Placekickers

racepug
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Placekickers

Post by racepug »

I've been watching weekly highlights from the 1978 N.F.L. season and on one kickoff I saw the kicker wearing one black shoe and one white shoe. I don't remember much about that but I do remember some placekickers back then kicking barefoot (even in freezing temperatures). John Madden thought kickers were "goofy." Using different colored shoes or kicking with bare feet seems goofy, to me. Anybody have any insight as to why that was "a thing" with placekickers in the '70s and '80s (and possibly even longer)? Was it supposed to be something about their foot "becoming one" with the ball and, therefore, them being more accurate with their kicks? I don't recall seeing any placekickers doing that nowadays and, on the whole, placekickers are more accurate now than they've ever been before.
RichardBak
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Re: Placekickers

Post by RichardBak »

I remember Tony Franklin once kicking a FG (58 or 59 yds?) for Phila. Don't know why they kicked barefoot. The salaries these guys are making, you'd think they could afford a second shoe.

I do know that, as a kid, my dad once in a while kicked me in the ass with his bare foot. That usually was after his slipper flew off. So I guess ol' Eddie Bak qualifies as the first barefoot kicker in our family.
racepug
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Re: Placekickers

Post by racepug »

RichardBak wrote:I remember Tony Franklin once kicking a FG (58 or 59 yds?) for Phila. Don't know why they kicked barefoot. The salaries these guys are making, you'd think they could afford a second shoe.
- Yeah, Tony Franklin. THAT's the guy I was thinking of (though I know there were others).
RichardBak wrote:I do know that, as a kid, my dad once in a while kicked me in the ass with his bare foot. That usually was after his slipper flew off. So I guess ol' Eddie Bak qualifies as the first barefoot kicker in our family.
- Too bad your dad didn't try to make a living as an N.F.L. placekicker (didn't the Falcons get Nick Mike-Mayer out of some bar after he tried out for them?). Sounds like he got some good practice without having to even leave home!
RichardBak
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Re: Placekickers

Post by RichardBak »

Yeah, my dad had four knucklehead sons, so he got in plenty of practice.

A couple of times during my young and stupid years (not to be confused with my old and stupid years, to be Vol. 2 in my memoirs), I'd be walking along on a winter day when I spotted a newspaper all rolled up. The natural thing is to take a swipe at it. Of course, it was frozen solid and I thought I'd busted my foot. I'd think of that every time I saw some barefoot kicker booting the ball on a 10-degree day in Green Bay or New York.

IIRC the MSU Spartans had barefoot kicker on the squad in the mid-60s, when they were really good. Apisa? He may have been from Hawaii, but am too lazy to look it up.
Eagles One
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Re: Placekickers

Post by Eagles One »

Tony Franklin was replaced by another barefooted kicker named Paul McFadden for the Eagles. Most likely that "feat" will never be repeated. :) The 49ers had a barefoot punter named Miller around the same time.
Citizen
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Re: Placekickers

Post by Citizen »

RichardBak wrote:IIRC the MSU Spartans had barefoot kicker on the squad in the mid-60s, when they were really good. Apisa? He may have been from Hawaii, but am too lazy to look it up.
Dick Kenney. He kicked barefoot and straight-on. That can't have felt good.

Here he is in the "game of the century," the 1966 10-10 tie with Notre Dame.

Image
RichardBak
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Re: Placekickers

Post by RichardBak »

Oh yeah, Dick Kenney. Thank you. Apisa was a fullback.

You're right, kicking that ball head-on must've been like kicking a cinder block. Probably drove his toenails into his ankle. Yowsa!
Denis Crawford
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Re: Placekickers

Post by Denis Crawford »

I have no idea why they did it, but like pop culture historian Chuck Klosterman...I just found it cool. I do remember trying to emulate Rich Karlis and Mike Lansford when in middle school and high school. I do find the theory that kickers today favor soccer shoes which have less padding than football cleats to be fair, but like Klosterman, am not willing to "kick" up much effort to unlock the mystery.

https://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?p ... 20kickoffs.
racepug
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Re: Placekickers

Post by racepug »

Oh, wow. I had no idea that kicking barefoot was a "thing" (with anybody) that far back. Interesting.
Gary Najman
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Re: Placekickers

Post by Gary Najman »

Amongst punters, the barefooted I remember were Jim MIller (of the 49ers Super Bowl XVI team) and John Goodson, who was the Steelers punter in 1982 when Craig Colquitt was injured. In the mid-80s the Eagles had John Teltschik, who in college replaced Goodson as the Texas Longhorns' punter and I remember he punted barefoot in college, but not with the Eagles. I think Lee Johnson also punted barefoot, but I don't remember if it was for all of his career.
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