Ben Agajanian
|
1955 Bowman football card | |||
| No. 3, 8 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Placekicker | ||
| Personal information | |||
| Date of birth: | August 28, 1919 | ||
| Place of birth: | Santa Ana, California | ||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||
| Career information | |||
| High school: | San Pedro (CA) | ||
| College: |
New Mexico Compton (CA) Junior College | ||
| Undrafted: | 1941 | ||
| Career history | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
| |||
| Career NFL statistics | |||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||
Benjamin James Agajanian "The Toeless Wonder" (born August 28, 1919) is a former American football player, primarily a placekicker in the National Football League, and also in the All-America Football Conference and American Football League.
Born in Santa Ana, California, he graduated from San Pedro High School in the San Pedro community in Los Angeles. A placekicker, he played college football at Compton Junior College and the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.[1] He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II as a physical training instructor.[2]
Agajanian played professionally in the National Football League from 1945 through 1959, then in the newly formed American Football League for the Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers in 1960, 1961, and 1964. He also played for the Dallas Texans in 1961 and the Oakland Raiders in 1962. He was one of only two players (the other was Hardy Brown) who played in the All-America Football Conference, the American Football League, and the National Football League.[3]
Agajanian had four toes of his kicking foot crushed and later amputated in a work accident in 1939 while playing in college,[2][4] but overcame the injury to become pro football's second kicking specialist (after Mose Kelsch), booting field goals for 10 different professional teams in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, including two NFL champions: the New York Giants in 1956 and the Green Bay Packers in 1961.[5] After retiring from the field at age 45,[6] he was the Dallas Cowboys kicking coach for 20 years.
See also
- History of the New York Giants (1925–78)
- List of American Football League players
- History of the Armenian Americans in Los Angeles
References
- ↑ "Agajanian signs with grid Dons". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. May 14, 1947. p. 23.
- 1 2 "Agajanian became star kicker after injury to right foot". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 1, 1945. p. 12.
- ↑ Giants Among Men, Jack Cavanaugh, p.54, 2008, Random House, ISBN 978-1-4000-6717-6
- ↑ "Bootin' Ben Agajanian, oldest active gridder, released by Green Bay". Florence Times. Alabama. Associated Press. p. 11, section 2.
- ↑ Lea, Bud (November 18, 1961). "Agajanian signs with Packers". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 7, part 3.
- ↑ "History: Players Who've Played in NFL at Age 40 or Older". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com • Pro-Football-Reference • Databasefootball.com
- Ben Agajanian, the oldest living Los Angeles Ram at 96, gets a real kick out of their return to L.A.
- Dwyer, Bill (2007-10-27). "Kicking pioneer makes his case". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-08-26.