| Garo Yepremian | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Date of birth: | June 2, 1944 |
| Place of birth: | Larnaca, Cyprus |
| Career information | |
| Position(s): | Placekicker |
| Jersey №: | 1, 47 |
| College: | None |
| Organizations | |
| As player: | |
| 1966-1967 1970-1978 1979 1980-1981 |
Detroit Lions Miami Dolphins New Orleans Saints Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Career highlights and Awards | |
| Awards: | 1974 Pro Bowl MVP |
| Honors: | NFL 1970s All-Decade Team |
| Stats at DatabaseFootball.com | |
Garabed Sarkis "Garo" Yepremian (born June 2, 1944) is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League for the Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers during a career that spanned from 1966 to 1981. Events 455 - The Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Larnaca, ( Greek: Λάρνακα, Turkish: Larnaka) is a City of the Republic of Cyprus situated on the southern coast Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía In American football, each team has 11 players on the field at one time Placekicker, or simply kicker ( PK or K) is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the In team Sports the squad number, shirt number, jersey number, sweater number, or uniform number is the Number This is a List of Athletic Conferences of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA The Detroit Lions are an American football team based in Detroit Michigan. The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami Florida Metropolitan Area. The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans Louisiana. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (often shortened as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa Florida. In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the All-star game of the National Football League (NFL This is a list of all NFL players who have had outstanding performances throughout the 1970s and have been compiled onto this fantasy group Events 455 - The Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with Placekicker, or simply kicker ( PK or K) is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league. The Detroit Lions are an American football team based in Detroit Michigan. The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami Florida Metropolitan Area. The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans Louisiana. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (often shortened as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa Florida.
Yepremian was born in Larnaca, Cyprus to Armenian parents. Larnaca, ( Greek: Λάρνακα, Turkish: Larnaka) is a City of the Republic of Cyprus situated on the southern coast Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía The Armenians (Հայեր Hayer) are a Nation and Ethnic group originating in the Caucasus and in the Armenian Highlands A large Aged 16, he moved to London with the hope of someday attending college. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. He later moved to Indianapolis, Indiana hoping to earn a college scholarship playing football. Yepremian had no prior knowledge of American football, and his brief experience as a professional soccer player prevented him from playing college football per NCAA rules. American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered The National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA, often pronounced "N-C-Double-A" is a voluntary association of about 1200 institutions conferences organizations Nevertheless, he continued to practice his kicking at Butler University, where he was discovered and signed by the Detroit Lions. Butler University is a private Liberal arts University in Indianapolis, Indiana.
In his rookie year, he broke a record by kicking six field goals in a single game for the Lions against the Minnesota Vikings. The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based out of Minneapolis Minnesota. That record was broken the next season by the St. Louis Cardinals' Jim Bakken, who kicked seven field goals in a game. The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale Arizona, just outside of Phoenix. James LeRoy Bakken (born November 2, 1940, Madison Wisconsin) is a former American football punter and Placekicker
During one of his early games with the Lions, they were losing but scored a touchdown in the last 10 seconds of the game. Yepremian was sent in to kick the extra point, and he was so excited after converting the point that he went running off the field with his arms raised up celebrating.
His teammate Alex Karras asked him in Greek, since Yepremian barely spoke any English back then, "What the hell are you celebrating?" Yepremian replied with the catch phrase made famous on the Johnny Carson show "I keek a touchdown" ([1]). Alexander George Karras (born July 15, 1935, in Gary, Indiana, United States) nicknamed "The Mad Duck", is a John William “Johnny” Carson ( October 23, 1925 &ndash January 23, 2005) was an American Television host and
In 1968, Yepremian left football to enlist in the U.S. Army. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. The Lions chose not to re-sign him when he returned the following year, and he sat out the 1969 season.
In 1970, Yepremian earned a spot on the Dolphins roster. He led the league in points with 117 in 1971. He was a key member of the 1972 Miami Dolphins unbeaten team and appeared in three Super Bowls (VI, VII and VIII). Super Bowl VI was an American football game played on January 16, 1972, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans Louisiana to decide Super Bowl VII was an American football game played on January 14, 1973 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles California Super Bowl VIII was an American football game played on January 13, 1974 at Rice Stadium in Houston Texas to decide the National
Yepremian is best known for two feats — one famous, one infamous. In a divisional playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas 1971, he kicked a 37-yard field goal 7 minutes and 40 seconds into double overtime, ending the longest game in NFL history and sending the Dolphins to the AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Colts (which the Dolphins won to go on to Super Bowl VI). The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City Missouri. The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis Indiana. Super Bowl VI was an American football game played on January 16, 1972, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans Louisiana to decide
Despite all of Yepremian's success, many people remember him for an embarrassing incident in Super Bowl VII. Super Bowl VII was an American football game played on January 14, 1973 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles California With his team leading the Washington Redskins 14-0, Yepremian was sent on to the field to kick a field goal with slightly more than two minutes left, which would have put the game out of reach. The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team based in the Washington D The field goal attempt was blocked by Bill Brundige, and Yepremian managed to get to the ball before any other player did. William Glenn Brundige (born November 13, 1948 in Holyoke, Colorado) is a former American football Defensive end in Instead of just falling on the ball to preserve the Dolphins' 14-0 lead, he picked it up and frantically attempted to throw a pass. The ball slipped from his hands and went straight up in the air. Yepremian then batted it back up in the air, and it went right into the arms of his former Lions teammate, Redskins cornerback Mike Bass, who eluded Yepremian's feeble attempt to tackle him and returned it for a touchdown. A cornerback ( CB) (also referred to as a corner) is a positional role played by a member of the defensive team in American and Canadian Michael Thomas Bass (born March 31, 1945 in Ypsilanti, Michigan) is a former professional American football player who played The Dolphins managed to hold on to win, 14-7 to preserve their perfect season. A perfect season is any sports season including the playoff portion of a season in which a team remains undefeated and untied This attempted pass has been labeled as "the worst pass in history" by Steve Sabol. Steven "Steve" Sabol (born October 2, 1942) is an American Filmmaker.
In the 1974 Pro Bowl Yepremian kicked five field goals to lead the AFC to a win, and was voted Most Valuable Player in that game. In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the All-star game of the National Football League (NFL He was elected to another Pro Bowl in 1979 after a season in which he kicked twenty consecutive field goals without a miss. Artistic Gymnastics World Artistic Gymnastics Championships: Men's all-around champion Alexander Dityatin, USSR
Over his career, Yepremian was successful on 210 of 313 field goals and 444 of 464 extra points for a total of 1,074 points. He led the league in field-goal accuracy three times.
Although he was voted Kicker of the Decade (over Jan Stenerud) by both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and by Sports Illustrated between 1970 and 1980, Garo has not yet been voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame despite being nominated recently (Stenerud was elected in 1991). Jan Stenerud (born November 26, 1942) is a Norwegian former football player for the Kansas City Chiefs (1967-1979 Green Bay The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the Hall of fame of the National Football League (NFL Artistic Gymnastics World Artistic Gymnastics Championships: Men's all-around champion Eizo Kenmotsu, Japan Athletics For an extensive coverage see 1980 in athletics (track and field World Records June 12 &mdash
In 1981, Garo was elected to the Florida Sports Hall of Fame. The Florida Sports Hall of Fame (FSHOF and Museum is dedicated to preserving honoring and promoting knowledge of excellence manifested by inducted individuals and in the history and conduct
Yepremian is currently a motivational speaker and the author of several books including an autobiography titled I Keek a Touchdown, published in 1995. An autobiography, from the Greek αὐτός autos "self" βίος bios "life" and γράφειν graphein "to write" He is also the Founder & CEO of The Garo Yepremian Foundation for Brain Tumor Research.
Reebok featured Garo Yepremian and his teammates from the 1972 Dolphins team in a commercial which aired during Super Bowl XLII. Super Bowl XLII featured the National Football Conference (NFC champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC champion New England The commercial can be seen at http://www.rbk.com/us/perfectville/
Side Note: His Nephew Alexander Yepremian is an up and coming actor who just completed the National Broadway Tour of Annie. Now currently lives in London, England pursuing acting
External links
Other sources
- Carroll, Bob, et al. (1999). Total Football II. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-270174-6.
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic