Anthony Ray Franklin (born November 18, 1956 in Big Spring, Texas) is a former

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 ...

football

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

in the National Football League between

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

and

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 ...

for 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 play ...

, the New England Patriots, and the

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

. Franklin was best known for his

barefoot Barefoot is the state of not wearing any footwear. There are health benefits and some risks associated with going barefoot. Shoes, while they offer protection, can limit the flexibility, strength, and mobility of the foot and can lead to h ...

kicking style, which led to his nickname "The Barefoot Kicker". He played college football at

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

College career

Franklin played college football at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, where he set the record for the longest field goal in modern college football history when he made a kick of 65 yards on October 16, 1976 against Baylor. For a brief period, this was tied for the overall record for all of American college football with J. T. Haxall of

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

, having made a 65-yard kick in 1882, but it did not last as Ove Johansson of Abilene Christian University, which at the time was a member of

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its st ...

(NAIA), made a 69-yard field goal on the same day. Franklin's NCAA record only lasted until 1977, when both

Russell Erxleben Russell Erxleben (born January 13, 1957) is a former American football player and currency investor. He shares the record for the longest successful field goal in NCAA history at 67 yards (with tee), which he set in 1977 while playing for the Uni ...

and Steve Little made 67-yard field goals, and he has since been passed by two other men and tied by Martín Gramática. However, Franklin set a record by kicking a 64-yard field goal in the same game, which made him the only kicker in NCAA history to connect on two field goals of sixty or more yards in the same game. Franklin finished his collegiate career breaking 18

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

records at the time, including most career field goals (56), career kick scoring (291 points), most field goals of 50 yards or longer in a career (16), most field goals made in a three-year career (45) and longest average for field goals made in a career (39.5 yards). He was a consensus All-American pick as a sophomore in

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and earned All-American honors again as a senior in 1978. He was a Second-team All-America selection as a junior, in 1977. He is listed as a "Legend of the Sun Bowl" by the Sun Bowl Association for his 63-yard field goal against

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in the January 1977 Sun Bowl. He is also a member of the Sun Bowl's 75th Anniversary All-Sun Bowl Team.

Professional career

Franklin was drafted by the

in the third round of the

1979 NFL Draft The 1979 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 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astori ...

. He was credited with the fourth longest field goal (at the time) in NFL history during his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

year with the Eagles, a 59-yarder at

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

on November 12, 1979. Franklin played in Super Bowl XV and kicked a 30-yard field goal. On February 21, 1984, Franklin was traded to the New England Patriots for a sixth-round draft choice in the 1985 NFL Draft. He led the NFL in scoring (140 points) and field goals made (32) in 1986 and was selected to represent the AFC in the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

. He played in Super Bowl XX and kicked a 36-yard field goal. The 32 field goals he made in 1986 was a Patriots single-season franchise record until

Stephen Gostkowski Stephen Carroll Gostkowski ( ; born January 28, 1984) is an American football former placekicker who played for 15 years in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the New England Patriots. He was selected in the fourth round of th ...

broke the record in

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. After being cut by New England, Franklin was out of football until 1988, when an injury crisis led the

to sign him. Unfortunately, Franklin's time with the Dolphins was highlighted by a disastrous game against his former team where he missed three field goals (including a 23-yarder) and the Patriots ended Miami's playoff hopes with a 6-3 road win. Franklin was cut after that and never played another game in the NFL.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Tony 1956 births Living people People from Big Spring, Texas American football placekickers Texas A&M Aggies football players Philadelphia Eagles players New England Patriots players Miami Dolphins players American Conference Pro Bowl players All-American college football players Players of American football from Texas