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Favorite obscure kickers from the past (1 Viewer)

Russell Erxleben

Drafted in the 1st round in 1979 by the Saints with the 11th overall pick.

Scored 9 points total in his NFL career (2 of 6 FGs, 3 of 3 XPs).

Russell Allen Erxleben was sentenced by United States District Court Judge James R. Nowlin to a total of 84 months in federal prison, a $1 million fine, and $28 million in restitution in connection with Erxleben’s conviction for one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, and a second count of securities fraud in connection with his activities as president of Austin Forex International, Inc.
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David Trout. Dude was supposed to be the greatest FG kicker in history so the Steelers cut Matt Bahr after his rookie season. Trout was so bad he made the PAT an adventure -- actually missed 8 extra points in a single season.Next year he was cut for Gary Anderson.

 
From the same team as Ali-Haji in 1987:Obed AririOthers:Tony ZendejasRay WerschingChip LohmillerLouie AguiarToni Fritsch

 
The original sidewinder Pete Gogolak and his younger brother Charlie.
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I thought Garo Yapremian was the origianal sidewinder?
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"Jan Stenerud flew off a ski jump in Norway and landed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A kicker with three NFL teams from 1966-1985, Stenerud was at the head of a group of foreign-born athletes who revolutionized kicking in the 1960s and 1970s. They used skills learned in one sport--soccer -- to become successful in another -- football. Along the way, they turned heads, offended purists, and broke every record in the books.Hungary's Pete Gogolak actually was the first soccer-style kicker in pro football; he joined the AFL's Buffalo Bills in 1964. While Gogolak had some success, going on to play for 11 seasons with the Bills and Giants, it was a young Norwegian ski jumper who really put soccer-style kicking on the map."

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Mark Mosely. You gotta love a straight-on, toe-kicker who simply won't give it up. :thumbup: Little known fact: he won the NFL MVP award in 1982.

 
Ola Kimrin. Kicked the longest FG in NFL history. 65 yarder in a preseason game. Dude was cut following it.Fuad is my favorite foreign kicker. Fuad. It's like a gerund or something.

 
Can I throw a punter out there?Reggie Roby. Son was so big he made Duante Culpepper look like Todd Pinkston.

 
I'm sure I'm butchering the spelling, but Dean Biasucchi. I just remember he was a kicker on one of the old video games we used to play. Techmo Bowl or one of those. Every time he kicked a FG we'd yell out "Be-a-sucky!"

 
Russell Erxleben

Drafted in the 1st round in 1979 by the Saints with the 11th overall pick.

Scored 9 points total in his NFL career (2 of 6 FGs, 3 of 3 XPs).

Russell Allen Erxleben was sentenced by United States District Court Judge James R. Nowlin to a total of 84 months in federal prison, a $1 million fine, and $28 million in restitution in connection with Erxleben’s conviction for one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, and a second count of securities fraud in connection with his activities as president of Austin Forex International, Inc.
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He was a great college kicker in the days when they kicked field goals off of a tee. When he got to the NFL he couldn't kick off the rug or grass.
The longest field goal in NCAA history was 67 yards - the length of two especially large blue whales or the wingspan of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet. It was kicked in 1977 by Texas' Russell Erxleben against Rice.

"I'll never forget the sound it made when he hit it," said Fred Akers, the head coach of the 1977 Longhorns. "It was like a gunshot. We couldn't believe a ball was going that far; it had another eight yards on it, easy."

Erxleben had the strongest boot of any kicker in the program's history. In addition to the 67-yard monster against Rice, he kicked two other field goals over 60 yards during the 1977 season. He holds NCAA records for longest average field goal attempted and made. Erxleben accounts for eight of the 10 longest field goals in school history.

"I would not have hesitated to [have him kick a field goal over 70 yards] had the situation presented itself," Akers said.

In the late 1970s, many collegiate kickers had switched to the soccer-style technique seen today, in which the kick is approached at a running angle. Erxleben was old school: he kicked straight on, with only two steps.

Erxleben was a true all-around kicker for the Longhorns. Not only were his field goals gargantuan, but his punts and kickoffs were things of legend.

"I used to have these huge welts on my arms from catching his punts," said Ken Cleveland, who was a member of the Texas practice squad in the 1970s.

Erxleben accounts for the third and sixth longest punts in Texas history, the former being an 80-yarder in 1976. By Cleveland's account, not once did he fail to boot a kickoff into the endzone, though in 1977 kickoffs were from the 40-yard line as opposed to today's 35.

"On many occasions I saw him put the ball through the uprights on a kickoff," Cleveland said.

Erxleben was also very good at fakes, having been a high school quarterback in his native Seguin.

Coaches didn't risk as much with a missed field goal as they do today. The opposing team automatically started at their 20-yard line, whether the kick was good or not. These days, missing a field goal will give the opponent the ball at the line of scrimmage. Those factors worked toward Erxleben's advantage and are the major reasons why his feats will probably never be duplicated. In 1977 kickers were allowed to use a tee for field goals.

"We practiced kicking off the grass [instead of a tee]," Akers said. "Russell couldn't kick it quite as far, but it was certainly close to it."

The numbers Erxleben posted throughout his college career explain why he was one of only five kickers to be taken in the first round of the NFL draft, selected by the New Orleans Saints in 1979 with the 11th pick.

Perhaps it was his inability to adjust to kicking off the grass, or as Akers suggests, the lack of the team atmosphere that he was used to at Texas, but Erxleben's professional career didn't match his potential.

"The NFL is not like college," Akers said. You're competing with guys for a paycheck. Some of them are really cutthroat."

After wrapping up his NFL career in 1988 with the Detroit Lions, Erxleben got into the foreign currency exchange market, starting a company called Austin Forex International. Erxleben's business collapsed in 1998. It was discovered that he made fraudulent claims to investors, and he was subsequently sentenced to seven years in federal prison in 1999. Erxleben declined to be interviewed for this story.

"He's been out for a few months now," Akers said. "He's not in denial about what he did."

Erxleben's legacy will always carry the asterisk of what happened with his business or what didn't happen in the pros, but his records have stood for almost 30 years, and it will likely stay that way. The next time a Texas kicker attempts a long field goal and nails it, fans will cheer, but those who were there to see Rice and Texas in 1977 will remember that they saw the best.
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The Daily Texan
 
Russell ErxlebenDrafted in the 1st round in 1979 by the Saints with the 11th overall pick.
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Exhibit 1A as to why the Saints are a horrible NFL franchise. K. Winslow was picked 13th. However, you have to add T. Dempsey to the list since we are speaking of Saints kickers. He had that kicking foot that was deformed and closely resembled a sledge hammer.
 
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David Treadwell = clutch?Of John Elway's 47 fourth quarter comebacks, 18 culminated in FGs. Treadwell kicked 8 of those. Jason Elam and Rich Karlis each had 5.

 
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