FIELD GOAL KICKIN’ – The 1976 Oakland Raiders By Dean Gearhart 3/2/15 During the last episode, I noted that in the 1977 Topps football card set, one of the few teams that did not have a kicker represented in the set was the defending champion Oakland Raiders. I fast-forwarded to my 1978 set. Ah, there he is…… Errol Mann. Turning Errol’s card to the back, I see that he was, in fact, the Raiders kicker on their championship team. I also saw that he has a pilot’s license…..very nice…..and in 1976 he connected for 26 Extra points for Oakland……. …….and 4 field goals…… (record scratching sound effect)……4 field goals? Do what? I quickly turned to pro-football-reference.com to check the stats for the 1976 Oakland Raiders and it turns out that Errol took over for an injured Fred Steinfort. Well, that makes sense then. Steinfort had made 4 field goals of his own before getting injured, making for a grand total of……uh……8 field goals…….for the world champion Raiders. Really? When one thinks of the 1976 Raiders many images come to mind. They were led by quarterback Kenny “The Snake” Stabler and coached by the legendary John Madden. Their defense included Ted Hendricks (“The Stork”), John Matuszak (“The Tooz”), Skip Thomas (“Dr. Death”) and Jack Tatum (“The Assassin”). They finished the regular season a dominant 13-1-0, with a Week 4 blowout loss at New England the only blemish on their record. As fortune would have it, the Raiders would get a chance to avenge that lone defeat when they hosted New England in the first round of the AFC playoffs. The Raiders would win a close, but controversial* game and moved on the AFC championship. The Raiders moved on to the AFC Championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. This would be the 5th straight year that the Raiders and Steelers would meet in the AFC playoffs. The Raiders had lost three of the 4 prior meetings – including the “Immaculate Reception” game in 1972. This was also the third straight AFC title game for the Raiders and Steelers, with Pittsburgh winning in 1974 and 1975. 1976 would be different. This time the Raiders prevailed in a defensive struggle, winning 24-7, despite being outgained in yards 237-220. The Raiders were on their way to the big game, Super Bowl XI vs. Minnesota. After a scoreless first quarter, the Raiders took it to the Vikings, building a 19-0 lead by the third quarter on their way to a 32-14 win. The NFL Films summary show includes clips of Fran Tarkenton being harassed by the Raiders defense, Sammy White getting his helmet knocked by Jack Tatum, Willie Brown running down the sideline on his 75 yard interception return and, of course, Big John Madden being carried off the field in triumph. Is it really possible that this team went all the way with the benefit a mere 8 regular season field goals? Let’s back this story up to the end of the previous season. After another bitter, season-ending loss to the Steelers, the Raiders faced the off-season task of finding a new kicker as George Blanda had announced his retirement. George had been the Raiders kicker since 1967. Along the way, he became the NFL’s all-time leading scorer. In 1975, at the age of 48, George went 12 for 21 for Oakland. Compared to other kickers back then, his 61.9% success rate wasn’t terrible, but he was 0 for 5 on kicks of more than 39 yards. Oh, and did I mention he was 48? In an unrelated note, in 1975, George Blanda was 48. In 1975, my dad was 32. To replace Blanda, the Raiders drafted Fred Steinfort out of Boston College in the 5th round of the 1976 draft. Fred was born in Wetter Germany so the proper pronunciation of his last name would have been “Schtein-fort!!!” Through 6 games, Fred was 16 for 17 in PAT’s and 4 for 8 in field goal attempts. He kicked a game-winner on opening day vs. Pittsburgh, but was having a less-than- spectacular first season in the NFL. During week 7, Steinfort suffered a season- ending injury. That day, the Raiders defeated Green Bay 18-14. They scored three touchdowns, but all three PATs were missed - two by Steinfort and one by punter Ray Guy. The Raiders didn’t seem to suffer from the lack of kicking production as they stood 6-1, midway through the season, but now they needed to find yet another kicker. I wonder if tried calling Blandal? As luck would have it, Errol Mann was available that week. Mann had been Detroit’s kicker since 1969. During his first 7 season with the Lions, he had a very good success rate of 67.2%, including 6 of 15 on 50+ yarders. Mind you, Mann was currently available because he had just been released by Detroit the week before. Mann had gone 4 for 10 in field goals and was only 1 for 5 on attempts over 39 yards. Because of his solid career numbers, Oakland overlooked his early season struggles and signed him. This gamble did not pay off as Errol Mann was unable to match Steinfort’s 50% success rate. Mann wasn’t even able to match his own 40% success rate that had gotten him released in Detroit. Basically, Mann stunk up the joint, finishing the second half of the season with Oakland going 4 for 11 in field goal attempts (36.4%). He was a paltry 1 for 6 on attempts over 39 yards. He did make 26 of 27 PAT’s. The Raiders were on such a roll by the time Mann got to town, that maybe they didn’t even notice how bad he was kicking. They certainly didn’t let it slow them down as they cruised to a 13-1-0 record, easily winning the AFC West and earning home field advantage for the post-season. The Oakland Raiders achieved all of this despite the fact that their kickers combined to go 8 for 19 on field goal attempts (42.1%) and connected on only 2 attempts greater than 39 yards. Their 3 kickers (including Ray Guy) went 42 for 47 on PAT’s for a subpar 89.4%. The 1976 Oakland Raiders had eight successful field goals in an entire 14-game regular season. This is the same number of field goals that Tennessee Titans kicker Rob Bironas made on Sunday October 21, 2007. In the AFC playoffs, Mann appeared to revert back to his old self. He converted three PAT attempts in the Divisional Playoffs and added a 40 yard field goal. Mann had pretty much the same day the next week in the AFC Championship Game, 3 PAT’s and a 39 yard field goal. He was a perfect 2-2 in field goals and 6-6 on PAT’s and the Raiders were headed to Pasadena. Although, his team won, there was nothing super about Errol Mann’s Super Bowl. On the Raiders first drive, they got to the Minnesota 11 yard line only to have Mann miss a 29 yard field goal attempt. Mann did convert on a 24 yard field goal in the second quarter to give his team a 3-0 lead. Errol also connected on a 40 yard field goal in the 2nd quarter, but missed not one, but 2 PAT’s in the game. As per usual, the Raiders did not let this kicking deficiency slow them down as they pummeled Minnesota 32-14. After all this, it seems clear why Topps did not include a card for Mann for its 1977 set. There was absolutely no reason to believe Mann would be back for the 1977 season. Not after that regular season……..not after that Super Bowl. The Oakland front office must have said something to the effect of “Kickers…..we don’t need no stinkin’ kickers” and Erol Mann was invited back the next season…..or maybe they were too busy partying and just forgot to release him? Either way, Errol Mann was not only back kicking for the Raiders in 1977…….HE F#$ %ING LED THE NFL IN SCORING WITH 99 POINTS!!! Sorry about the shouting, there. Mann was good on 20 of 28 field goal attempts in 1977 – for a 71.4% success rate. That was the second best percentage of his career. While researching this piece, I learned that Errol Mann had passed away in April of 2013 at the age of 71. He may be gone, but his 1977 comeback achievement is forever memorialized in cardboard: The 49 teams that have won the Super Bowl have averaged 23.6 successful field goals. The last three NFL champs averaged 32.7 successful field goals. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick’s dynasty may have been derailed before it ever got started had it not been for Adam Vinatieri. Vinatieri has led the NFL in field goal percentage three times (including 2014) and has a career mark of 83.6%. Of those 49 championship teams, only two can come close to the kicking futility of the 1976 Raiders – the 1978 Steelers and the 1966 Packers. That Steelers team stuck it out with an ineffective Roy Gerela. Gerela went 12 for 26 in the regular season (46.2%) and had a less than stellar post-season. He was not around when Pittsburgh successfully defended their title the next season.