John Smith (placekicker)

Last updated

John Smith
No. 1
Position: Placekicker
Personal information
Born: (1949-12-30) 30 December 1949 (age 74)
Leafield, Oxfordshire, England
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:186 lb (84 kg)
Career information
College: Southampton
Undrafted: 1974
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Field goals:128/191
Field goal %:67%
Longest field goal:50
Points scored:692
Player stats at PFR

John Michael Smith (born 30 December 1949) is an English-American former American football player who was a placekicker for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He debuted with the Patriots in 1974, remaining with the team until 1983.

Contents

Early years

John Smith trained as a teacher at King Alfred's College, Winchester in England, between 1968 and 1971. After teaching for a year, he moved to the United States. He had not played American football before but was an outstanding all-round sportsman and superb soccer player so he approached the New England Patriots and asked for a trial as a placekicker. New England saw the left-footed kicker's potential and he was sent to spend his 1973 season in the Atlantic Coast Football League before re-signing with the Patriots in 1974. [1]

Notable games

The first NFL game that Smith ever saw was also the first game he appeared in, the 1973 Hall of Fame Game versus the San Francisco 49ers. He recalled that the first time he lined up to kick off, he heard a 49ers linebacker screaming all sorts of obscenities towards him and his mother. [2] He kicked poorly in the game and was cut, but was assigned to the Patriots' farm club, the New England Colonials of the ACFL, who played their games at the Patriots' Foxboro Stadium. Smith wound up leading the Colonials in scoring with 61 points (on ten field goals and 31 extra points) and kicked two field goals and five extra points as the Colonials routed the Bridgeport Jets, 41-17, in the ACFL championship game. The ACFL folded after the season, but Smith was "called up" to the Patriots, with whom he would spend nine seasons.

On 8 December 1980 the Patriots were playing the Miami Dolphins in a nationally televised Monday Night Football game with a playoff spot on the line. The game was tied 13-13 in the final seconds of regulation with the camera panned in on Smith when Howard Cosell broke the news to the nation that John Lennon had been murdered. Smith had made two field goals during the game but the kick was blocked and the Dolphins won in overtime. After the game there was little talk of football as the media had been swept up in the story of Lennon. Smith was one of only two English NFL players at the time, the other being Mike Dawson. [3] Smith was a fan of the Beatles in his youth and during his rookie hazing with the Patriots often sang Beatles songs to his teammates. [2]

Smith kicked the only points in the Snowplow Game, played 12 December 1982 in a snow storm at Schaefer Stadium. Convict Mark Henderson, released for a weekend work program, cleared the way with his snowplow for Smith to beat the Miami Dolphins and enter football lore in one of the most memorable games in Patriots history.[ citation needed ]

Smith led the NFL in scoring in 1979 and 1980. In 1982, Smith injured his right knee (on his non-kicking leg) and underwent arthroscopic surgery; he retired after the 1983 season as the second-highest scoring player in Patriots history, behind Gino Cappelletti. [4]

Post-retirement

Smith ran The John Smith Sports Center, an indoor sports complex in Milford, Massachusetts, until June 2020. [5] Smith runs JSSA Magic (John Smith Soccer Academy), a premier soccer club for ages 8–18. He also runs John Smith's No. 1 Soccer School, a soccer camp held at various New England schools and colleges each summer. [6]

Personal life

Smith currently[ when? ] lives in Dover, Massachusetts, with his wife Vivienne. Smith has four children, and his oldest daughter, Felicity Smith-Day, directs John Smith Soccer. She is a former college All-American. She also played professionally for Arsenal L.F.C. [6]

Related Research Articles

A drop kick is a type of kick in various codes of football. It involves a player intentionally dropping the ball and then kicking it either 'as it rises from the first bounce' (rugby) or 'as, or immediately after, it touches the ground'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Placekicker</span> Player position in American and Canadian football

In American football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist and occasionally in youth football, also acts as the punter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Feely</span> American football player and sportscaster (born 1976)

Thomas James Feely is an American sportscaster and former professional football player. He started his playing career as a placekicker with the Florida Bobcats in the Arena Football League (AFL) as a free agent in 1999 before playing for several National Football League (NFL) teams. Since his retirement, Feely has worked as a reporter and analyst for CBS/Turner Sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Tynes</span> American football player (born 1978)

Lawrence James Henry Tynes is a former gridiron football placekicker. After he played soccer for Milton High School, a coach suggested he try out for the football team as a kicker. He played college football at Troy and was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2001. He spent two seasons on the practice squad in Kansas City, then played in NFL Europe and in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He came back to Kansas City and played for the Chiefs for three seasons, and was then traded to the Giants in 2007. In his first season with the Giants, he kicked the game-winning field goal in overtime against the Green Bay Packers in the 2007–08 NFC Championship Game, which qualified the Giants for Super Bowl XLII. Four years later, he kicked another overtime field goal against the San Francisco 49ers in the 2011–12 NFC Championship Game, which qualified the Giants for Super Bowl XLVI. He experienced his best success with the Giants, winning Super Bowl championships in 2007 and 2011, defeating the New England Patriots in both games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Bahr</span> American football player (born 1956)

Matthew David Bahr is a former professional American football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL), and professional soccer player in the North American Soccer League. He attended Neshaminy High School in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, where he excelled in both football and soccer. He is the son of National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee Walter Bahr, and is the brother of NFL kicker Chris Bahr; he and Chris are two of six players to have played in both pro soccer and the NFL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Moseley</span> American football player (born 1948)

Mark DeWayne Moseley is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played for Philadelphia Eagles (1970), the Houston Oilers (1971–72), the Washington Redskins (1974–86), and the Cleveland Browns (1986). A native of Livingston, Texas, Moseley played quarterback at Texas A&M University and Stephen F. Austin State University before switching to kicker for his senior season at Stephen F. Austin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robbie Gould</span> American football player (born 1982)

Robert Paul Gould III is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker for 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Chicago Bears, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers. He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions. Gould was originally signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played with the Bears from 2005 to 2015, earning first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 2006, and became the franchise's all-time leading scorer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Gostkowski</span> American football player (born 1984)

Stephen Carroll Gostkowski is an American former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. A member of the New England Patriots for most of his career, he is the franchise's all-time leading scorer. Gostkowski played college football for the Memphis Tigers and was selected in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL draft by the Patriots, where he spent his first 14 seasons. In his final season, he played for the Tennessee Titans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snowplow Game</span> Controversial American football game

The Snowplow Game was a regular-season game played between the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots on December 12, 1982, at Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Due in part to icy conditions, the game remained scoreless until late in the fourth quarter, when the snowplow operator was called in to clear a spot on the snowy field specifically for New England kicker John Smith so he could kick the game-winning field goal to give the Patriots a 3–0 win.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 New England Patriots season</span> Season of National Football League team the New England Patriots

The 1980 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 11th season in the National Football League and 21st overall. They completed the season with a record of ten wins and six losses and finished second in the AFC East Division. Running back Sam Cunningham held out all season, so the Patriots turned to rookie Vagas Ferguson to carry the bulk of the rushing game. Ferguson responded by breaking the team's rookie rushing record. The Patriots would sit at 6–1 near the midway point and were about to make the playoffs. However, the Pats collapsed and won just two of their next seven and finished with a 10–6 record that saw them fall just short of a wild-card berth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Folk</span> American football player (born 1984)

Nicholas Alexander Folk is an American football placekicker for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Arizona, where he received first-team All-Pacific-10 honors, and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL draft. Folk was named to the 2008 Pro Bowl as a rookie with the Cowboys before playing his next seven seasons with the New York Jets and becoming the franchise's second-leading scorer. Following an unsuccessful stint on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Folk spent a year away from football before pursuing a comeback in 2019 with the Arizona Hotshots of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). Folk returned to the NFL the same year as a member of the New England Patriots and led the league in scoring during the 2021 season. He joined the Titans in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1982 Miami Dolphins season</span> 17th season in franchise history; second Super Bowl loss

The 1982 Miami Dolphins season was the team's seventeenth in the National Football League (NFL). The Dolphins were coming off an unexpected 11–4–1 1981 season and a devastating loss to the San Diego Chargers in the Divisional Round the previous season in a game dubbed the Epic in Miami. The team had clinched the 2 seed and were picked by many to reach the Super Bowl during the 1981 season. Because of the high number of picks to reach the Super Bowl the previous season, many more fans picked them to win it during the 1982 season. The Dolphins looked to improve on their 11–4–1 record from 1981. However, a players strike cancelled 7 of the team's 16 games. Because of this, the NFL schedule was shrunk to 9 games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Tucker</span> American football player (born 1989)

Justin Paul Tucker is an American football placekicker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Texas and was signed by the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2012. Regarded as one of the greatest placekickers of all time, Tucker is the most accurate kicker in NFL history at 90.2 percent and holds the record for the longest successful NFL field goal at 66 yards. He has also been named to seven Pro Bowls and five first-team All-Pros, and was a member of the Ravens team that won Super Bowl XLVII.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caleb Sturgis</span> American football player (born 1989)

Caleb James Sturgis is a former American football placekicker. He played college football at Florida, setting team records for field goals completed in a season and a career, and was recognized as a first-team All-American. He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Jonathan David Baker is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs. He also was a member of the Edmonton Eskimos and BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Arizona State University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Joseph</span> South African American football player (born 1994)

Greg Joseph is a South African-born American professional football placekicker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida Atlantic and signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2018. Later that year, Joseph made his NFL debut with the Cleveland Browns. He has also been a member of the Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Minnesota Vikings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Wright (American football)</span> American football player (born 1996)

Matthew Wright is an American football placekicker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Wright is known for breaking the Jacksonville Jaguars' 20-game losing streak, when he scored two fourth quarter field goals, including a game-winning 53 yarder in an NFL International Series game against the Miami Dolphins in London. Wright played college football at UCF where he was a member of the undefeated 2017 team that was selected as National Champions by the Colley Matrix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tristan Vizcaino</span> American football player (born 1996)

Tristan Vizcaino is an American football placekicker who is a free agent. He signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2019 following his college football career at Washington. He has also been a member of the Minnesota Vikings and the San Francisco 49ers.

David Ellsworth Posey is a former American football kicker who played for the New England Patriots in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida University.

References

  1. Woods, Mark (22 October 2009). "Smith is Patriots' UK connection". ESPN .
  2. 1 2 "Ex-Pats kicker forever linked to Lennon". Jeff Ausiello ESPN OTL. 3 December 2010.
  3. "Pro Football Reference Birthplaces Country=England". Pro Football Reference. 9 December 2020.
  4. "John Smith - Official New England Patriots Biography". Archived from the original on 6 August 2007. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
  5. "Former New England Patriots player sells Milford sports complex for $2.1M" - wbjournal.com
  6. 1 2 ""Smith-Day will coach girls soccer" - WickedLocal.com". Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2009.