Fred Cox RIP

Surprised they were even allowed.

All this time I thought Dempsey had the only modified shoe.

 

Just a compiler ... of sales.

 

Growing up, I was the only boy my age on my street. There were older and younger boys, and girls my age, so they all pretty much paired up, although we would play frequently. But when I was by myself, I’d take my football and use a cheap hard plastic cup for a tee and kick. Kick with the “tee” to one side of the yard. Punt it back.

The brick wall in left field (which was the gym) was the kickball home run target for us. In 6th grade, two guys had a Maris/Mantle home run derby for weeks, with a running tally on the blackboard. A few of their shots went onto the roof.

I hit the wall once, after numerous attempts. Very proud moment. Years later, some classmates and I were chatting on Facebook about elementary school memories and I brought up my one home run. One of the women said she remembered it and was thrilled for me because I was a nice guy. Made me feel good.

 

Oh man, you guys are reliving my high school days. I wanted to be a straight-ahead kicker in the worst way, but my parents felt this 6-foot, 135-pound weakling would have been clobbered and refused to let me play (though I could hit them from 40 yards).

I set up a goalpost in my backyard (just a bunch of 2x4s nailed together) and from the driveway to the edge of the woods was 35 yards. And I would just be out there before and after the Giants game kicking away. I couldn’t find a square-toed kicking shoe (this was before the internet), so I used an old soccer cleat from elementary school to squish my foot in and that did the trick. I could never get the ball in the air soccer-style.

When I was a senior (1993-94), I must have sent 75 letters with a SASE and index card to various players from the 1960s and 70s care of the team’s address. Most were returned to sender because the team didn’t have an updated address, but I got about 25 back - Lou Groza, Pete Gogolak, Jim Turner, George Blanda, and Fred Cox (who sent me a signed picture) among them. I loved that shit. And now, with my hobby of collecting original sports broadcasts, I get to relive that all over again.

BTW, Rick Danmeier, who replaced Fred Cox, had WAY worse stats than Cox (and he was a straight-ahead kicker, too). He was the one who missed two FGs and two XPs in the Ahmad Rashad game against the Browns in 1980, and he stayed in the league a few years after that.

 

Blanda held on with the Raiders until the end of the 1975 season, and retired during camp in 76. Errol Mann was Oakland's placekicker in their Super Bowl title season. He has to be the last straight-on kicker in the NFL, no?

 

Mark Moseley was NFL MVP during the strike-shortened 1982 season and retired following the '86 season.

 

I see a lot of high school games, and I can't recall seeing a jammer in years. It isn't even considered.

 

Jim O'Brien of the Colts was also a starting WR; he was almost always in the game on third down, so it was a fairly regular occurrence that the Colts had to burn a time out or take a DOG penalty to give him time to change shoes into the square-toed kicking shoe before a FG attempt.