3/2/2024 0 Comments Man completes longest fallIronically, his dream of playing soccer moved him to Irving, Texas, in 1972 and to Dallas where he played for a European team.Įach stop led to another significant point in his life. Growing up in Sweden, the majority of his life was spent on a soccer pitch. Johansson had only kicked four collegiate field goals before that game. WALK-ONS: Most successful walk-ons in college football history He recalls people asking coach Wally Bullington why he tried to kick a field goal from that spot on the field.īullington responded, "Well, we needed three points." ![]() Ron Hadfield, Abilene's former editor of the student newspaper The Optimist and current editor of the school's alumni magazine, remembers covering the game from the sidelines that day. Here's actual footage of the record-breaking kick: Johansson could hear laughter as he took formation. "But my wife April said, '10-15 seconds before you kicked, you could hear a needle fall in the stadium." Those same people believed the huddle at Abilene's 41-yard line was a fake. Many say the point at which his foot met the football sounded like a shotgun. He didn't know that he would make it, but he knew he was capable. "One of the refs got kind of upset because he had to walk all the way down there (to retrieve the ball)," Johansson laughed through his Swedish-Texan accent. Some people like to view the kick as a fluke, that mystical powers were at work that day, that the wind gave the ball extra life - anything to sell Johansson's achievement short.Įven the officiating crew was the least bit amused. He was on target from 69 yards out, so much that the officials said it would've been good from 75 yards. The kicking gods traveled 270 miles up the road from College Station to sprinkle magic kicking dust onto Johansson's right foot in Abilene. "It was exciting to get on that field knowing if I make this field goal then I will do something that no one has ever done in the sport," Johansson said. Ten minutes before he and the Wildcats' special teams unit gathered at their own 41-yard line, Tony Franklin of Texas A&M kicked a 65-yard field goal (and a 64-yarder later in the game) against Baylor to take full ownership of the longest field goal in college football history. ![]() That didn't pressurize Johansson, but something peculiar peaked his adrenaline. Wilbert scored his long-anticipated touchdown. "The leg was working," Johansson told in 2019. Two of Johansson's pregame warmup kicks were good from 70 yards. What they didn't know of was the dialogue that preceded the game between ACU teammates Johansson and Montgomery. Wilbert Montgomery was a touchdown shy of surpassing fellow Mississippi native Walter Payton's career collegiate touchdown record (63). ![]() They knew one record would be broken that day. The stands were brimming with students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni. 16, 1976 to Abilene Christian University and Shotwell Stadium. ![]() Homecoming weekend brought the crowd on Oct. That's when, Johansson kicked a 69-yard field goal against East Texas State, becoming the record-holder for the longest field goal in college football history. Sixty-nine yards was all that stood in the way of Ove Johansson and history. The wind? Seventeen miles per hour with a 12 miles per hour tailwind. Overcast skies and the crisp 58-degree air resembled the breath of a peppermint.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |