Operating under the assumption that I’m the only person you know with a Don Cockroft card, or two, stapled to the wall of their garage. Cockroft was a kicker for 13 seasons with the Cleveland Browns. The first 9 of those seasons he was both the punter and the kicker.
His last game in the NFL was the infamous Red Right 88. January 4th, 1981. A playoff game between the Browns and the Raiders. The game lives on as a bad memory in the string of bad sports memories for Cleveland fans. In that game, Cockroft missed two field goals, had an extra point blocked and the snap was muffed on another extrapoint. The coaches were not feeling too confident going for a field goal to win the game. Years later Cockroft revealed how bad of shape he was in that day, with two herniated discs and the fact that he needed four epidurals to make it through the season.
I started collecting football cards in 4th and 5th grade. I have vague memories of Jim Plunkett, Lester Hayes, Brian Sipe and Ozzie Newsome. But I have no recollection of Don Cockroft. These football cards inspired me to learn a little history.
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