Jess Rodrigues ... 1929 Buffalo BisonsTeo wrote: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.
Placekickers
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JeffreyMiller
- Posts: 830
- Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2014 11:28 am
- Location: Birthplace of Pop Warner
Re: Placekickers
"Gentlemen, it is better to have died a small boy than to fumble this football."
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RRMarshall
- Posts: 279
- Joined: Wed Apr 05, 2017 2:12 pm
Re: Placekickers
Also Rich Karlis of the Broncos in the "rarified" air of Denver...
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superbowlfanatic
- Posts: 120
- Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2014 7:22 am
Re: Placekickers
Kickers wore 2 different shoes depending on the kicking surface. For example, on old-style flat astroturf they would wear a rubber-bottomed shoe (for grip on the turf) on their plant foot and a soccer cleat in their kicking foot.
Tony Franklin did kick a 59-yd FG at Dallas from the star logo at midfield. I believe that was in a Monday Night game.
While I was training to try and make my high school football team (at 5' 6" 120 lbs.) as a placekicker, Franklin inspired me to try kicking barefoot. To my surprise, the ball went 10-15 yards farther than when I kicked it with soccer cleats on. That's because the bone in the top of the arch is a harder surface naked than when a sock and shoe are placed on top of it. Plus, us barefoot kickers say that we have a better "feel" of the football when we strike it - it's easier to get the right spot on the foot to kick the correct spot on the football. If it's done correctly, it does not hurt at all.
Now, there are soccer or kicking shoes available that are made with leather that is thinner. As a result, you do not see any more barefoot kickers since the 4 mentioned from the 1980's (Franklin, Karlis, Lansford, and McFadden).
I did make my HS team, but was not allowed to kick barefoot because state public high school rules required all players to wear 2 shoes at all times.
After I graduated, I did a post-graduate year at a prep school where my barefoot kicking was allowed since it was a private school.
Then I kicked successfully for my Div. III football team in college, while barefoot, and helped the team win 3 straight conference titles, and I still hold my college's record for most career field goals.
I just wanted to kick an XP in a high school game. I never dreamed that I would develop into a good kicker. But going barefoot made all of the difference for me.
Tony Franklin did kick a 59-yd FG at Dallas from the star logo at midfield. I believe that was in a Monday Night game.
While I was training to try and make my high school football team (at 5' 6" 120 lbs.) as a placekicker, Franklin inspired me to try kicking barefoot. To my surprise, the ball went 10-15 yards farther than when I kicked it with soccer cleats on. That's because the bone in the top of the arch is a harder surface naked than when a sock and shoe are placed on top of it. Plus, us barefoot kickers say that we have a better "feel" of the football when we strike it - it's easier to get the right spot on the foot to kick the correct spot on the football. If it's done correctly, it does not hurt at all.
Now, there are soccer or kicking shoes available that are made with leather that is thinner. As a result, you do not see any more barefoot kickers since the 4 mentioned from the 1980's (Franklin, Karlis, Lansford, and McFadden).
I did make my HS team, but was not allowed to kick barefoot because state public high school rules required all players to wear 2 shoes at all times.
After I graduated, I did a post-graduate year at a prep school where my barefoot kicking was allowed since it was a private school.
Then I kicked successfully for my Div. III football team in college, while barefoot, and helped the team win 3 straight conference titles, and I still hold my college's record for most career field goals.
I just wanted to kick an XP in a high school game. I never dreamed that I would develop into a good kicker. But going barefoot made all of the difference for me.
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rhickok1109
- Posts: 1499
- Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 8:57 am
Re: Placekickers
That's really interesting and I applaud you.superbowlfanatic wrote:Kickers wore 2 different shoes depending on the kicking surface. For example, on old-style flat astroturf they would wear a rubber-bottomed shoe (for grip on the turf) on their plant foot and a soccer cleat in their kicking foot.
Tony Franklin did kick a 59-yd FG at Dallas from the star logo at midfield. I believe that was in a Monday Night game.
While I was training to try and make my high school football team (at 5' 6" 120 lbs.) as a placekicker, Franklin inspired me to try kicking barefoot. To my surprise, the ball went 10-15 yards farther than when I kicked it with soccer cleats on. That's because the bone in the top of the arch is a harder surface naked than when a sock and shoe are placed on top of it. Plus, us barefoot kickers say that we have a better "feel" of the football when we strike it - it's easier to get the right spot on the foot to kick the correct spot on the football. If it's done correctly, it does not hurt at all.
Now, there are soccer or kicking shoes available that are made with leather that is thinner. As a result, you do not see any more barefoot kickers since the 4 mentioned from the 1980's (Franklin, Karlis, Lansford, and McFadden).
I did make my HS team, but was not allowed to kick barefoot because state public high school rules required all players to wear 2 shoes at all times.
After I graduated, I did a post-graduate year at a prep school where my barefoot kicking was allowed since it was a private school.
Then I kicked successfully for my Div. III football team in college, while barefoot, and helped the team win 3 straight conference titles, and I still hold my college's record for most career field goals.
I just wanted to kick an XP in a high school game. I never dreamed that I would develop into a good kicker. But going barefoot made all of the difference for me.
However, I don't understand how having a better feel of the ball helps in any way. So, if you don't hit the correct spot, it hurts...but that's after the fact. You can't call the ball back to try again, so I don't see how it's any different than simply being able to see that your kick isn't going to be successful.
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superbowlfanatic
- Posts: 120
- Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2014 7:22 am
Re: Placekickers
Rick, what I mean by "feel" is that, when barefoot, it seems much easier to have that bone at the top of the arch meet the sweet spot on the football every time.
The location of the hard bone in the top of the foot is about where the 2nd-to-last shoelace hole from the top of the inside set of shoelace holes (left side for a right foot).
The sweet spot of the football for a placekick is about 4-1/2 inches up from the ground, right on the back/middle seam.
With a sock and shoe on, it just seems and feels more difficult to make these 2 particular locations line up absolutely perfectly on impact on a consistent basis.
Maybe it's all in the head. I can make successful placekicks with a shoe on, but I know that my aim is much more precise and that I can achieve greater distance with a bare foot.
Kicking is all mental 'toughness' anyway, much more so than physical ability. Many players can kick well in practice when nothing is on the line. But it all comes down to who can do it with a snap, and a hold (which may not be perfect), in any weather condition, with the game on the line, the crowd going nuts, and 11 opposing guys who want to kill you. You have to be able to block it all out and focus only on the ball and your kick, and be able to react and adjust if anything is off. And most importantly, you have to resist the temptation to look up early at your kick and keep your head down to watch your foot strike the ball through your follow through (like golf).
What actually motivated me more than anything else was fear. If I missed, I knew that I would get it in the locker room later. So I just made sure that that would never happen!
The location of the hard bone in the top of the foot is about where the 2nd-to-last shoelace hole from the top of the inside set of shoelace holes (left side for a right foot).
The sweet spot of the football for a placekick is about 4-1/2 inches up from the ground, right on the back/middle seam.
With a sock and shoe on, it just seems and feels more difficult to make these 2 particular locations line up absolutely perfectly on impact on a consistent basis.
Maybe it's all in the head. I can make successful placekicks with a shoe on, but I know that my aim is much more precise and that I can achieve greater distance with a bare foot.
Kicking is all mental 'toughness' anyway, much more so than physical ability. Many players can kick well in practice when nothing is on the line. But it all comes down to who can do it with a snap, and a hold (which may not be perfect), in any weather condition, with the game on the line, the crowd going nuts, and 11 opposing guys who want to kill you. You have to be able to block it all out and focus only on the ball and your kick, and be able to react and adjust if anything is off. And most importantly, you have to resist the temptation to look up early at your kick and keep your head down to watch your foot strike the ball through your follow through (like golf).
What actually motivated me more than anything else was fear. If I missed, I knew that I would get it in the locker room later. So I just made sure that that would never happen!