Well, today I gotta talk about something I’ve been digging into lately – the past kickers of the Colts. You know, those guys who used to boot the ball through the uprights for my favorite team. I’ve always been a bit of a stats nerd, and the history of the Colts has always grabbed my attention. So, I decided to roll up my sleeves and see what I could find about these guys.
First thing I did was hit up the internet, just typing in “Colts past kickers” into the search bar. I found a bunch of articles and stuff, but man, it was a mess. Names, dates, and numbers all jumbled together. It took me a while just to sort through it all. I started jotting down names of kickers who played for the Colts, starting with the most recent ones I could remember and working my way back.
One name that popped up right away was Adam Vinatieri. I mean, who could forget him? The guy was with the Colts forever, from 2006 all the way up until recently. He was like a machine, so consistent. I found his stats pretty easily – 30-of-31 on field goals one year, and he made every single extra point, 50-of-50! I wrote all that down, feeling pretty good about my progress.
Then I started digging deeper, looking for some of the older players. I found a guy named Lou Michaels who played way back in the 60s. The records for him were a bit harder to track down, not as neat and organized as Vinatieri’s. I managed to piece together some of his numbers – like in 1964 he made 30 out of 42 attempts, then in ’69 he went 26 out of 56. It wasn’t perfect, but it was something.
- Spent hours searching online, just trying to get a list of names.
- Looked up individual player stats, which was a real pain for the older players.
- Wrote down everything I found, trying to keep it organized.
I also stumbled across this other kicker, Mike Vanderjagt. Turns out, this guy was known for being super accurate. I read somewhere that when he retired, he was the most accurate kicker ever, at least for guys who had attempted a bunch of field goals. Something like 86.5% accuracy, which is crazy good.
After a few days of doing this, I had a pretty decent list going. It wasn’t just about the numbers, either. I found some cool stories about these guys, like how some of them were also punters, or how they came to the Colts in the first place. It was like putting together a big puzzle, piece by piece.
It’s Still a Work in Progress
Honestly, I’m still working on this project. There are probably some kickers I missed, and definitely more stats and stories to uncover. But it’s been a fun little journey so far, learning about these guys who played a big role for the Colts, even if they weren’t always the stars of the show. I’ll keep digging and see what else I can turn up. Maybe I’ll even put together a proper list or something eventually. But for now, it’s just me, my notes, and the internet, trying to piece together a little bit of Colts history, one kick at a time.
