1976 Profile: Pat Leahy

Place Kicker
No. 5
St. Louis
"Leahy supported his storybook tale of a 1974 season with a solid 1975 campaign. He finished tied for 15th with George Blanda in NFL field goal rankings, hitting 61.9 percent of his attempts, and tied for sixth in the AFC.
He had the dubious distinction of facing the toughest average kick attempt from the standpoint of distance, 39.6 yards, yet finished third in percentage of long (40-49 yards) field goals (7-for-12, 38.3 percent) behind Denver's Jim Turner and Cincinnati's Dave Green. Leahy's longest boot in 1975 was 47 yards (twice). He kicked three field goals against the Bills and three against the Patriots, including a 44-yarder for the winning points. Pat arrived as a full-time place kicker after beating out veteran Bobby Howfield.
Pat signed with the Jets on November 8, 1974, two days before the mid-season game against the Giants. He replaced the injured Howfield and responded by finishing as the team's third-leading scorer [36 points] with 6-for-11 on field goals and 18-for-19 on PAT's for 36 points. Pat was one of the heroes of the tingling overtime victory over the Giants as he kicked field goals of 34 and 22 yards and added two extra points. He had a chance to win the game in regulation but his 19-yard field goal try was blocked. His long boot of 1974 was 45 yards against San Diego- that kick was the longest for the Jets since a 50-yarder by Jim Turner in 1969.
He had no football experience prior to attending the Cardinal's training camp in 1974. He held his own but could not unseat Jim Bakken. The Jets first knew of him when he kicked off against them in a preseason game.
Pat holds a B.S. in marketing and business administration and works for Schmidt Bros. Painting and Remodeling in the off-season. His hometown is St. Louis, Missouri."

-1976 New York Jets Media Guide