Stephen James O'Neal (born February 4, 1946) is a former American football punter and a wide receiver. O'Neal is best known for kicking a 98-yard punt during the American Football League (AFL) game between the New York Jets and the Denver Broncos on September 21, 1969. This punt set the record for the longest punt in AFL and professional football history.[1] He finished his career with 337 punts for 13,725 yards and a 40.7 yards per punt average.[2]
Professional football career
O'Neal was drafted in the 13th round, pick 21 of the 1969 Common Draft by the AFL's New York Jets.[3] O'Neal was traded by the Jets to the New Orleans Saints before the 1973 season along with backup quarterback Bob Davis in exchange for wide receiver Margene Adkins and punter Julian Fagan.[1] Jets' coach Weeb Ewbank said of the trade that "We've been disappointed with our punting game which is the reason for this trade," although Fagan only lasted one year with the Jets.[1] He set a career-high with 81 punts in his final season for the New Orleans Saints in 1973.[4] After struggling during the 1974 preseason, he was waived by the Saints before the 1974 regular season began and replaced by Donnie Gibbs, who himself was waived after the first regular season game and replaced by Tom Blanchard.[5][6][7]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Jets, Saints exchange four men". Palm Beach Post. June 6, 1973. p. D2. Retrieved 2022-08-18 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Individual Records: Punting". Archived from the original on February 24, 2004.
- ^ "Football Records That Will Never Be Broken".
- ^ "Steve O'Neal Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-12-24.
- ^ Ernst, Ken (August 31, 1974). "Can Saints Improve Record?". Sun Herald. p. C-46. Retrieved 2022-08-19 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Cleveland, Rick (September 16, 1974). "49ers take 17-13 Saints gift". Hattiesburg American. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-08-19 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Saints drop Donnie Gibbs". Clarion-Ledger. September 20, 1974. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-08-19 – via newspapers.com.