despite struggles
by ''Gary D'Amato'' of the

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...

, posted 28 October 2002.

Professional career

Marcol was selected by Green Bay Packers coach

Dan Devine Daniel John Devine (December 23, 1924 – May 9, 2002) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Arizona State University from 1955 to 1957, the University of Missouri from 1958 to 1970, and the Univers ...

in the second 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 ...

. He scored 128 points his rookie year, leading the league in scoring, and he was named NFC Rookie of the Year — the only kicker to have received that honor — and an All-Pro. He again led the league in scoring and was named an All-Pro and Pro Bowler in 1974. Marcol may best be known for his game-winning touchdown against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

on September 7, 1980. On opening day of the

1980 NFL season The 1980 NFL season was the 61st regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season in March 1980, fellow NFL owners voted against the proposed move by the Raiders from Oakland, California to Los Angeles. Raiders team owner ...

, the Packers were tied 6–6 with the Bears in overtime. A 32-yard pass from

Lynn Dickey Clifford Lynn Dickey (born October 19, 1949) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. He played college football at Kansas State and was sele ...

James Lofton James David Lofton (born July 5, 1956) is an American former professional football player and coach. He is a former coach for the San Diego Chargers but is best known for his years in the National Football League as a wide receiver for the Gre ...

helped set up a 34-yard field goal attempt to win the game for the Packers. Marcol's kick was blocked by

Alan Page Alan Cedric Page (born August 7, 1945) is an American retired judge and former professional football He gained national recognition as a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) during 15 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings an ...

and deflected straight back to Marcol. He caught the ball, ran around left end and was able to make it 25 yards into the end zone to give the Packers a 12–6 victory. He later acknowledged that he was high on

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

during the game's second half. Marcol was cut by head coach

Bart Starr Bryan Bartlett Starr (January 9, 1934 – May 26, 2019) was an American professional football quarterback and head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Alab ...

on October 8, 1980, following a rough game against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. Starr said Marcol was cut because of poor kickoffs, but Marcol felt it was because of his cocaine use. He signed with the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

when they came to Green Bay for a game on December 14, 1980. It was determined very late that week that Oilers kicker

Toni Fritsch Anton K. "Toni" Fritsch (10 July 1945 – 14 September 2005) was an Austrian footballer who later started a successful career in American football in the United States. He is distinguished as being the first Austrian to play in the National Footba ...

would be unable to play. Marcol was in Green Bay, so the Oilers claimed him off waivers. He kicked one field goal and made only one of three PATs in a 22–3 Houston win. Marcol remained with the Oilers for the rest of the season, but did not play again due to Fritsch's return.

Post-football years

On 14 February 1986, Marcol attempted suicide by drinking a mixture of battery acid, rat poison, and vodka, which severely damaged his

esophagus The esophagus (American English) or oesophagus (British English; both ), non-technically known also as the food pipe or gullet, is an organ in vertebrates through which food passes, aided by peristaltic contractions, from the pharynx to the ...

. He had his esophagus stretched as treatment. Marcol is a resident of the

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...

community of

Dollar Bay, Michigan Dollar Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) in Houghton County, Michigan, United States. The population was 1,082 at the 2010 census. Geography Dollar Bay is located in the southwest corner of Osceola Township. The CDP extends west into Fra ...

. He has a wife and three children.Chester Marcol's claim to fame
from weht.net posted 8 May 2001. He slowly recovered from his addictions, but still suffers from

hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, a ...

and a heart condition. He works on weekends as a drug and alcohol abuse counselor near his home. Marcol published a memoir in September 2011 entitled ''Alive and Kicking: My Journey Through Football, Addiction and Life''. He discusses his childhood, immigration to the United States, playing for the Packers, and his fall from grace.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcol, Chester Living people 1949 births 21st-century memoirists 21st-century Polish male writers American football placekickers Green Bay Packers players Hillsdale Chargers football players Houston Oilers players National Conference Pro Bowl players People from Imlay City, Michigan Sportspeople from Opole Sportspeople from Metro Detroit Players of American football from Michigan Polish players of American football Polish emigrants to the United States Polish memoirists