Ove Claes Johansson (March 31, 1948 – September 30, 2023) was an American football placekicker and the current holder of the record for the longest field goal ever kicked during an American football game, at 69 yards (63 m), for Abilene Christian University in their October 16, 1976 victory over East Texas State.[1] Johansson is the oldest player to be drafted in the NFL Draft, being 28 years, 281 days old when he was selected in the 12th round of the 1977 NFL draft by the Houston Oilers.[2]
 Johansson in 2006 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Placekicker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | March 31, 1948 Gothenburg, Sweden | ||||||||
| Died: | September 30, 2023 (aged 75) Amarillo, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 175 lb (79 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | Abilene Christian | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1977 / round: 12 / pick: 316 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Johansson was a junior at Abilene Christian University after being an all American soccer player at national power Davis and Elkins College, and performed this kick during ACU's 1976 homecoming game against East Texas State University at Shotwell Stadium, in Abilene, Texas.[3][4] This record kick is longer than any other field goal kicked in organized football, one yard longer than the current high school record set by Dirk Borgognone in 1985, two yards longer than the NCAA record (Abilene Christian was playing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics at the time), and three yards longer than the current NFL record of 66 yards set by Justin Tucker in the Baltimore Ravens vs. Detroit Lions game of September 26, 2021.[5]
Professional career
editJohansson had previously played association football, and the 1976 season was his first and only season to play college football. He hurt his knee in a season-ending bowl game and played in just two regular season games in the National Football League. Kicking for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1977, he was successful in only one of his four field goal attempts and one of three extra points.[6][7] Johansson was the first Swedish-born player to play in the NFL, twelve years before Björn Nittmo.
Personal life and death
editJohansson was a businessman and motivational speaker in Amarillo, Texas, and was married to April (Bankes) Johansson. They have a daughter, Annika Spalding, and her husband Brett, and a son, Stefan Johansson and his partner Monica Mosier. Their grandchildren are Liv and Stellan Spalding. The family is bilingual English-Swedish.
Ove Johansson died on September 30, 2023, at the age of 75.[8]
References
edit- ^ Dickey, Jack (October 26, 2012). "An Interview With Ove Johansson, The Man Who Kicked The Longest Field Goal Ever". Deadspin.com. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
- ^ "Countdown to the 2013 NFL Draft". National Football League. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^ "[[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics|NAIA]] Football Records :: Individual and Team game, season and career". Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
- ^ NFLHS.COM - Legends of HS Football: Dirk Borgognone Archived 2006-03-20 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ NFL Records
- ^ "Ove Johansson Past Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards - databaseFootball.com". Archived from the original on February 16, 2007. Retrieved March 2, 2008. NFL Database
- ^ ACU Today – Fall 2001 Second Glance Archived December 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ACU Mourns Passing of Ove Johansson. Abilene Christian University, October 5, 2023.