Letters to the Editor

Garo: All pro kicker

The May 16 article Miami Dolphins legendary kicker Garo Yepremian dies at 70 failed to give the NFL all-time great his due.

While he will always be remembered for his Super Bowl VII fumble that Washington’s Mike Bass returned 49 yards for a touchdown, Yepremian nonetheless was one of the best kickers of his era.

He was a two-time All-Pro and the MVP of the 1974 Pro Bowl, in addition to leading the NFL in field goal accuracy three times and being voted the NFL’s 1970s All-Decade Team kicker.

He also set an NFL record by converting 20 consecutive field goals — a streak that ended in a 1979 game against Washington, and which, ironically, was broken by Washington’s Mark Moseley in 1982, when Moseley was named NFL MVP.

Sadly, NFL placekickers rarely receive the respect they deserve.

Yepremian may not have looked like a football player, but he, and Moseley, too, were among the best players at their position in their era, and thus deserve enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

It is sad that, should this injustice ever be corrected, Yepremian will not have lived to see it.

Stephen A. Silver,

San Francisco, Calif.

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