Efrén Herrera (born July 30, 1951) is a Mexican-American former placekicker 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 ...

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 divi ...

, Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills. He also was a member of the Oklahoma Outlaws in 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 played college football at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

Early years

At age 15, Herrera's family moved to the United States from Guadalajara,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. He attended La Puente High School and practiced soccer with no knowledge about football, until he was spotted kicking a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

into a soccer goal. He eventually joined the football team, playing as a placekicker and

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

. He also lettered in

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 ...

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

and track.

College career

Herrera accepted a football scholarship from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

where he was a placekicker for the football team and a forward/midfielder for the soccer team. In 1971, Herrera became a starter and against the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

, he set the school record for made field goals (4) in one game. In the opening game of the 1972 season, he kicked the game-winning field goal, with 20 seconds left, in the 20–17 upset of two-time defending national champion

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. In 1973, he broke the school's PATs attempted (64) and made (61) record. In 1974, he led the nation in kick scoring (84 points). During Herrera's career, the UCLA Bruins football team regularly finished among the leaders in the nation in scoring, which helped him leave as the school and NCAA career leader in scoring with 368 points (1971-1974). He also set the 7 career records including PATs attempted (127) and made (121). The UCLA soccer team also made it to the NCAA Finals in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

and

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

while Herrera was a player, losing both years to Saint Louis.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

Herrera was selected by the Detroit Lions in the seventh round (169th overall) of the

1974 NFL Draft The 1974 NFL draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York, on January 29–30, 1974. Each of the 26 NFL teams were granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks. Many experts consider the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers to have ha ...

. He was also selected in the third round by the

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs was an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1981 as well as the 1975 NASL Indoor tourn ...

of the NASL Draft. He is distinguished as being the second Mexican born player to be drafted into the

(

Tom Fears Thomas Jesse Fears (December 3, 1922 – January 4, 2000) was a Mexican-American professional football player who was a split end for the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League (NFL), playing nine seasons from 1948 to 1956. He was lat ...

was the first one). He was waived on September 12.

Dallas Cowboys

On October 3, 1974, the

signed Herrera 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 is a ...

after 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 Footb ...

was lost for the season with a knee injury and Mac Percival made 2 out of 8 field goal attempts in the first 3 games. The next year, he was lost with a knee injury in pre-season and was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. In

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

, Herrera competed with Fritsch to regain his starting job in pre-season and tied for the league lead in field goal percentage with 78.3%. He also became proficient doing "pooch kicks" (punts from field goal formation). In

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

, Herrera made 18 out of 29 field goals, 39 extra points (tied for the league lead), was the second leading scorer (93 points) in the NFL, had a career-long 52-yard field goal 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) N ...

and tied the league record for most

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 ...

attempted (5) in a game. He was an

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

selection and made the

1978 Pro Bowl The 1978 Pro Bowl was the NFL's 28th annual all-star game which featured the outstanding performers from the 1977 season. The game was played on Monday, January 23, 1978, at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida before a crowd of 50,716. The final sco ...

at the end of the season. He also helped the Cowboys win Super Bowl XII. On August 14, 1978, Herrera was traded to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a fifth round draft choice (#128-Curtis Anderson), because of a contract holdout. He left with the top career field goal percentage in franchise history (.677). The Cowboys replaced him with

Rafael Septién José Rafael Septién Michel (born December 12, 1953) is a Mexican-American former placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Louisiana at La ...

Seattle Seahawks

In 1978, he underwent appendectomy surgery following the 15th game of the season and came back the next week against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

to make a 31-yard field goal and 2 out of 3 extra points. In Seattle he became a fan favorite as part of a

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

unit that was known for its fake field goal plays, where he had to pass, catch, block and run. In

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 ...

, he recorded a career high 100 points and was third in the league with an 82.6% field goal percentage. The next year, he set club and career records for most field goals in a season (20) and in a game (4). In

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, he made a career-long 54-yard field goal. He was placed on the

with a knee injury on November 16. He was waived in favor of rookie

Norm Johnson Norman Douglas Johnson (born May 31, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker for 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). During that time, he played for the Seattle Seahawks (1982–90), Atlanta ...

on September 8, 1982.

Buffalo Bills

On September 20, 1982, Herrera was signed by the Buffalo Bills to replace Nick Mike-Mayer during the strike abbreviated season (playing only 7 games). He was released on July 11,

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

. At the time he ranked second all-time in career field goal accuracy with 67.8%.

Los Angeles Raiders

In July

, Herrera was signed by the

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...

, but he could not pass

Chris Bahr Christopher Kurt Bahr (born February 3, 1953) is a former professional American football and soccer player. He was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) and played midfielder in the North American Soccer League. High school Atte ...

on the depth chart and was cut on August 16.

Chicago Blitz (USFL)

On January 25,

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 ...

, Herrera was signed by the

Chicago Blitz The Chicago Blitz was a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid-1980s. They played at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. Team history The Blitz were one of the twelve charter franchis ...

of the

. He was released on February 24.

Oklahoma/Arizona Outlaws (USFL)

On March 15,

, Herrera signed with the Oklahoma Outlaws of the

. On December 4, the team merged with the Arizona Wranglers. On January 25,

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 ...

, he was released after the team acquired Luis Zendejas.

Personal life

Herrera is currently an assistant coach at Claremont High School in Claremont, California.

References

External links

More than a kicker

Catching up with Efren Herrera: Ex-kicker fields range of goals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrera, Efren 1951 births Living people Sportspeople from Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexican players of American football American football placekickers UCLA Bruins men's soccer players UCLA Bruins football players Detroit Lions players Dallas Cowboys players Seattle Seahawks players Buffalo Bills players Los Angeles Raiders players Arizona Outlaws players National Conference Pro Bowl players Footballers who switched code Association footballers not categorized by position People from La Puente, California Soccer players from California Association football players not categorized by nationality Players of American football from California Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California