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 Errols 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 pilots 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 ofuh8 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?
Lets 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 NFLs 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 wasnt 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 5 th
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 PATs and 4 for 8 in field goal attempts. He
kicked a game-winner on opening day vs. Pittsburgh, but was having a less-thanspectacular first season in the NFL. During week 7, Steinfort suffered a seasonending 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 didnt 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 Detroits
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 Steinforts 50%
success rate. Mann wasnt 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
PATs.
The Raiders were on such a roll by the time Mann got to town, that maybe they
didnt even notice how bad he was kicking. They certainly didnt 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 PATs
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
PATs and a 39 yard field goal. He was a perfect 2-2 in field goals and 6-6 on PATs
and the Raiders were headed to Pasadena.
Although, his team won, there was nothing super about Errol Manns 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 PATs 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
dont 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 Belichicks 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.
Green Bays kicker in 1966 was Don Chandler. Chandler was 12 of 28 (42.9%) that
year. Don also happened to be the team punter. In fact, Don was named the punter
on the Pro Football Hall of Fames All 1960s Team. In 1967, Chandler gave up his
punting duties, was named the NFLs All-Pro kicker and kicked four field goals to
help Green Bay win Super Bowl II.
So today, lets look back and celebrate the 1976 Oakland Raiders. They hold the
record for fewest field goals by a Super Bowl champion with 8 and worst field goal
percentage with 42.1%. I can assure you, that those numbers will never be
matched.
Only in the 70s, my friends, only in the 70s.
------------------------------------------------*There once was an AFC Divisional Playoff game where the visiting team made a big
play late in the fourth quarter that appeared to clinch victory. Upon further review,
the men in stripes decided that our eyes had deceived us and the home team was
given a break. The home team took advantage of this fateful decision and went on
to win the game AND go on to win the Super Bowl a few weeks later.
No, I am not talking about the Tuck Rule game - although the same two teams were
involved.

On December 18, 1976, The 11-3 New England Patriots travelled to Oakland to face
the 13-1 Raiders. The Patriots were underdogs, but they were the one team who
had beaten Oakland that season, trouncing them 48-17 in Week 4.
The Patriots struck first, taking a 7-0 1st quarter lead, before falling behind 10-7 at
halftime. New England scored twice in the third quarter to go up 21-10. The
Raiders had cut it to 21-17 and were driving late in the 4 th quarter. On 3rd and 18,
and in need of a touchdown, Ken Stablers pass down the sideline was incomplete,
setting up a 4th and 18.
But wait! It was decided that Stabler has been roughed by Ray Hamilton. And lets
make one thing perfectly clear, getting roughed in 1976 was not the same as
getting roughed in 2014. A defender had to have done something pretty GodDamned bad to draw a flag for that back then.
I just took the time to review the clip a few times and while, that play may have
merited a flag under 2014 rules there was no f#*^ing way that was a penalty in
1976. Alas, a flag did come and instead of 4 th and 18 from the 28, it was now 1st
and 10 at the 13. With less than a minute left, the Raiders got it down to the one
yard line. Ken Stabler must have recovered quickly from his..head trauma
because his one-yard run was the game winner that sent the Raiders on to the AFC
Championship.
To those Raiders fans still bitter about the Tuck Rule game, Im here to tell you
once and for all to get over it and move on. Cosmic justice was served on that
evening in 2002, making things even-steven between the two franchises.