The MBB All-Time Blue Bomber Team: Place Kicker

[TrueBlue4ever]

Here are the bios:

*statistics incomplete, best I could find with documentation

Lirim Hajrullahu – 35 games in 2 seasons (2014-15), 46/53 converts (86.8% - best 96.9% in 2014), 62/78 FG (79.5% - best 87.0% in 2014: club #2 all-time), 5 FG singles, long 53, 123 KO, 7754 yds., 63.0 avg. (best 63.3 avg. in 2015), 5 KO singles, long 95, 250 pts. (best 159 in 2014), led Western Division with 159 pts. in 2014 (club rookie record)

Gerry James – 145 games in 11 seasons (1952-62), kicked from 1957-62, 116/146 converts (79.5% - best 87.2% in 1962), 35/66 FG (53.0% - best 66.7% in 1957-58), 17 FG singles, long 29*, 151 KO, 8246 yds., 54.6 avg. (best 60.4 avg. in 1962), 2 KO singles, long 86, 240 pts. (best 86 in 1962 – had 131 in 1957 including TDs), 4 time team nominee Most Outstanding Canadian (1954, 55, 57, 60), 2 time CFL Most Outstanding Canadian (1954, 57), divisional all-star 1955, 57, coaches all-star 1958, led Western Conference in scoring 1957, 60, 6 Grey Cup appearances (1953, 57-59, 61, 62), 4 time grey Cup champion (1958, 59, 61, 62), CFL Hall of Fame

Don Jonas – 54 games in 4 seasons (1971-74), 97/106 converts (91.5% - best 93.8% in 1972), 38/75 FG (50.7% - best 66.7% in 1972), 20 FG singles, long 42*, 9 KO, 521 yds., 57.9 avg. (best 57.9 avg. in 1971), 0 KO singles, long 90, 231 pts. (best 97 in 1971 – had 121 that year including TDs), 2 time team nominee Most Outstanding Player(1971, 73), CFL Most Outstanding Player 1971, 2 time divisional and CFL all-star (1971, 72), led CFL in scoring in 1971

Greg Kabat – 44* games in 8 seasons (1933-40), 84* pts. (best 33* in 1939), 4 time divisional all-star (1934, 38-40), 4 Grey Cup appearances (1935, 37-39), 2 time Grey Cup champion (1935, 39), CFL Hall of Fame

Trevor Kennerd – 187 games in 12 seasons (1980-91), 509/511 converts (99.6% - best 100% ten times), 394/592 FG (66.6% - best 80.0% in 1983), 131 FG singles, long 55, 867 KO, 48657 yds., 56.1 avg. (best 58.4 avg. in 1982), 18 KO singles, long 95, 1840 pts. (best 198 in 1985 – CFL record at that time), 3 time divisional all-star (1981, 83, 85), 2 time CFL all-star (1981, 85), led club in scoring 11 times, 2 time CFL scoring leader (1981, 85), #2 all time in club scoring, club record 9 converts in one game, club record 7 field goals in one game, 3 Grey Cup appearances and 3 time champion (1984, 88, 90)

Bud Korchak – 82 games in 6 seasons (1949-54), 76/96 converts (79.2% - best 93.5% in 1953), 17/35 FG (48.6% - best 66.7% in 1952), 10 FG singles, long 44*, 155 KO, 8071 yds., 52.1 avg. (best 52.4 avg. in 1952), 3 KO singles, long 80, 140 pts. (best 61 in 1953 – had 69 in 1952 including TDs), 3 time divisional all-star (1951-53), led Western Conference in scoring 1953, 2 Grey Cup appearances (1950, 53)

Justin Medlock – 53 games in 3 seasons (2016-18), 137/138 converts (99.3% - best 100% two times), 158/185 FG (85.4% - best 89.4% in 2018: both club records), 3 FG singles, long 58 (club record), 254 KO, 16822 yds., 66.2 avg.: club record (best 66.7 avg. in 2016: club record), 11 KO singles, long 95, 633 pts. (best 227 in 2016 – club record), 2016 divisional, CFL and CFLPA all-star as a kicker, 3 time team nominee for Most Outstanding Special teams player (2016-18), 2016 CFL Special Teams Player of the year, 2 time CFL scoring leader (2016, 17), club record 7 field goals in one game (3 times), holds or shares 9 club records in all (also most field goals and field goal attempts in a season in addition to those already listed)

Justin Palardy – 53 games in 4 seasons (2010-13), 102/102 converts (100% - best 100% 4 times), 114/139 FG (82.0%: #2 club all-time - best 86.7% in 2010, 12), 13 FG singles, long 51, 212 KO, 11903 yds., 56.1 avg. (best 57.3 avg. in 2012), 5 KO singles, long 91, 462 pts. (best 165 in 2011), Grey Cup appearance 2011

Bernie Ruoff – 77 games in 5 seasons (1975-79), 148/152 converts (97.4% - best 100% in 1979), 148/245 FG (60.4% - best 75.0% in 1979), 50 FG singles, long 58 (club record), 324 KO, 18961 yds., 58.5 avg. (best 62.9 avg. in 1976), 9 KO singles, long 95, 673 pts. (best 151 in 1979), 1979 team nominee for Most Outstanding Canadian player

Alexis Serna – 42 games in 3 seasons (2008-10), 94/94 converts (100% - best 100% three times), 82/114 FG (71.9% - best 81.6% in 2009), 18 FG singles, long 54, 204 KO, 11770 yds., 57.7 avg. (best 58.8 avg. in 2008), 3 KO singles, long 95, 368 pts. (best 161 in 2009)

Troy Westwood – 293 games in 18 seasons (1991-2007, 09) (#2 club all-time for both), 732/734 converts (99.7% - best 100% fifteen times), 617/853 FG (72.3% - best 80.4% in 1993), 110 FG singles, long 57, 1291 KO, 74093 yds., 57.4 avg. (best 62.9 avg. in 2007), 28 KO singles, long 95, 2748 pts. (best 213 in 1994 – #3 club all-time, club record 3 seasons over 200 points), 3 time divisional all-star (1992-94), 1992 CFL all-star, team nominee for Outstanding Special Teams Player in 2003, 2 time team nominee for Most Outstanding Canadian Player (1992, 2003), led club in scoring 16 times, 2 time Eastern Division scoring leader (1992, 93), led CFL in scoring 3 times (1994, 2002, 03), all time leader in club scoring, holds or shares 17 club records including 5 single season records, CFL record 661 consecutive converts, 4 Grey Cup appearances (1992, 93, 01, 07)

Edited February 11, 2019 by TrueBlue4ever

[Noeller]

Lotta good ones over the years, but Medlock is the first truly great one in Bombers history... 

[SpeedFlex27]

Bernie Ruoff's longest career FG of 58 yards was the first one he ever kicked.  At McMahon Stadium vs the Stamps on August 12, 1975. An 18-15 win for the Big Blue. 

[SpeedFlex27]

I know Med is a lock for this award. Get it? Med is a lock???? Okay bad joke. Medlock should win this. Therefore, I'm going to vote for Don Jonas. Any qb who can kick FG's & be the leading passer in the CFL as well as the scoring leader gets my vote. As if a qb hasn't enough on his mind.... now he has to kick the winning FG. Like no pressure. That is not easy so I voted for Jonas. 

[TrueBlue4ever]

One man's take:

Not sure if any position in football has refined itself as much as the place kicker in the last 30 years. If we are to simply look at these kickers against each other, obviously the more recent kickers will win out, because the precision of the craft is better now than ever. So to have a semblance of cross-generational fairness, one should look at these kickers as compared to their contemporaries at the time as a factor. Having said that, overall skill does matter, and the kicker is one position where pure physical size, speed and strength has not increased exponentially like at other positions. And because the kicking game is so cutthroat now (can't think of another position where one mistake in one game puts you on the chopping block like it does for a missed field goal to lose the game), longevity certainly should be factored in.

So looking at the list, my quick notes on each player are:

Hajrullahu - I will discount him just so I don't have to spell that last name again. But seriously, one very good year followed by a big drop off that led to him being replaced, and one year won't cut it as an all-timer.

James - You don't think of his kicking when you think of his contributions to the team. It would seem like kicking was an afterthought in those days, and you just found a good athlete was starred at another position who volunteered to kick as well and let them do it (the Poplawski or Lankford philosophy). Not a specialist, so I will not place him at the top.

Jonas - For the same reason as James, his contribution is greater at another position, so I will withhold my vote here and consider him in another category.

Kabat - Sadly I have no stats for this gentleman, and have no video of his efforts, so I can`t even say if kicking was all he did to earn a Hall of Fame spot. But given the paucity of total points per games played, it seems clear that the kicking game was not as essential to scoring as it is today. Still, big marks for his all-star status and Grey Cup rings.

Korchak - Probably a good example of the evolution of the kicking game from the 1950`s to today. Those numbers pale in comparison to the precision of today`s fleet of kickers, but he did his job well enough for 6 years. Again, lower point totals suggest less of a reliance on the kicking component than today`s breed.

Palardy - his high percentage suggests a reliability that few others could offer, but he was replaced by one year wonder Lirim H. while he still could, kick, so he was second best to another on this list. Also, I recall his leg strength being somewhat less than desirable, so his high percentage could in some way have been elevated by not trying much outside of 45 yards. No better than 4th on my list

Ruoff - It`s almost laughable that a guy with a 60% career average and a career best of 75% was considered a great kicker back in the day. Such is the progress this position has made. But a very strong leg and he pulled double duty. Again, docked due to his criminal charges which hastened his departure, and the fact that his replacement was all of 5`6`` and was much better for a longer time.

Serna - deceptively big power for a tiny man, and, like Lirim H., had one strong year which elevated his overall numbers. But the lasting image I have of him is a picture of him being consoled by Richard Harris at the half after he missed yet another short field goal in his final season. Not enough staying power to hit the top spot.

That leaves me with 3 contenders:

"Lefty" - Why do I feel like I should start this analysis with "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him"? Westwood ( or West-wide to many) will be reviled like Bill Buckner or Steve Bartman, seen as the scapegoat for all the failures of this club for the past 29 years, all because of one game. And yet he was the longest tenured player, much less kicker, of all-time on this club for anyone not named Cameron. All-time leading scorer, 17 club records, and not all of them just because of longevity, 5 division and 3 league scoring titles, even scored a touchdown on a fake field goal. And believe it or not, outside of the unforgiveable 2001 Grey Cup, he was incredibly reliable in the playoffs, going 8/10 overall in divisional playoff games, and 7/8 in his other Grey Cups (his only miss was a blocked kick). He was clutch at game's end too, clinching the 2000 semi in Hamilton on a last play field goal, and to my memory kicking the longest game winning last play field goal in club history with a  55 yard bomb against the 'Riders. And yet, while most ignore Charlie Roberts walkout that ended the 12 game winning streak in '01, and his pouting which led to a fundamental shift in the spread offence to make him the focus at season's end which bogged down the offence, and his drunken escapades the night before the big game, it is all Westwood's fault, and he will get no votes I suspect in this voting because of it. That's a shame. Granted, he was flaky (boxer, tap dancer, ballet, musician were some of his side hobbies), and he was a bit of a loud personality, which would look bad on him if he struggled, but big points for inventing the "Banjo pickin' inbreds" line which has spawned an annual football pilgrimage, a goofy trophy and a nice charity donation to boot. Pretty neat legacy. Maybe once the club gets the gorilla off its back and hoists Lord Earl Gray's mug, people will soften on him. Even one ring on his finger I say puts him in contention to top this list.

"The Hammer" - I remember reading how Kennerd's 80% season in 1983 was akin to Ted Williams' .400 batting average at the time. That seems comical in today's perfection-based standard of kicking, but at the time it was a remarkable feat. Again, such is the evolution of the position. Kennerd had a few duds in his career too, and blew more than a few easy kicks that cost the team games in the regular season and the playoffs. He was Westwood before Westwood, and a big scapegoat for a while. But credit where credit is due, he was money in the biggest game of all. In 1984, he was 4/4 in field goals and 5/5 in converts on the hockey rink that was Commonwealth Stadium that day, and because of the slippery conditions and hard field, he knew his kickoffs would not bounce, so he coffin-kicked them all day long, pinning the Ticats deep on every possession. Probably should have won Most Outstanding Canadian player on that day. In 1988, everyone talks about Cameron and the mastery of the wind, but Kennerd kicked in the same conditions, and after having gone 8/9 in the other playoff games, he went 4/5 and added a convert while his counterpart Lui Passaglia went 1/3 in a one point Bomber win. In 1990 Kennerd booted the Bombers in to the big game with a last play 35 yard field goal against the Argos, and then went 2/2 in that Grey Cup massacre in addition to 6/6 in converts. That reliability in the big moments puts him at #2 for me.

"The Lock" - Rarely have kicker signings been as feted as Medlock's original contract and he re-upping before this season, but that is how important he is to this club. He made a case for team MVP in his first season, carrying the club many games when all they could do was kick field goals. Went 7/7 on three separate occasions (tying the club record for most in a game each time). Makes the new 32 yard convert look as easy as the old 12 yard effort, only missing once in his 3 seasons here. A cannon for a leg, and he is quickly re-writing the special teams record book. We have 3 more seasons to enjoy his productivity, but he has already planted himself atop the mountain. Could playoff failure drop him off the summit? Perhaps, but for now he stands on the top rung.

Edited February 14, 2019 by TrueBlue4ever

[Blueandgold]

Has to be Medlock.

I'm happy to see that Troy has a goose egg.

[SpeedFlex27]

3 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

One man's take:

Not sure if any position in football has refined itself as much as the place kicker in the last 30 years. If we are to simply look at these kickers against each other, obviously the more recent kickers will win out, because the precision of the craft is better now than ever. So to have a semblance of cross-generational fairness, one should look at these kickers as compared to their contemporaries at the time as a factor. Having said that, overall skill does matter, and the kicker is one position where pure physical size, speed and strength has not increased exponentially like at other positions. And because the kicking game is so cutthroat now (can't think of another position where one mistake in one game puts you on the chopping block like it does for a missed field goal to lose the game), longevity certainly should be factored in.

So looking at the list, my quick notes on each player are:

Hajrullahu - I will discount him just so I don't have to spell that last name again. But seriously, one very good year followed by a big drop off that led to him being replaced, and one year won't cut it as an all-timer.

James - You don't think of his kicking when you think of his contributions to the team. It would seem like kicking was an afterthought in those days, and you just found a good athlete was starred at another position who volunteered to kick as well and let them do it (the Poplawski or Lankford philosophy). Not a specialist, so I will not place him at the top.

Jionas - For the same reason as James, his contribution is greater at another position, so I will withhold my vote here and consider him in another category.

Kabat - Sadly I have no stats for this gentleman, and have no video of his efforts, so I can`t even say if kicking was all he did to earn a Hall of Fame spot. But given the paucity of total points per games played, it seems clear that the kicking game was not as essential to scoring as it is today. Still, big marks for his all-star status and Grey Cup rings.

Korchak - Probably a good example of the evolution of the kicking game from the 1950`s to today. Those numbers pale in comparison to the precision of today`s fleet of kickers, but he did his job well enough for 6 years. Again, lower point totals suggest less of a reliance on the kicking component than today`s breed.

Palardy - his high percentage suggests a reliability that few others could offer, but he was replaced by one year wonder Lirim H. while he still could, kick, so he was second best to another on this list. Also, I recall his leg strength being somewhat less than desirable, so his high percentage could in some way have been elevated by not trying much outside of 45 yards. No better than 4th on my list

Ruoff - It`s almost laughable that a guy with a 60% career average and a career best of 75% was considered a great kicker back in the day. Such is the progress this position has made. But a very strong leg and he pulled double duty. Again, docked due to his criminal charges which hastened his departure, and the fact that his replacement was all of 5`6`` and was much better for a longer time.

Serna - deceptively big power for a tiny man, and, like Lirim H., had one strong year which elevated his overall numbers. But the lasting image I have of him is a picture of him being consoled by Richard Harris at the half after he missed yet another short field goal in his final season. Not enough staying power to hit the top spot.

That leaves me with 3 contenders:

"Lefty" - Why do I feel like I should start this analysis with "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him"? Westwood ( or West-wide to many) will be reviled like Bill Buckner or Steve Bartman, seen as the scapegoat for all the failures of this club for the past 29 years, all because of one game. And yet he was the longest tenured player, much less kicker, of all-time on this club for anyone not named Cameron. All-time leading scorer, 17 club records, and not all of them just because of longevity, 5 division and 3 league scoring titles, even scored a touchdown on a fake field goal. And believe it or not, outside of the unforgiveable 2001 Grey Cup, he was incredibly reliable in the playoffs, going 8/10 overall in divisional playoff games, and 7/8 in his other Grey Cups (his only miss was a blocked kick). He was clutch at game's end too, clinching the 2000 semi in Hamilton on a last play field goal, and to my memory kicking the longest game winning last play field goal in club history with a  55 yard bomb against the 'Riders. And yet, while most ignore Charlie Roberts walkout that ended the 12 game winning streak in '01, and his pouting which led to a fundamental shift in the spread offence to make him the focus at season's end which bogged down the offence, and his drunken escapades the night before the big game, it is all Westwood's fault, and he will get no votes I suspect in this voting because of it. That's a shame. Granted, he was flaky (boxer, tap dancer, ballet, musician were some of his side hobbies), and he was a bit of a loud personality, which would look bad on him if he struggled, but big points for inventing the "Banjo pickin' inbreds" line which has spawned an annual football pilgrimage, a goofy trophy and a nice charity donation to boot. Pretty neat legacy. Maybe once the club gets the gorilla off its back and hoists Lord Earl Gray's mug, people will soften on him. Even one ring on his finger I say puts him in contention to top this list.

"The Hammer" - I remember reading how Kennerd's 80% season in 1983 was akin to Ted Williams' .400 batting average at the time. That seems comical in today's perfection-based standard of kicking, but at the time it was a remarkable feat. Again, such is the evolution of the position. Kennerd had a few duds in his career too, and blew more than a few easy kicks that cost the team games in the regular season and the playoffs. He was Westwood before Westwood, and a big scapegoat for a while. But credit where credit is due, he was money in the biggest game of all. In 1984, he was 4/4 in field goals and 5/5 in converts on the hockey rink that was Commonwealth Stadium that day, and because of the slippery conditions and hard field, he knew his kickoffs would not bounce, so he coffin-kicked them all day long, pinning the Ticats deep on every possession. Probably should have won Most Outstanding Canadian player on that day. In 1988, everyone talks about Cameron and the mastery of the wind, but Kennerd kicked in the same conditions, and after having gone 8/9 in the other playoff games, he went 4/5 and added a convert while his counterpart Lui Passaglia went 1/3 in a one point Bomber win. In 1990 Kennerd booted the Bombers in to the big game with a last play 35 yard field goal against the Argos, and then went 2/2 in that Grey Cup massacre in addition to 6/6 in converts. That reliability in the big moments puts him at #2 for me.

"The Lock" - Rarely have kicker signings been as feted as Medlock's original contract and he re-upping before this season, but that is how important he is to this club. He made a case for team MVP in his first season, carrying the club many games when all they could do was kick field goals. Went 7/7 on three separate occasions (tying the club record for most in a game each time). Makes the new 32 yard convert look as easy as the old 12 yard effort, only missing once in his 3 seasons here. A cannon for a leg, and he is quickly re-writing the special teams record book. We have 3 more seasons to enjoy his productivity, but he has already planted himself atop the mountain. Could playoff failure drop him off the summit? Perhaps, but for now he stands on the top rung.

There's a reason why kicking percentages were as low as they were back 40-60 years ago. Most kickers played a different position. Rosters were small so there was no room for specialists. All kickers played somewhere. They didn't spend the time needed to perfect their craft. That changed in the late 60's with the Gogolak's in the NFL as well as Ted Gerela (BC Lions) & his brother Roy (Pittsburgh). Teams saw that using kicking specialists helped the bottom line on the field & soon the NFL & CFL expanded their rosters so kicking & punting specialists could play. Colleges began recruiting kickers out of high school. High school players that had strong legs became punters & kickers. Instead of linebackers or receivers. It took a generation for the straight on kicker to become extinct in favour of the soccer style kicker. It also took a generation or 2 for qualified coaches to come along to be able to teach kids the proper kicking techniques. Today we have kickers routinely kicking FG's at an 80-85% clip year in & year out in both Canada & the US.

In 1970, Gene Lakusiak was one of our 2 starting cornerbacks. As a corner he was a CFL All Star in 71 & 72 so he was a pretty decent player. The problem was in 1970 he was our kicker. He was good on 14 of 18 converts. He made only 4 of 26 field goals for a percentage of 15.4% which was horrendous. Yes, he actually scored 26 points as pour kicker which was a nightmare that I vividly recall.  When Jonas came along in 1971, it was like a Godsend.  We went from having the worst kicker in all of pro football to the CFL's leading scorer & the CFL's leading passer!! Jonas actually won us games with his leg. What a concept... Instead of watching Lakusiak blow another winnable game. Imagine having a kicker with a 15.4% accuracy record? And he kept his kicking  job game in & game out. The interesting thing was that when Lakusiak was our kicker his play at corner suffered. Once he was free just to concentrate on being a corner his play was vastly different. . It was like the chains holding him back were removed & the pressure gone.

Edited February 14, 2019 by SpeedFlex27

[Eternal optimist]

22 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

I know Med is a lock for this award. Get it? Med is a lock???? Okay bad joke. Medlock should win this. Therefore, I'm going to vote for Don Jonas. Any qb who can kick FG's & be the leading passer in the CFL as well as the scoring leader gets my vote. As if a qb hasn't enough on his mind.... now he has to kick the winning FG. Like no pressure. That is not easy so I voted for Jonas. 

This sounds like an obscure new rule requirement from the AAF.

[do or die]

On 2019-02-11 at 8:54 PM, SpeedFlex27 said:

Bernie Ruoff's longest career FG of 58 yards was the first one he ever kicked.  At McMahon Stadium vs the Stamps on August 12, 1975. An 18-15 win for the Big Blue. 

He was smoking, that night

[SpeedFlex27]

14 hours ago, do or die said:

He was smoking, that night

He was smoking a lot of nights. He used to play with his glasses & a wristwatch.