K/OT Lou "The Toe" Groza (NFL Hall of Fame)

[Buckskin86]

76 Lou Groza Class of 1974
Sunday, July 22, 2007

Born Jan. 25, 1924 in Martins Ferry.

Died Nov. 29, 2000, in Berea.

cantonrep.com


Lou Groza
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lou Groza
Date of birth January 25, 1924
Place of birth Martins Ferry, Ohio
Date of death November 29, 2000 (aged 76)
Position(s) Kicker,
Offensive tackle
College Ohio State
Career highlights
Pro Bowls 9
Honors NFL 1950s All-Decade Team
Lou Groza Award
Retired #s Cleveland Browns #76
Stats
Statistics DatabaseFootball

Team(s)
1946-1959, 1961-1967 Cleveland Browns
Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1974
Louis Roy Groza (January 25, 1924 - November 29, 2000) was an American football placekicker who played his entire career for the Cleveland Browns.

Born to Hungarian immigrants in Martins Ferry, Ohio, a decidedly athletic family, he was the smallest (at 6' 3") of three brothers. He played one season for The Ohio State University, where he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega, before being drafted into the Army. Upon discharge, Groza joined the Browns, who were then in the All-America Football Conference. He stayed with the team until 1959. After a brief retirement, he returned to play from 1961-1967. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his 21 years of play was unprecedented up to that time, and when he retired, he was last of the original Browns still active.

While renowned for his kicking ability, Groza also played and started during most of his career as offensive tackle for the Browns. He was very proficient at both positions, named nine times to the NFL Pro Bowl and was All-NFL tackle six times. Groza also led the NFL in field goals in 1950, 1952-54, and 1957. In 1950, his field goal with 30 seconds left won the NFL Championship Game. In 1957, he also co-led the NFL in scoring. He was named the Sporting News' NFL Player of the Year in 1954. However, he played exclusively as a kicker during his second stint with the Browns.

Groza was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974. His number 76 is retired by the Browns. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission established the Lou Groza Award in 1992, an award given to the best NCAA Division I kicker. In 1999, he was ranked number 99 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

Lou Groza co-wrote a biography of his time playing football called "The Toe: The Lou Groza Story".

The "Lou Groza Rule" in the NFL prohibits use of artificial aids for kickers. Lou used tape and later a special tee with a long tail to help him guide his foot to the sweet spot of the football when kicking. The 1956 rule banned Lou's tape.

Lou Groza - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Buckskin86]

OSU ON SUNDAY
Kickers
Thursday, October 15, 2009 10:00 PM
By BY RAY STEIN
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

PHOTO (top): Lou Groza only played one season at Ohio State before being drafted into the Army. (Associated Press file photo)

Each week, Gameday examines Ohio State's impact on professional football with a position-by-position analysis of the Buckeyes who have made a mark in the NFL.

We now enter the fish-in-a-barrel stage of these proceedings, this being perhaps the easiest best-of selection. Our winner is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, one of five former OSU players enshrined in Canton; an award in his name is given each year to college football's best kicker; and his nickname was The Toe. Sorry, Rich Spangler fans, it's not him.

The Best
Lou Groza

College life: Part of coach Paul Brown's spectacular recruiting class of 1942, Groza, of Martins Ferry, Ohio, played only one season with the Buckeyes before he was drafted into the Army.

Path to the pros: Reports vary, but while Groza was serving in Okinawa, either he contacted Brown, or vice versa, about signing on with Brown's new professional team, the Cleveland Browns of the All-American Football Conference. Groza joined the team after being discharged in 1946 and never left Cleveland, retiring from the Browns in 1967 after 21 seasons.

Pro career: Yes, Groza was far more than a kicker; he was good enough as an offensive tackle to make nine Pro Bowls from 1950 to '59, before he became a full-time specialist. But his versatility made him integral, especially with the limited rosters in those days. Plus, he could kick - straight-on and wearing black high-tops. Six times he led the league in field goals made and twice in scoring. His career total of 1,608 points led the NFL when he retired (and still ranks 12th).

Little-known facts: So many, some you've probably heard: Groza was given the nickname "The Toe" by Bob Yonkers of the old Cleveland Press; Lou's brother Alex was a University of Kentucky basketball star later banned by the NBA for point-shaving; Lou kicked the winning field goal in the 1950 NFL Championship, a 16-yarder with 28 seconds remaining to give the Browns a 30-28 win over the Los Angeles Rams; in 1956, the NFL introduced what became known as "the Lou Groza rule," which prohibited kickers from using tape or any kind of special tee to help guide their kicks; as a boy in Berea, Jim Tressel shagged Groza's kicks at the Browns practice facility; the team's current practice facility is located at 76 Lou Groza Blvd. Now that's a legacy.

GameDay+

 

[jlb1705]

Groza has been named by Sports Illustrated as the greatest NFL player to wear #76.

76 - Lou Groza - Best NFL Player by Jersey Number: 50-99 - Photos - SI.com

 

[Oneshot]

hhahaha he beat out Orlando Pace!

 

[Buckskin86]

Dawson closes in on Groza's mark
By Steve Doerschuk
CantonRep.com staff writer
Posted Oct 09, 2010

Phil Dawson might have the record for kicking field goals in Super Bowls. It?s just that in the million times he?s done it, it has always been in his dreams.

?I always see it going right down the middle,? he says with a smile that lights up the locker room.

This is real: Dawson is on the verge of breaking a record held by one of the biggest names in NFL place-kicking history. With two field goals, he will pass Lou ?The Toe? Groza for career field goals as a Cleveland Brown.

Groza retired in the 1960s as the leading scorer in NFL history. He is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a left tackle and a kicker.

He was an all-time Ohio icon, born in ?The Valley,? groomed at Ohio State, and with the Browns over a span of 21 years.

Dawson remembers the exact spot where he met Groza at training camp in 1999, about a year before his death.

?Somebody said, ?Lou Groza wants to meet you,?? Dawson said.

It got his attention real fast.

After practice Friday at 76 Lou Groza Blvd., Dawson seemed humbled by the impending moment when he will kick his 235th field goal, leaving the late, great Groza in second place at 234.

http://www.cantonrep.com/sports/x1197813314/Around-the-NFL-Dawson-closes-in-on-Grozas-mark

 

[ScriptOhio]