What happened to the barefoot kicker?

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

Those guys were cool.

[Buffalogic]

Re: What happened to the barefoot kicker?

They smartened up lol..

I wanna see a barefoot kicker with a nike logo just painted on his foot. I'd like that.

[SABURZFAN]

Re: What happened to the barefoot kicker?

who the hell would want to be a barefooted kicker for a cold weather team?

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

Re: What happened to the barefoot kicker?

Wasn't there one that played for the Broncos?

[Mr. Pink]

Re: What happened to the barefoot kicker?

Rich Karlis!

[Billz_fan]

Re: What happened to the barefoot kicker?

Patriots had Tony Franklin barefoot in the cold

[casdhf]

Re: What happened to the barefoot kicker?

I saw a guy last pre-season, I think.

[YardRat]

Re: What happened to the barefoot kicker?

Wow...I'd forgotten all about them.

[Night Train]

Re: What happened to the barefoot kicker?

Wasn't there one that played for the Broncos?

Rich Karlis..and he could drill long FG's in snowstorms.

I thought he was cooler than all hell. Love to drink beer with guys like that.

[TMu11]

Re: What happened to the barefoot kicker?

I can't imagine how much that has to hurt.
I'm sure over time these guys don't even feel it anymore but damn. Those balls get hard when it's cold.

[PECKERWOOD]

Re: What happened to the barefoot kicker?

Why did they go barefooted, other then to show how bad ass they are?

[Mr. Pink]

Re: What happened to the barefoot kicker?

Why did they go barefooted, other then to show how bad ass they are?

If memory serves me right Karlis said that kicking barefoot gave him a "better feel for the ball"

[Coach Sal]

Re: What happened to the barefoot kicker?

From 2007. No idea who this writer is. He could be just a random blogger. But it's interesting:

Whatever Happened To The Barefoot Kicker?

Have shoes become less expensive? Have footballs become harder? Has shoe contracts become too lucrative? Are today’s kickers too soft?

I can’t recall the last time I saw a barefooted kicker. My wife & I were discussing the barefooted kickers this weekend so I decided to do some research on the subject. Here is what I discovered…

The First Barefooted Field Goal: Of course the original barefooted kicker was Tony Franklin of the Philadelphia Eagles. A star kicker from Texas A&M, Franklin was drafted by Dick Vermeil in the 3rd round (pick #74) of the 1979 NFL draft. The first ever FG by a barefooted kicker occurred in Veterans Stadium on September 2, 1979 when Franklin helped the Eagles defeat the NY Giants 23-17. The NFL had a rule that stated “no bare legs allowed” so Franklin would wear the top portion of a sock on his kicking leg. Franklin played in the NFL for 10 seasons (1979 to 1988) and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1985.

The Longest Barefooted FG: As a rookie Tony Franklin kicked a 59 yd. FG at Dallas on a Monday night November 12, 1979. At that time it was the 4th longest FG in NFL history. Three years earlier (on October 16, 1976) Franklin kicked a 65 yd. FG for Texas A&M setting the record for the longest FG in collegiate history. His record was broken later that same day when Ove Johansson kicked a 69 yd. FG (but Johansson wore a shoe). In that same game Franklin also kicked a 64 yd. FG, and he remains the only college player to ever kick two 60+ yard field goals in one game (with or without a shoe!).

The Most Famous Barefooted FG: In the 1987 AFC Championship game in Cleveland John Elway orchestrated what is now known as “The Drive.” Rich Karlis kicked the game tying PAT as well as the game winning FG in overtime to advance the Broncos into Super Bowl XXII vs. the Redskins.

The Most: In the 1984 there were 4 full-time barefooted kickers which appears to be the most in the league at one time. Those 4 were Franklin, Mike Lansford, Rich Karlis, & Paul McFadden. If you include punters you can add Jim Miller to the 1984 list of barefooted kickers.

The Last Barefooted FG: For the first seven weeks of the 2002 season Jeff Wilkins of the St. Louis Rams kicked barefooted. Despite hitting 9 of 12 FG’s Wilkins ended his barefoot experiment by putting on a shoe in week 8, thus officially ending the era of the barefoot kickers. Traditionalists criticized Wilkins because he wore a tightly wrapped ace bandage around his kicking foot.

Here is the best list I could come up with of the barefoot kickers (If you know of any I am forgetting let me know):

- Tony Franklin, kicker 1979-’88 Eagles, Patriots, & Dolphins
- Jim Miller, punter 1982-’84 & 1987 49ers, Cowboys, & Giants
- John Goodson, punter 1982 Steelers
- Rich Karlis, kicker 1982-’90 Broncos, Vikings, & Lions
- Dave Warnke, kicker 1983 Tampa Bay (he kicked one extra point barefooted)
- Paul McFadden, kicker 1984-’89 Eagles, Giants, & Falcons
- Mike Lansford, kicker 1982-’90 Rams
- Tommy Thompson 1997 49ers (kicked off barefooted but wore a shoe for punts)
- Jeff Wilkins, kicker Rams (barefooted for only 7 games of the 2002 season)

http://billkuhn.wordpress.com/2007/1...refoot-kicker/

[Coach Sal]

Re: What happened to the barefoot kicker?

[Johnny Bugmenot]

Re: What happened to the barefoot kicker?

There was José Cortéz, but I don't know if he ever kicked barefoot in the NFL. He did when he was in the XFL, though.