Sleep tite, Teddy...

Naw--Crosby is better...

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Jan Stenerud -- a great Norwegian Packers Hall of Fame kicker.

milani wrote:If I recall the first soccer style kickers in the NFL were the Gogolak brothers who played for the Bills and Skins respectively when they came into the league. And I believe they both played at Ivy League schools.

Pete went from the Bills to the Giants during the AFL-NFL league wars. Pete ended up being the all-time NY Giant scorer and in the Giants Ring of Honor. Charlie Gogolak also played for the Patriots. In a 1966 Giants-Skins game the Gogolak's combined for 14 extra points. Hungarians!!

Now let's talk about good ole Packers kicker extraordinaire Czeslaw 'Chester' Marcol.

Marcol lived in Poland until the age of 14, when his father committed suicide, forcing Marcol's mother to send their family to the United States. He attended [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] High School in [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] without much knowledge of the English language. In Poland, Marcol had great kicking abilities in [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. His gym teacher discovered his talent and showed him the game of football. He attended [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] where he was named NAIA All-American and holds the record for longest field goal.^{[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]}

Marcol was selected by Green Bay Packers coach [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] in the second round of the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. He scored 128 points his rookie year, leading the league in scoring, and he was named NFC Rookie of the Year and All-Pro.^{[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]}

He may best be known for his game-winning touchdown against the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] on 7 September 1980. On opening day of the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], the Packers were tied 6-6 with the Bears in overtime. A 32-yard pass from [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] to [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] helped set up a 34-yard field goal attempt to win the game for the Packers. Marcol's kick was blocked and deflected straight back to him. He caught the ball, ran around the startled Bears, and was able to make it 25 yards into the end zone to give the Packers a 12-6 victory.^{[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]} He later acknowledged that he was high on [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] during the game's second half.^{[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]}

Marcol was cut by head coach [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] on 8 October 1980 following a rough game against the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. Starr said Marcol was cut because of poor kickoffs, but Marcol felt it was because of his cocaine [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].^{[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]} He signed with the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] when they came to Green Bay for a game on 14 December 1980. It was determined very late that week that Oilers kicker [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] would be unable to play. Marcol was in Green Bay, so the Oilers claimed him off waivers. He kicked one field goal and made only one of three PATs in a 22-3 Houston win.^{[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]} Marcol remained with the Oilers for the rest of the season, but did not play again due to Fritsch's return.^{[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]}

On 14 February 1986, Marcol attempted suicide by drinking a mixture of battery acid, rat poison, and vodka,^{[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]} which severely damaged his [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. To this day, he must have his esophagus stretched as treatment.^{[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]}

Marcol is a resident of the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] community of [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. He has a wife and three children.^{[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]} He slowly recovered from his addictions, but still suffers from [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and a heart condition. He works on weekends as a drug and alcohol abuse counselor near his home.

Marcol published a memoir in September 2011 entitled "Alive and Kicking: My Journey Through Football, Addiction and Life." He discusses his childhood, immigration to the United States, playing for the Packers, and his fall from grace.

On 14 February 1986, Marcol attempted suicide by drinking a mixture of battery acid, rat poison, and vodka


That in itself is fucked up. I mean, if you want to kill yourself, there are plenty of pills you can take that will get the job done peacefully and more effectively. But battery acid? Rat poison?? Obviously Chester put some thought into it, but what a down-and-dirty way to go.

The worst part is that it didn't work and he ruined his esophagus.

Jesus, what an epic fail.

Hey man......just last month Chester was signing his new book 'Alive and Kicking' in Milwaukee. This is awesome "Jim Gueno, our left up-back, got in the way of the only Bears defender in the area and threw a little hook block. It wouldn’t have mattered; nobody was going to catch me."

See: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Not what play was better Ringo. Chester running in the blocked FG for a TD, the Hail Mary TD pass from Rich Campbell to Phil E-P-P-S, or BJ Raji's INT of Cutler and subsequent TD, including 'do the Raji' wiggle dance. All great memories. GO PACKERs