Garabed Sarkis "Garo" Yepremian (born June 2, 1944) is an
Armenian-AmericanArmenian Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Armenia. During the United States 2000 Census, 385,488 respondents indicated either full or partial Armenian ancestry...
former
footballAmerican 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...
placekickerPlacekicker, 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...
in the
National Football LeagueThe 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...
for the
Detroit LionsThe Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
,
Miami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
,
New Orleans SaintsThe New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
, and
Tampa Bay BuccaneersThe 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...
during a career that spanned from 1966 to 1981.
Career
Yepremian was born in Larnaca, Cyprus to Armenian parents. Yepremian had no prior knowledge of American football and the first game he played in was the first game he saw. The evolution of young Garo from wide-eyed immigrant to an NFL star on arguably the greatest team in history (the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins) made him a real life Rocky. On the island of
CyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, his poor family did not have indoor plumbing and kept warm in winter by burning olive pits. The family shared one dream: the American Dream. It is the stuff of fiction that within a few years the disarming Garo would be the leading scorer in a sport he never knew existed, was golfing with
Jackie GleasonJackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
and singing alongside
Bob HopeBob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
at Miami's famed
Fontainebleau HotelThe Fontainebleau Miami Beach or the Fontainebleau Hotel is one of the most historically and architecturally significant hotels on Miami Beach. Opened in 1954 and designed by Morris Lapidus, it was considered the most luxurious hotel on Miami Beach, and is thought to be the most significant...
.
Garo and his brother Krikor had emigrated to the U.S. to set a foundation for their parents' arrival. At a loss for a viable game plan, Garo happened to watch a few minutes of a football game on television. Garo told Krikor he knew the key to the Yepremian's success in America. He somehow believed he could kick field goals for a living.
After much practice in which he finally proved to Krikor he, indeed, might have the ability to kick, the brothers Yepremian set off on a hilarious mission to convince NFL teams that Garo could be an American football star. The NFL didn't know what to make of the brothers Yepremian, and they were denied access to many practice facilities. Krikor acted as Garo's agent and finally managed to convince the Detroit Lions to give the little foreigner (5'7, 160 pounds) a tryout. Garo's miraculous talent earned him a contract.
In his rookie year, he broke a record by kicking six field goals in a single game for the Lions against the Minnesota Vikings. That record was broken the next season by the St. Louis Cardinals' Jim Bakken, who kicked seven field goals in a game. His talent aside, Garo was, nonetheless, at a loss regarding football vernacular and custom. In his first game his coach told him that their team had lost the coin toss, at which point Garo ran to midfield and dropped to his knees looking for the coin. His assimilation into the rough and tumble NFL was a veritable comedy of events.
NFL
As a foreigner, the lovable, disarming Yepremian was an immediate target to NFL players who considered American football the exclusive realm of Americans. Players were looking to take his head off, and before his first kickoff his coach told him to run to the bench as soon as he kicked before his opponents could lay into him. Garo kicked off, then in a harried state ran to the bench -- the wrong bench. He found himself sitting with the opposing team. Garo had never worn a helmet before and at first decided not to use one with a face mask, but that quickly changed during Week 4 of the 1966 season, when he was knocked to the ground and badly injured by
Green Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
linebacker
Ray NitschkeRaymond Ernest "Ray" Nitschke was a professional football player who played his entire career as a middle linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the NFL. Wearing #66, he played fifteen seasons, from 1958-72....
. Afterwards, he started using a single-bar mask.
During one of his early games with the Lions, they were losing but scored a touchdownA touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
in the last 10 seconds of the game. Yepremian was sent in to kick the extra point, and he was so excited after converting the point that he went running off the field with his arms raised up celebrating. His teammate Alex Karras asked Yepremian, "What the hell are you celebrating?" Yepremian replied with the catch phrase made famous on the Johnny Carson show "I keek a touchdown".
In 1968, Yepremian left football to enlist in the U.S. Army. The Lions chose not to re-sign him when he returned the following year, and he sat out the 1969 season. In 1970, Yepremian earned a spot on the Dolphins roster. He led the league in points with 117 in 1971. Garo was a key member of the 1972 Miami Dolphins "Perfect Season" team- he was the leading scorer and converted on many clutch field goals to help the Dolphins stay unbeaten. Some say he was an earnest and steadying force on a team with a colorful assortment of characters enjoying every benefit of vibrant Miami in the early '70s. Garo became beloved in this Miami. He appeared in three Super Bowls (VI, VII and VIII).
Over his career, Yepremian was successful on 210 of 313 field goals and 444 of 464 extra points for a total of 1,074 points. He led the league in field-goal accuracy three times.
Highlights: Super Bowl VII
Yepremian is best known for two feats — one famous, one infamous. In a divisional playoff game against the
Kansas City ChiefsThe Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
on Christmas 1971, he kicked a 37-yard field goal 7 minutes and 40 seconds into double overtime, ending the longest game in NFL history and sending the Dolphins to the AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Colts (which the Dolphins won to go on to Super Bowl VI).
Despite all of Yepremian's success, many people remember him for an incident in Super Bowl VIISuper Bowl VII was an American football game played on January 14, 1973, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1972 regular season...
. With his team leading the Washington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
14-0, Yepremian was sent on to the field to kick a field goal with slightly more than two minutes left, which would have put the game out of reach. The field goal attempt was blocked by Bill BrundigeWilliam Glenn Brundige is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins for eight seasons between 1970 and 1977. He is currently sixth on the Redskins all-time sack list...
, and Yepremian managed to get to the ball before any other player did. Instead of just falling on the ball to preserve the Dolphins' 14-0 lead, he picked it up and frantically attempted to throw a pass. The ball slipped from his hands and went straight up in the air. Yepremian then batted it back up in the air, and it went right into the arms of his former Lions teammate, Redskins cornerback Mike BassMichael Thomas Bass is a former professional American football player who played defensive back for the Detroit Lions and the Washington Redskins...
, who returned it for a touchdown. The Dolphins managed to hold on to win, 14-7 to preserve their perfect season. Yepremian later joked to reporters after the game, "This is the first time the goat of the game is in the winner's locker room."
Accolades
In the 1974
Pro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
Yepremian kicked five field goals to lead the AFC to a win, and was voted Most Valuable Player in that game. He was elected to another Pro Bowl after he kicked twenty consecutive field goals without a miss in 1979.
Earned two Pro Bowl appearances.
Named to Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
's “Dr. Z's All Decade 1970s Team".
In 1981, Yepremian was elected to the Florida Sports Hall of FameThe Florida Sports Hall of Fame is an association dedicated to honoring athletes with outstanding achievement in sports in Florida. It has expanded its goals to include encouraging physical fitness among Florida's citizens through the example of its honorees.The FSHOF was founded by the Florida...
.
Voted "Kicker of the Decade" (1970s) by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Committee.
Nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Named one of the Miami Dolphin all-time "Greatest Players" (as part of the Dolphins' 40th Anniversary).
In 1988, inducted into the American Football Association's Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Although he was voted Kicker of the Decade (over Jan StenerudJan Stenerud is a former professional football player for the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs , and the NFL's Chiefs , Green Bay Packers , and Minnesota Vikings .-Background:...
) by both the Pro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
and by Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
between 1970 and 1980, Garo has not yet been voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame despite being nominated recently (Stenerud was elected in 1991).
Post-athletic career
He became a motivational speaker and is the Founder/CEO of the
Garo Yepremian Foundation for Brain Tumor Research.
ReebokReebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...
featured Garo Yepremian and his teammates from the 1972 Dolphins team in a commercial which aired during
Super Bowl XLIISuper Bowl XLII was an American football game on February 3, 2008 that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
.
Other sources
- Carroll, Bob, et al. (1999). Total Football II. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-270174-6
External links
The source of this article is
wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the
GFDL.
