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Five NFL kickers celebrate HOF
By Greg Gulas
When former Kansas City Chiefs placekicker Nick Lowery found out that Morten Andersen would be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he immediately sent an email to his kicking colleagues with the hopes that they would join him for a special gathering to honor this year’s inductee.
It took former Youngstown State kicker Paul McFadden just 30 seconds to send back his response.
Wednesday, McFadden, who serves as president of YSU’s Foundation, joined Hall of Famer Jan Stenerud, Jim Breech, Lowery and Andersen in Canton for what he termed a very special brunch.
“We were all entranced by Jan Stenerud and the many stories that he shared with the group about both his professional and collegiate careers,” McFadden said. “He was just the fourth soccer-style kicker in the league.”
The other early soccer-style kickers were Pete Gogolak, Charley Gogolak and Garo Yepremian.
Prior to Stenerud’s 1991 induction, quarterback George Blanda, running back Paul Hornung and Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Lou Groza were the only other placekickers in the Hall of Fame, but they were considered two-way performers.
McFadden said Andersen is the highest-scoring NFL placekicker all-time with 2,544 points and was a very intense competitor.
“I played against Morten four times and I am not ashamed to say that he intimidated me, especially during warm-ups,” McFadden said. “He had an absolute cannon for a leg.
“He was an aggressive kicker, always sprinted to his mark and was a tremendous competitor,” McFadden said. “He connected on more field goals than any other kicker in the league and is most deserving of this honor.”
When combining the five kickers’ statistics, they played a combined 80 years, connected on 1,684 of 2,219 field goal attempts (.759), made 2,668 of 2,731 extra point tries (.977) and scored 7,720 points.
McFadden, who is one of just nine NFL barefoot kickers or punters all-time, was the only barefoot kicker in the group. His association with Lowery dates to a 1981 summer camp at the University of Akron when he was a sophomore member on YSU head coach Bill Narduzzi’s squad.
“Nick Lowery was an incredible kicker, a multiple all-pro selection,” McFadden said. “I remember him as my camp counselor, but when he told me at the brunch that he remembered that camp and being my counselor, it just blew my mind.”
Like so many former players, Breech, the longtime Cincinnati Bengals placekicker, remains active in his community and serves as president of Cincinnati’s NFL Alumni Chapter.
“Jim is still loved by Cincinnati Bengals fans and remains very involved in that community,” McFadden said. “I had forgotten that he broke in with the Oakland Raiders. It was a dual-purpose stadium that was shared with the Oakland Athletics’ baseball team. He said the grass was really high and half of the field was dirt, so going to Cincinnati was a great change for his career.”
McFadden thinks Gary Anderson, a 23-year professional including 12 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, will be the next specialist honored.
“Gary finished second in field goals [538] to Morten and joins him as the only two placekickers to score over 2,000 points for a career,” McFadden said.