Jim Bakken

American football player (born 1940)

American football player
Jim Bakken
refer to caption
Bakken c. 2015
No. 25
Position:Kicker
Personal information
Born: (1940-11-02) November 2, 1940 (age 83)
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school:Madison West
College:Wisconsin
NFL draft:1962 / Round: 7 / Pick: 88
Career history
  • Los Angeles Rams (1962)*
  • St. Louis Cardinals (1962–1978)
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Field goals attempted:447
Field goals made:282
Field goal percentage:63.1%
Longest field goal:51
Extra points attempted:553
Extra points made:534
Extra point percentage:96.6%
Points scored:1,380
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

James LeRoy Bakken (born November 2, 1940) is an American former football kicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis Cardinals, playing occasionally as a punter as well. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and was named to the NFL 1960s and 1970s All-Decade Team. Bakken is one of 29 individuals to be named to two All-Decade teams.[1]

Early career

Before his NFL career, Bakken played football at Madison West High School in Madison, Wisconsin. He went on to play three seasons at the University of Wisconsin, where he played on the 1960 Rose Bowl team as a sophomore and led the Big Ten in punting average in 1960 and 1961. He was named to the Madison (Wisconsin) Sports Hall of Fame in 1984, and was later inducted into the UW Athletic Department-National W Club Hall of Fame.[2]

Professional career

Bakken was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the seventh round of the 1962 NFL draft.[3] He did not make the team and was instead picked up by the St. Louis Cardinals, where he played his entire NFL career. He played 17 seasons, scoring a total of 1,380 points while never missing a game between 1963 and 1978. He cracked the 100-point threshold in a season three times (1964, 1967, and 1973) and was selected to kick in the Pro Bowl four times. For a time, he was president of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA).[4]

Bakken was the first NFL kicker to attempt nine field goals and successfully convert seven in a Week 2 28–14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Pitt Stadium on September 24, 1967. That single-game field goal record was broke by Rob Bironas with eight in a game in 2007.[5]

Honors

Bakken was named by the voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame to the Professional Football 1960s All Decade Team, which included both NFL and American Football League players. The voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame also selected Bakken to the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team.

In December 2010, the annual trophy for the Big Ten's best kicker, the "Bakken-Andersen Kicker of the Year" award, was co-named in his honor.[6]

Career regular season statistics

Career high/best bolded

Regular season statistics
Season Team (record) G FGM FGA % <20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+ LNG BLK XPM XPA % PTS
1962 STL (4–9–1) 8 0 1 0.0 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0 0 0 0 0.0 0
1963 STL (9–5) 14 11 21 52.4 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 45 0 44 44 100.0 77
1964 STL (9–3–2) 14 25 38 65.8 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 51 0 40 40 100.0 115
1965 STL (5–9) 14 21 31 67.7 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 45 0 33 33 100.0 96
1966 STL (8–5–1) 14 23 40 57.5 8–8 7–8 4–8 4–12 0–4 47 0 27 28 96.4 96
1967 STL (6–7–1) 14 27 39 69.2 8–8 8–9 8–11 3–10 0–1 47 0 36 36 100.0 117
1968 STL (9–4–1) 14 15 24 62.5 2–2 7–7 3–6 3–8 0–1 47 0 40 40 100.0 85
1969 STL (4–9–1) 14 12 24 50.0 2–2 4–8 3–4 3–7 0–3 46 0 38 40 95.0 74
1970 STL (8–5–1) 14 20 32 62.5 4–4 3–6 7–7 6–11 0–4 49 0 37 38 97.4 97
1971 STL (4–9–1) 14 21 32 65.6 5–5 8–13 5–6 3–8 0–0 45 0 24 24 100.0 87
1972 STL (4–9–1) 14 14 22 63.6 4–5 2–5 2–3 6–9 0–0 49 0 19 21 90.5 61
1973 STL (4–9–1) 14 23 32 71.9 4–4 6–7 10–12 3–8 0–1 46 0 31 31 100.0 100
1974 STL (10–4) 14 13 22 59.1 0–0 2–3 5–9 6–10 0–0 47 0 30 36 83.3 69
1975 STL (11–3) 14 19 24 79.2 0–0 10–11 5–7 4–6 0–0 48 0 40 41 97.6 97
1976 STL (10–4) 14 20 27 74.1 0–0 10–11 6–8 4–8 0–0 43 0 33 35 94.3 93
1977 STL (7–7) 14 7 16 43.8 0–0 2–2 3–5 2–8 0–1 49 0 35 36 97.2 56
1978 STL (6–10) 16 11 22 50.0 0–0 4–5 4–7 3–10 0–0 45 0 27 30 90.0 60
Career (17 seasons) 234 282 447 63.1 37–38 73–95 65–93 50–115 0–15 51 0 534 553 96.6 1380

See also

References

  1. ^ "Tom Brady is first QB to make two all-decade teams". April 6, 2020.
  2. ^ UWBadgers.com, "Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Friday", "Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Friday - UWBadgers.com - the Official Web Site of the Wisconsin Badgers Athletics". Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2012. . Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  3. ^ "1962 Los Angeles Rams". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2007. Retrieved July 18, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ UWBadgers.com, "Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Friday", "Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Friday - UWBadgers.com - the Official Web Site of the Wisconsin Badgers Athletics". Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  5. ^ Most field goals in a game – Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  6. ^ BigTen.org, "Football Trophy Names", http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121310aaa.html Archived December 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 14, 2010.

External links

  • Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison Hall of Fame biography
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Los Angeles Rams 1962 NFL draft selections
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