Thursday, April 16, 2015

1974 Profile: Bobby Howfield

Place Kicker
No. 3
"Howfield put together another fine season as the Jets place kicker and kickoff specialist. He booted field goals at a .708 clip, good for second place among AFC kickers. He connected on 17 of 24 attempts and was responsible for the winning points in two games.
Bobby kicked three field goals, including a 22-yarder in the final two minutes to lift the Jets past New England, 9-7. Several weeks later he posted an 18-yarder in the fourth quarter to squeeze past Baltimore, 20-17. Bobby continued to boom most of his kickoffs into the end zone to help the Jets specialty squads do their job more efficiently.
Since coming to the Jets in 1971 he has kicked 3-pointers at a .650 pace and led the team in scoring. Bobby led the AFC in scoring in 1972 with 121 points. The best afternoon of his career came in a Jet uniform, when he accounted for six field goals and all the Jet points in an 18-17 win over New Orleans in 1972, kicking the final one as time expired. He termed it 'my biggest thrill since coming to the United States.'
Bobby is the first soccer-style kicker to play for the Jets. He came to the U.S. with the Chiefs after a kicking clinic found him in England. He was cut by the Chiefs and went to Denver in 1968, later coming to the Jets in a trade with Denver for Jim Turner in January 1971.
Bobby remarked that 'I became a kicker in 1972.' He has worked in the insurance department of a bank in Denver, where he makes his home. Bobby became a U.S. citizen this spring. His hometown is Bushey, England."

-The New York Jets Official 1974 Yearbook

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