Steven Richard Little was an 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...

 kicker

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...

 and punter 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...

 for the St. Louis Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

. He is the third-highest drafted kicker

1978 NFL Draft

The 1978 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 2–3, 1978...

 in NFL history, with first highest pick being Charlie Gogolak

Charlie Gogolak

Charles Paul Gogolak is a retired American football placekicker....

 of Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

 and second being Russell Erxleben

Russell Erxleben

Russell Erxleben is a former American football player and currency investor. He shares the record for the longest field goal in NCAA history, originally set in 1977 while playing for the University of Texas. Erxleben was a three-time All-America punter...

. http://iqfb.com/nfl-draft/the-highest-drafted-kickers-in-nfl-history/ Little was actually drafted higher than future NFL greats Ozzie Newsome

Ozzie Newsome

Ozzie Newsome Jr. and a 1974 graduate of Colbert County High School in Leighton, Alabama, is a former American football tight end for the Cleveland Browns, an inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the current General Manager of the Baltimore Ravens.-College career:Before his NFL career,...

 and Dennis Thurman

Dennis Thurman

Dennis Lee Thurman is a retired American football cornerback in the National Football League.- Early life :...

. Little was an All-American placekicker and punter during his years at the University of Arkansas

University of Arkansas

The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...

. He kicked an NCAA record-tying 67-yard field goal

Field goal (football)

A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...

 in 1977. That record has yet to be broken, and Little shares that record with Joe Williams of Wichita State University

Wichita State University

Wichita State University is a NCAA Division I public university in Wichita, Kansas with selective admissions. WSU is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The current president is Dr. Donald Beggs....

 and Russell Erxleben

Russell Erxleben

Russell Erxleben is a former American football player and currency investor. He shares the record for the longest field goal in NCAA history, originally set in 1977 while playing for the University of Texas. Erxleben was a three-time All-America punter...

 of the University of Texas.

High school and college career

Little played high school football for Shawnee Mission South High School

Shawnee Mission South High School

Shawnee Mission South High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Overland Park, Kansas, USA, serving students in grades 9-12. The school is one of several public high schools located within Shawnee Mission, KS. Additionally, Shawnee Mission South is a two-time Blue Ribbon...

 in Overland Park, Kansas

Overland Park, Kansas

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...

 where he was an All-State quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

 and defensive back

Defensive back

In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...

. He was recruited to play football for the University of Arkansas by legendary Arkansas head coach Frank Broyles

Frank Broyles

John Franklin Broyles is a former American football player and coach, athletics administrator, and broadcaster. He served as the head football coach the University of Missouri in 1957 and at the University of Arkansas from 1958 to 1976...

. Broyles later said that he initially recruited Little to play quarterback since Joe Ferguson

Joe Ferguson

Joseph Carlton Ferguson, Jr. is a former American football quarterback in the NFL. Ferguson played college football at the University of Arkansas, where he still holds the school's single game record for most completions and in that same season was named the Southwest Conference's Offensive...

 had recently graduated and entered the NFL. However Little's kicking abilities so impressed Broyles that they utilized him in that position. Also coach Bo Rein

Bo Rein

Robert Edward "Bo" Rein was an American football and baseball player and football coach. He was a two-sport athlete at Ohio State University and served as the head football coach at North Carolina State University from 1976 to 1979, compiling a record of 27–18–1...

 had recently accepted an assistant coaching position with Arkansas, and was bringing with him high school standout quarterback Ron Calcagni

Ron Calcagni

Ron Calcagni is a former quarterback for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks football team from 1975 to 1978. Calcagni was born in Youngstown, Ohio. An All-State in high school, Calcagni was initially recruited by Bo Rein to play for North Carolina State University...

.

In 1976 behind the passing skills of quarterback Ron Calcagni and the rushing of eventual NFL running back

Running back

A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

 Ben Cowins

Ben Cowins

Ben Cowins is a former college football running back who played for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks from 1975-1978. He was the University of Arkansas all-time leader in rushing attempts , rushing yards , rushing touchdowns and 100-yard rushing games prior to all his team records being...

, Little helped Arkansas in its defeat of the University of Georgia

University of Georgia

The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...

 in the Cotton Bowl

1976 Cotton Bowl Classic

The 1976 Cotton Bowl Classic was a post-season college football bowl game between the co-Southwest Conference champion #18 Arkansas Razorbacks and the #12 Georgia Bulldogs. Arkansas defeated Georgia, 31-10 in front of 77,500 spectators.-Arkansas:...

. In 1978 he helped the Razorbacks to a 1978 Orange Bowl

1978 Orange Bowl

The 1978 Orange Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 1978, featuring the Arkansas Razorbacks against the heavily-favored Oklahoma Sooners....

 victory over the University of Oklahoma

Oklahoma Sooners football

The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...

. In that Orange Bowl game Arkansas running back Roland Sales

Roland Sales

Roland Sales is a former running back for the University of Arkansas and he was an 11th round draft pick in the 1980 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. He only played one season in the NFL, but his career is significant because in the 1978 Orange Bowl, Sales set an Orange Bowl rushing record of...

 rushed for 205 yards, an Orange Bowl record that stood until 1998 when Ahman Green

Ahman Green

Ahman Rashad Green is a retired American football running back. He is the all-time leading rusher for the Green Bay Packers. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the 3rd round of the 1998 NFL Draft...

 rushed for 206 yards in the Orange Bowl. Defensively future Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 star Dan Hampton

Dan Hampton

Daniel Oliver Hampton also known as "Danimal" is a retired Hall of Fame American football defensive tackle who played twelve seasons for the Chicago Bears from 1979 to 1990 in the National Football League. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002...

 shut down the Oklahoma running game. In both those bowl games Little set team PAT records for bowl games, kicking 4 in each. He also set a team record for points with 280. During Little's career with Arkansas the Razorbacks went 10-2 in 1975, 5-5-1 in 1976, 11-1 in 1977 and 9-2-1 in 1978. In the latter Arkansas' 1 tie game was against UCLA during the Fiesta Bowl

Fiesta Bowl

The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...

. http://www.hoghelmet.com/slittle.html During his final year at Arkansas Little played under head coach Lou Holtz

Lou Holtz

Louis Leo "Lou" Holtz is a retired American football coach, and active sportscaster, author, and motivational speaker in the United States...

. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tzEjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0NkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3073,5162689&dq=steve+little+paralyzed&hl=en

Dismal professional career, tragedy

Despite the anticipation surrounding his kicking skills demonstrated in college, with the Cardinals Little performed at a dismal level. He served as both punter and place kicker. In his brief NFL career he punted for a total of 4,809 yards while place kicking with a disappointing overall percentage of 48.1% over three professional seasons. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/littlste01.htm http://www.nfl.com/players/stevelittle/careerstats?id=LIT711924 Despite his poor percentage he still managed to kick the 5th longest field goal in Cardinals history, having kicked a 51 yard field goal. However Little's problems off the field also caused him issues with the team, and on October 16, 1980 he was replaced 6 games into the 1980 season by kicker Neil O'Donoghue

Neil O'Donoghue

Cornelis Joseph Connor Dennis "Neil" O'Donoghue is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League ....

. http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/therundown/2009/01/the_ghosts_of_st_louis_footbal.php

Just hours after he had been released by the Cardinals Little was involved in a vehicle accident which left him a quadraplegic. Little died at the age of 43 having spent years as a quadraplegic in hospice

Hospice

Hospice is a type of care and a philosophy of care which focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's symptoms.In the United States and Canada:*Gentiva Health Services, national provider of hospice and home health services...

 in Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

, where he lived with and was cared for by his brother Gene Little. Little is on the All-Century team

Arkansas Razorbacks football

The Arkansas Razorbacks football program is a college football team that represents the University of Arkansas. The team is a member of the Southeastern Conference's Western Division, which is in Division I's Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...

at Arkansas, and is also listed as #11 on the list of greatest Arkansas football players of all time. http://www.todaysthv.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=68506

External links