Donald Lee Cockroft is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 punter and placekicker

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

 who played thirteen seasons in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 with the Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. He has the third most career points for a Brown behind fellow kickers Phil Dawson

Phil Dawson

Philip Drury Dawson is an American football placekicker for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League. He holds the franchise record for most field goals made, passing Hall of Famer Lou Groza in 2010...

 (second) and Lou Groza

Lou Groza

Louis Roy Groza was an American football placekicker and offensive tackle who played his entire career for the Cleveland Browns....

.

Cockroft served as the Browns' primary punter and placekicker for the first nine seasons of his career. In 1977 he dropped punting from his duties and became solely a placekicker. He and Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...

 kicker/punter Dave Green

Dave Green (American football)

Dave Green is a former punter and placekicker in the National Football League. He played for the Houston Oilers, the Cincinnati Bengals, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers...

 were two of the last NFL players to lead their teams in both punting and kicking in the same season (1976).

Later NFL players to have this dual distinction were Steve Little of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1979, and Frank Corral

Frank Corral

Frank Corral is a former National Football League placekicker from 1978-1981. He attended Norte Vista High School in Riverside, California. He was a part of the Rams' Super Bowl XIV team...

 for the Los Angeles Rams in 1980 and 1981.