The Roaming Photographer: 2025-06-08

Friday, June 13, 2025

Adam Vinatieri - Part 1

Photo Credit: https://www.argusleader.com/story/sports/college/

south-dakota-state-university/2018/10/27/adam-

vinatieri-south-dakota-state-indianapolis-colts-

new-england-patriots-nfl-scoring-

record/1738128002/

This article was researched and compiled

by Carrie Birdsong

Born: December 28th, 1972
Birthplace: Yankton, South Dakota

Career Information:

1. High School: Central (Rapid City, South Dakota)
2. College: South Dakota State (1991 – 1994)
3. Undrafted: 1996

Career History:

1. Amsterdam Admirals 1996
2. New England Patriots 1996 – 2005
3. Indianapolis Colts 2006 – 2019

Career Highlights and Awards:

1. 4x Super Bowl Champion XXXVI,

XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLI

2. 3x First – Team All – Pro 2002,

2004, 2014

3. 3x Pro Bowl 2002, 2004, 2014

4. NFL Scoring Leader 2004

5. NFL 2000’s All – Decade Team

6. NFL 100th Anniversary All – Time

Team

7. PFWA All – Rookie Team 1996

8. New England Patriots All – 1990’s Team

9. New England Patriots All – 2000’s Team

10. New England Patriots 50th Anniversary

Team.

11. New England Patriots All – Dynasty

Team

NFL Records:

1. Most Career Points Scored 2,673

2. Most Consecutive Field Goals

Made 44

3. Most Combined Regular and Post-

season Games Played 397

4. Most Career Field Goals Made 599

5. Most Career Field Goals Attempted

715

6. Most Seasons with 100+ points 21

7. Most Career Overtime Field Goals

11

8. Most Field Goals made in a post

season 14 (2006; tied)(a)

Career NFL Statistics:

1. Field Goals 599/715
2. Field Goal % 83.8%
3. Longest Field Goal 57 yards
4. Points Scored 2,673

Adam Vinatieri is a former placekicker who played in the NFL for 24 seasons for the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts. Vinatieri is the NFL’s all – time leading scorer at 2,673 points, in addition to holding the NFL records for field goals made (599), postseason points (238), and overtime field goals made (12)(1)(2)(3)(4). He is considered one of the greatest placekickers of all time.(5)(6)

Vinatieri joined the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 1966, where he played for 10 seasons, and was a member of the Colts for 14 seasons. A four – time Super Bowl winner – three with the Patriots and one with the Colts – he has the most Super Bowl wins for a kicker. He is also the only player to score 1,000 points for two different franchises. Retiring in 2021 after a year in free agency, Vinatieri was the last active player whose career began in the 1990’s.(7)(8)

Celebrated for his kicking accuracy and success under pressure, Vinatieri completed several of the most crucial field goals in NFL history(9)(10). During the 2001 – 2002 NFL playoffs, he converted the game – tying and winning kicks of New England’s AFC Divisional Playoff game in blizzard conditions and the game – winning kick in the final seconds of Super Bowl XXXVI, earning the Patriots their first championship. He would again convert a final – second kick to win Super Bowl XXXVIII, establishing himself as a key contributor of the Patriot’s dynasty(11)(12). In the 2007 postseason, Vinatieri converted 14 of 15 field goal attempts (which included three field goals in Super Bowl XLI) to set a new record for most field goals in one postseason (Evan McPherson tied the record in 2022)(13). In 2019, Vinatieri was named to the National Football League 100th Anniversary All – Time Team.

Early Life

Vinatieri was born in Yankton, South Dakota, on December 28th, 1972, the second child of four children to Paul Vinatieri and Judy M. (Goeken). His father is of Italian descent and his other ancestry includes German and English(14)(15). His younger brother Beau was a kicker at Black Hills State University before graduating in 2003.(16)

When Vinatieri was five years old, his family moved to Rapid City, South Dakota. As a child, he struggled to read and enrolled in classes for children with learning disabilities. Vinatieri attended Central High School in Rapid City and was a letterman in football, wrestling, basketball, soccer, and track. In football, he earned his first – team All – State honors as a senior. He graduated from Central High School in 1991. Before starting as a kicker, Vinatieri was a quarterback and middle linebacker. When asked in 2005, several years into his NFL career, why he no longer played one of those positions once he reached college, he replied. “I’m 6 feet tall and 200 pounds, and unfortunately the linebackers aren’t that small, and neither are the quarterbacks.”(17)

College Career

Vinatieri received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, but was only there for two weeks before deciding to return home,(18) where he then enrolled at South Dakota State University. He was a four – year letterman there as a kicker and punter and he finished his collegiate career as the school’s all – time leading scorer with 185 career points as well as being awarded first – team all – conference honors in each of his seasons.(19)

Professional Career

Amsterdam Admirals

Vinatieri spent the summer of 1996 training to compete professionally. He received a tryout for the World League of American Football (later rebranded as NFL Europe), and earned a roster position with the Amsterdam Admirals as a kicker and punter.(20)(21)

New England Patriots (1996 – 2005)

Photo Credit:
https://throwbacksnw.com/products/vintage-adam-
vinatieri-new-england-patriots-nfl-jersey-sz-xl

Vinatieri played in New England for the first 10 years of his NFL career, during which he played in four Super Bowls, winning three titles.

1996 season

In 1996, Vinatieri was signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent to be a kicker. In order to become their starter, he had to compete with 17 – year veteran Matt Bahr. Bahr at first seemed to be the favorite. He had a long history with Patriots coach Bill Parcells, including a Super Bowl win under Parcells in the 1990 season. However, Parcells ultimately made the decision to cut Bahr during the preseason and go with Vinatieri, mainly because Bahr was no longer capable of efficiently performing kickoffs.(22)

In his rookie season, he chased down and tackled Dallas Cowboys returner Herschel Walker on a kickoff, leading Parcells to tell his rookie kicker “You’re not a kicker – you’re a football player.”(23) In week 4, Vinatieri converted five of six field goal attempts against the Jacksonville Jaguars, to earn AFC Special Teams Player of the Week(24). He converted the 40 – yard game – winning field goal in overtime of the 28 – 25 victory(25). He finished his rookie season converting 39 of 42 extra point tries and 27 of 35 field goal attempts(26). His first Super Bowl appearance was in his rookie season of 1996 when he played with the Patriots in their 35 – 21 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI. All – Pro and game MVP Desmond Howard’s Super Bowl – record 99 – yard touchdown return ended the Patriots’ bid for a comeback(27). The game would mark the only Super Bowl defeat of Vinatieri’s career (he didn’t play in the Colts’ loss in Super Bowl XLIV). Vinatieri was named to the NFL All – Rookie Team.(28)

1997 season

In week 7 of the 1997 season, Vinatieri won AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after converting all three extra point tries and all four field goal attempts in the 33 – 6 victory over the Buffalo Bills(29)(30). In the 1997 season, Vinatieri converted all 40 extra point attempts and 25 of 29 field goal attempts as the Patriots went 10 – 6 and earned a playoff berth(31)(32). He was responsible for scoring all of the Patriots’ points with two field goals in their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional Round.(33)

1998 season

In week 5 of the 1998 season, Vinatieri converted three extra point and three field goals tries in the 30 – 27 victory over the New Orleans Saints. His last field goal attempt was a 27 – yarder with six seconds remaining to put the Patriots in position to win the game(34). He earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his game against New Orleans(35). The Saints game was the beginning of a month for Vinatieri where he won AFC Special Teams Player of the Month(36). He finished the 1998 season converting all 32 extra point attempts and 31 of 39 field goal attempts.(37)

1999 season

In the 1999 season, Vinatieri won AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September(36). He converted 29 of 30 extra point attempts and 26 of 33 field goal attempts as the Patriots went 8 – 8.(38)(39)

2000 season

In the 2000 season, Vinatieri converted all 25 extra point attempts and 27 of 33 field goal attempts in the Patriots’ 5 – 11 season.(40)(41)

2001 season

In week 14, Vinatieri converted all four field goal attempts in a 12 – 9 victory over the Buffalo Bills. The last of the four was the game – winner in overtime(42). He won AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his game against Buffalo(43). In the 2001 regular season, Vinatieri converted 41 of 42 extra point attempts and 24 of 30 field goal attempts(44). In the 2001 playoffs, during a blizzard against the Oakland Raiders in the final game at Foxboro Stadium, Vinatieri kicked a 45 – yard field goal into a swirling winter wind to tie the game 13 – 13 and send it into overtime. The Patriots won the game on another field goal of 23 yards by Vinatieri(45). In Super Bowl XXXVI that season, Vinatieri kicked a 48 – yard field goal on the final play to give the New England Patriots their first Super Bowl victory, a 20 – 17 upset win over the St. Louis Rams, who were 14 – point favorites coming into the game.(46)(47)

2002 season

In week 17, against the Miami Dolphins, Vinatieri converted all four field goal attempts in the 27 – 24 victory. The last of the four field goal attempts was the game – winner in overtime(48). He won AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his game against Miami(49). In the 2002 season, Vinatieri converted all 36 extra point tries and 27 of 30 field goal tries as the Patriots went 9 – 7 and missed the playoffs(50)(51). He earned Pro Bowl and First Team All – Pro honors.(52)(53)

2003 season

In the 2003 season, Vinatieri converted 37 of 38 extra point tries and 25 of 34 field goal attempts(54). In an almost identical situation to the Super Bowl two seasons prior, he kicked a 41 – yard field goal with four seconds left in Super Bowl XXXVIII to boost the Patriots to another championship (after missing one field goal and having another attempt blocked in the first half). This time, the Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers 32 – 29, making Vinatieri the first ever player to be the deciding factor in two Super Bowl games (Vinatieri kept the footballs used on both of those kicks).(55)(56)

2004 season

Vinatieri was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November(36). In 2004, Vinatieri led the NFL in scoring with 141 points (31 – for – 33 on field goals, and a perfect 48 – for – 48 on extra point attempts)(57). In a week 9 game against the Saint Louis Rams, Vinatieri scored 16 points (four field goals and four extra points), and threw a four – yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Troy Brown on a fake field goal attempt (that pass gives him a career passer rating of 122.9)(58)(59). For his game against the Rams, he earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week(60). In week 10, against the Buffalo Bills, he scored a career – high 17 points on five field goals and two extra points(61). He was named to the Pro Bowl and earned First Team All – Pro honors.(62)(63)

Vinatieri scored a field goal and three extra points in the Patriots 24 – 21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.(64)(65)

2005 season

In week 3, Vinatieri earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers(66). He hit the game – winning field goal with one second remaining(67). In the 2005 season, Vinatieri converted 40 of 41 extra point attempts and 20 of 25 field goal attempts.(68)

Legacy

By the time Vinatieri finished his final season with the Patriots in 2005, he had kicked 18 game – winning field goals with less than one minute remaining, including the postseason. At the conclusion of the 2005 season, he had a career field goal percentage of 81.9% (263/321), fifth – highest in NFL history. In his time in New England, his community involvement included helping Christian athletes, D.A.R.E, and the Governor’s Highway Safety Bureau. He was a spokesperson for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island’s teen anti – smoking contest, and also appeared in commercials for Boston – based pizza Papa Gino’s. Vinatieri finished his 10 seasons with the Patriots as the team’s all – time leading scorer with 1,156 points (that record was surpassed by Vinatieri’s replacement Stephen Gostkowski, in 2014)(69). His jersey number 4 was not reissued for the next 14 seasons until quarterback Jarrett Stidham wore it in 2019.(70)

Part 2 of this article will be about Adam Vinatieri's

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Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Andre' Tippett

Photo Credit:

https://www.theinsightfulplayer.com/

post/andre-tippett

This article was researched and compiled

by Carrie Birdsong

Born: December 27th, 1959

Birthplace: Birmingham, Alabama

High School: Barringer High School (Newark,

New Jersey)

College: Iowa

NFL Draft: 1982, 2nd round, 41st pick

Position: Linebacker

Jersey Number: 56

Career History: New England Patriots 1982 – 1993

Career Highlights and Awards:

1. NFL co-defensive Player of the Year (NEA) (1985)
2. 2x First – Team All – Pro (1985, 1987)
3. 2x Second – Team All – Pro (1986, 1988)
4. 5x Pro Bowl (1984 – 1988)
5. NFL 1980s All–Decade Team
6. New England Patriots All 1980s Team
7. New England Patriots All–1990s Team
8. New England Patriots 35th Anniversary Team
9. New England Patriots 50th Anniversary Team
10. New England Patriots Hall of Fame
11. Consensus All–American (1981)
12. First – Team All – Big Ten (1981)
13. Second – Team All – Big Ten (1980)

Career NFL Statistics:
1. Games 151
2. Sacks 100
3. Fumble Recoveries 19
4. Interceptions 1
5. Defensive Touchdowns 2

Andre Tippett Sr. is a former professional football player who was a linebacker in the NFL for 11 seasons with the New England Patriots. He played for the Iowa Hawkeyes while he was in college, where he was recognized as a consensus All–American in 1981. A second – round pick in the 1982 NFL draft, Tippett was selected to five Pro Bowls and was named first – team All – Pro twice in his career. Since 2007, he has been the Patriots’ executive director of community affairs(1). He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008. He is a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

Early Life

Tippett was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He attended Barringer High School in Newark, New Jersey(2). He first attended college and played football at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls in 1978.

College Career

Tippett was an All–American defensive end and a three–year letterman at the University of Iowa. He was also a two – time All – Big Ten selection (1980 and 1981). In 1981, he helped lead the Hawkeyes to their first winning season, their first Big Ten title, and their first Rose Bowl in two decades. He was a part of a defense that allowed only 129 points, the lowest total since 1965 and 9th–best in school history, and allowed only 86.9 rushing yards a game, which still stands as the school record. The 1981 Iowa defense allowed 253 total yards a game, the fewest since 1959, making it the 4th – best defense in school history in terms of total yards. Against Northwestern on October 3rd, 1981, the Hawkeye defense allowed 78 total yards, which stands as the 6th–best in defensive performances in team history. (3)

Tippett was a two – time first – team all – Big Ten, and a team captain in 1981. He holds the Iowa record for tackles for lost yardage in a season (20 tackles for 153 yards in 1980)(4). He played in the Hula Bowl and the Japan Bowl in 1982, after his senior year at Iowa. He was voted a DE on Iowa’s all–time football team in 1989 as a member of the University of Iowa’s Varsity Hall of Fame. Upon his induction to the Varsity Hall of Fame, Tippett remarked, “For me, this is a ‘Wow’ … It is really, really special to be voted by your peers and the people who saw you play. I’m going in with some of the greatest people to ever play sports at the University of Iowa. This is one of the greatest honors I have ever had. This is a special feeling because during the three years I was here, I developed a great bond with the players and coaches.”(5)

Professional Career

L.T. is in a class all by himself. I’ll put L.T. first, then Tippett, and Bennett behind him.
- Jets fullback Roger Vick, ranking the NFL’s best pass rushers during the 1988 season. (6)
Tippett was selected by the New England Patriots in the 2nd round of the 1982 NFL draft. (7)

Tippett is a member of the NFL’s 1980s all–decade team and was selected to five Pro Bowls in his career, earning the nod in five straight seasons from 1984 to 1988.

From 1984 to 1985, Tippett recorded the highest two–season sack total by a linebacker in NFL history, totaling 35.0 sacks during the two seasons. His 18.5 sacks in 1984 are the third most by any linebacker in a single season, while his 16.5 sacks in 1985 are tied for the sixth most by any linebacker in NFL history.

Tippett holds the Patriots’ franchise record with 100.0 career sacks. He also owns the top three single–season sack performances in Patriots history (18.5 in 1984, 16.5 in 1985, and 12.5 in 1987). He ranked seventh on the all–time sacks list, and third among linebackers, at the time of his retirement following the 1993 season. Over his career, Tippett recorded 100 sacks in 151 games, an average of 0.662 sacks per game. The mark currently ranks fourth in NFL history among linebackers.

After not recording a sack as a rookie in 1982, Tippett finished either first or second on the team in sacks in each of his final 10 seasons. He led the team in sacks six times and finished second on the team four times. Tippett recorded 30 multiple–sack games in his career and sacked a total of 41 different quarterbacks. Tippett recovered 18 opponents’ fumbles during his career, tying him for first on the Patriots’ all–time list (Steve Nelson). He also forced 17 fumbles in his career.

Tippett was named the AFC’s Linebacker of the Year by the NFL Players Association for three straight seasons from 1985 to 1987. He was voted to the Associated Press All–NFL First–team – team on two other occasions (1986 and 1988). He was also named to the NFL Films All–Pro team in 1984.

Tippett twice earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week awards. The first in the Patriots' 20 – 13 win over the New York Jets as he stopped the Jets 3 times within the 10–yard line on October 20th, 1985. Next, he was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week in the Patriots' 21 – 7 win over the Houston Oilers on October 18th, 1987. In this victory over Houston at the Astrodome, Andre had 3 sacks, defended a pass play, and blocked a field goal attempt that was returned for a touchdown by Raymond Clayborn. He had 1.5 sacks in his final game on January 2nd, 1994, against the Miami Dolphins. (8)

Tippett spent his entire 11–year career with the Patriots and was a member of three playoff teams, including the 1985 AFC Champions.

Honors

Tippett was selected to the Patriots’ 35th Anniversary Team in 1994 and was selected to the Patriots Team of the Century in 2000. He was inducted to the New England Patriots Hall of Fame in 1999(9). Tippett was inducted into the University of Iowa Hall of Fame on September 7th, 2007.

In January 2008, he was voted by a panel of former NFL players and coaches to Pro Football Weekly’s All – Time 3 – 4 defensive team along with Harry Carson, Lawrence Taylor, Randy Gradishar, Howie Long, Lee Roy Selmon, and Curley Culp. (10)

He was named as one of 17 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2007 and 2008(11). As a finalist, he joined other modern–era players and two players selected by the Hall of Fame’s Senior Committee in the pool from which the Hall of Fame class was selected.

The Hall of Fame’s 40–member Selection Committee met in Miami on February 3rd, 2007, to select the Class of 2007. Tippett was not selected for enshrinement, but he was among the top 10 finalists. The 44–member Selection Committee met in Arizona, the day before Super Bowl XLII, to vote on the Class of 2008. Just prior, Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson said, “I think it is about time Andre Tippett is in the Hall of Fame.”(12) He was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the class of 2008. (13)

Tippett was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in April 2009(14). In May 2012, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. (15)

On November 13th, 2021, Andre Tippett was inducted into the College Hall of Fame.

Personal Life

He is married to Rhonda Tippett (nee Kenney) with three daughters, Janea Tippett, Asia Barnes, and Madison, and one son, Coby. A former Baptist, Tippett converted to Judaism(16)(17). He currently lives in Sharon, Massachusetts, and is a Pop Warner football coach. (18)

Tippett has also studied martial arts for over three decades(19). He holds a seventh-degree black belt in Uechi-ryu karate (20)(21) and is certified under the Okinawa Karate-do Association based in Okinawa, Japan. (22)

He currently serves as the executive director of Community Affairs for the New England Patriots. (23)

His son Coby played football for the University of Rhode Island as a kick returner and defensive back. He was invited to the Rookie Mini Camp with the New England Patriots, and recently played for the Arlington Renegades and Houston Roughnecks of the XFL.

For more about Andre Tippett, click here:

1. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/
players/T/TippAn00.htm

2. https://www.profootballhof.com/players/

andre-tippett

3. https://footballfoundation.org/hof_search.

aspx?hof=2476

4. https://hof.hawkeyesports.com/inductees/

andre-bernard-tippett/

5. https://ashof.org/inductees/andre-tippett/

References:

1. "Andre Tippett's LinkedIn". LinkedIn. August 20,

2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.

2. "THE ULTIMATE NEW JERSEY HIGH

SCHOOL YEARBOOK: T-Z AND ALSO...", 

The Star-Ledger, June 27, 1999. Accessed

August 4, 2007.

3. "2007 University of Iowa Football Media Guide" 

(PDF). July 22, 2008. Archived (PDF) from the

original on December 9, 2008. Retrieved 

November 28, 2008.