Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

I know we have some kicking experts here. Was Jim Fraser of the 1962 Broncos actually the first soccer style kicker used in a pro football regular season game? I know he was a soccer style kicker at Wisconsin and had two extra points and some kickoffs that year as well. I have just never heard this before, but I'm guessing someone here has...

Jay Z wrote:I know we have some kicking experts here. Was Jim Fraser of the 1962 Broncos actually the first soccer style kicker used in a pro football regular season game? I know he was a soccer style kicker at Wisconsin and had two extra points and some kickoffs that year as well. I have just never heard this before, but I'm guessing someone here has...

but Gogolak gets credit because he was the first to handle all placekicks (FG, PAT, kickoffs).

Was there anyone before Fraser? I don't know. I think he was, I've read that, but I am going by Rick Gonsalves's research. He wrote a couple good books on special teams and he said Fraser did it in 1962.

According to the PFR website, it looks like Fraser was primarily a punter, and good enough to make three AFL all-star games as such.

bachslunch wrote:According to the PFR website, it looks like Fraser was primarily a punter, and good enough to make three AFL all-star games as such.

His kicking skills were good enough that Sid Gillman decided not to select a kicker for the January 1964 AFL All-Star Game. Gillman felt that the smaller rosters didn't allow for the luxury of a specialist, with Fraser handling both duties.

BD Sullivan wrote:

bachslunch wrote:According to the PFR website, it looks like Fraser was primarily a punter, and good enough to make three AFL all-star games as such.

His kicking skills were good enough that Sid Gillman decided not to select a kicker for the January 1964 AFL All-Star Game. Gillman felt that the smaller rosters didn't allow for the luxury of a specialist, with Fraser handling both duties.

Actually, that was a factor lots of times. Les Richter went to a lot of Pro Bowls, part of reason was he could long snap and could kick, so when you see 9 Pro Bowls, it's my view that at least some were because of extra skills, it wasn't a transparent process back then. And coaches had input before teams announced and some guys were on the team, but if they got hurt, never got credit for being selected for team and then hurt. Bobby Dillon, 1953, for example.

BD Sullivan wrote:

bachslunch wrote:According to the PFR website, it looks like Fraser was primarily a punter, and good enough to make three AFL all-star games as such.

His kicking skills were good enough that Sid Gillman decided not to select a kicker for the January 1964 AFL All-Star Game. Gillman felt that the smaller rosters didn't allow for the luxury of a specialist, with Fraser handling both duties.

So since Fraser actually kicked a field goal in the All-Star Game, does that make him the first soccer style kicker since he "did it all"? I guess the Pro Bowl is an exhibition, but yeesh.

Jay Z wrote:So since Fraser actually kicked a field goal in the All-Star Game, does that make him the first soccer style kicker since he "did it all"? I guess the Pro Bowl is an exhibition, but yeesh.

I posted a thread in the old forum and on riderfans.com in 2014 about Geno Beretta of the CFL's Montreal Alouettes. Beretta began his CFL career in 1961 as a punting specialist. He took over placekicking in Sept. 1963 and became known for his "rugby style rockets." On October 26, 1940 Andy Bieber of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers may have been the first person to kick soccer style on the professional level:

http://www.profootballresearchers.com/f ... f=5&t=2455

(from riderfans.com)
http://www.riderfans.com/forum/showthre ... 28th/page2
The Winnipeg Free described Bieber's kick like this; "Andy's side wheeling stance as he tried for the extra point was really something to see." The Winnipeg Tribune described the kick; "He plunged across for the score, and then Fritz Hanson held the ball while Andy batted it with the side of his boot between the posts."
That sounds like a soccer style kick to me. It was the only kick of Bieber's career".

As John Turney mentioned earlier, Rick Gonsalve credited Jim Fraser as being the first pro sidewinder on kickoffs in 1962:
https://books.google.com/books?id=tfSmA ... le&f=false

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news- ... /161974757

And, yes, Justin Bieber is related to Andy Bieber.