There are 371 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but not many of them are kicking specialists. The first members of the NFL‘s Hall of Fame were enshrined in 1963, with the first kicker enshrined in 1971. How many have been enshrined since?
Hall of Fame Kickers
As of 2023, there are five kickers in the NFL Hall of Fame — four placekickers and one punter. Only two of the placekickers played the position exclusively.
Morten Andersen | Class of 2017
Morten Andersen played 25 seasons in the NFL from 1982 to 2007. He was born in Denmark and came to the USA as an exchange student in 1977 and was nicknamed the “Great Dane.”
The legendary kicker was a fourth-round pick for the New Orleans Saints in 1982. Andersen played 13 seasons in New Orleans before signing with the Atlanta Falcons as a free agent. He also went on to play for the New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Minnesota Vikings before coming out of retirement in 2006.
Andersen is the all-time leading points scorer for two different franchises, the Saints and the Falcons. His stats show he converted 565 field goals and 849 extra-point attempts.
When Andersen retired in 2007, he was the all-time NFL points leader. He has since been overtaken by Adam Vinatieri, who is destined for the Hall of Fame himself.
Andersen entered the NFL Hall of Fame as only one of two exclusive kickers.
Jan Stenerud | Class of 1991
The other exclusive placekicker in the NFL Hall of Fame is Jan Stenerud, who was enshrined in 1991.
Stenerud was a ski jumper who came to the USA on a ski scholarship at Montana State and became the NFL’s first-ever Norwegian player. At Montana State, he was spotted kicking footballs and was quickly asked to join the football team.
Stenerud was drafted in Round 3 of the 1966 AFL Draft by the Chiefs before the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. For his time, he was groundbreaking, as he was one of the first players to be used solely as a placekicker.
In a stellar career, Stenerud made 373 field goals and 580 extra points. Ending his career in 1985, Stenerud has been enshrined into the Chiefs and the Green Bay Packers’ own Hall of Fames.
In his 19 seasons, Stenerud never missed a game and was so special to the Chiefs that they even retired his No. 3 jersey.
George Blanda | Class of 1981
George Blanda was a placekicker and a quarterback in the NFL and was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1981. He played 26 seasons in the NFL and still holds the record for the longest playing career.
Blanda entered the NFL in 1949 as a 12th-round pick to the Chicago Bears. He had to wait five seasons to become the full-time starter before suffering an injury in 1954. From then on, he was used as just a kicker, a decision that Blanda didn’t take too kindly.
It led to him retiring from the NFL in 1958, but Blanda returned in 1960 with the emergence of the AFL, signing with the Houston Oilers. He won two AFL titles in Houston. Finally, Blanda found himself with the Oakland Raiders, where he played nine seasons.
Over his career, Blanda scored 2,002 points and 236 touchdowns. He holds the record for most extra points made with 943 and is tied with seven other quarterbacks for the record of scoring seven touchdowns in a game.
Lou Groza | Class of 1974
Lou Groza was an absolute phenom. Not only was he a designated placekicker, but he was also an offensive tackle. It was a different era of football, but it doesn’t make Groza’s dual positions any less remarkable.
Groza went undrafted but signed with the Cleveland Browns, where he spent his entire career. When he retired in 1967, Groza was the last remaining player from the original Cleveland team.
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Despite being an outstanding kicker, Groza thought of himself as a tackle first. In his enshrinement speech, Groza humored, “Kicking was something I did because I had the talent. I always considered myself a tackle.”
Throughout his career, Groza won four Super Bowls and four AAFC Championships and was selected to the Pro Bowl in nine different seasons.
Nicknamed “the Toe,” Groza is synonymous with the Browns, being named in their Ring of Honor and also having his No. 76 jersey retired.
Ray Guy | Class of 2014
The only punter on this list is Ray Guy. Guy became the first punter to be selected in the first round of an NFL Draft when he was picked by the Raiders in 1973.
He went on to play his whole career as an Oakland/Los Angeles Raider and led the league in punting in 1974, 1975, and 1977. He was well known for long, booming kicks, pinning the opposition deep in their own territory. Guy was attributed with 209 punts ending inside the 20-yard line of the opponent during the 11 seasons of his 14-year career that the stat was collected.
Guy won three Super Bowls and made seven Pro Bowls. He was also named first-team All-Pro for six consecutive years.