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Jason Hanson

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Jason Hanson
refer to caption
Hanson at the 2012 Lions training camp
No. 4
Position:Placekicker
Personal information
Born: (1970-06-17) June 17, 1970 (age 54)
Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school:Mead (WA)
College:Washington State
NFL draft:1992 / round: 2 / pick: 56
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Field goals made:495
Field goals attempted:601
Field goal %:82.4
Long field goal:56
Points scored:2,150
Stats at Pro Football Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Jason Hanson (born June 17, 1970) is a retired football placekicker who spent his entire 21-year career playing for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Lions in the second round (56th overall) of the 1992 NFL Draft out of Washington State University. Hanson holds the NFL record for the most games played with one team, as well as multiple kicking and scoring records.

High school career

Born in Spokane, Washington, Hanson graduated from Mead High School in 1988, where he lettered in football, basketball, soccer. As a senior, Hanson won All-Greater Spokane League honors as both a kicker and punter and was named a first team All-State honoree by the Washington Sportswriters Association. In the classroom at Mead, he maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average.[1]

College career

Hanson attended Washington State University in Pullman, where he walked-on as a freshman in 1988 and made an immediate impact;[2] he was named to The Sporting News Freshman All-America team.[3] Hanson set or tied many NCAA records, and his percentage of 57.1 for field goals from 50 yards or greater remains a Pac-12 Conference record. He holds the record for most field goals from 50 yards or more (20), and 40 yards or more (39). Hanson's school records include most points scored (328), longest field goal (62 yards), most games with two or more field goals (20), field goals (63), and PATs (139). He was also the punter at WSU during his final two seasons, and was a teammate of quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who arrived in 1990.[4] Hanson earned a bachelor of science degree from WSU in pre-med studies,[5] with 3.78 grade point average.[6]

Professional career

Hanson was selected in the second round of the 1992 NFL Draft by the Lions, the 56th overall pick. He retired from the Lions in 2013; no NFL player played as many games with the same team as Hanson, breaking the old record of 296 held by Bruce Matthews in Week 2 of the 2011 season vs. the Kansas City Chiefs. At the beginning of the 2012 season, he set the record for most years with the same club, 21, a mark he had shared with Darrell Green of the Washington Redskins and Jackie Slater of the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams.

On December 14, 2008, against the Indianapolis Colts, Hanson passed Morten Andersen for most 50+ yard field goals in NFL history. Hanson again had a good year, ending the 2008 NFL season 21-for-22 on field goal attempts (including 8 for 8 from 50+ yards) and 25-for-26 on extra point attempts. Statistically, this was the second best season of Hanson's career with respect to field goal attempts; he missed only one. After the late 2010 NFL season, Hanson had missed only eight extra points in his career, five of which were blocked.

On December 2, 2010, the Lions placed him on injured reserve due to an injured right knee.[7]

Hanson was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September 2011 after kicking a perfect 8 of 8 field goals. It was his fifth-career Special Teams Player of the Month award and his first since November 2003.

Hanson is the team's all-time leader in scoring, with 2,100 points (as of November 18, 2012), and in field goals with 483 (as of the same date), and holds a variety of other team records for kicking and scoring. He represented the NFC in the Pro Bowl in 1998 and 1999, and was an alternate in 1997 and 2008. He has booted 17 game-winning field goals in his career; eight in regulation and nine in overtime.

On April 4, 2013, Hanson announced his retirement.[8] At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest active player in the NFL, the last player to have played for the same team he played for prior to the advent of free agency, and the last active player to play at Milwaukee County Stadium.

Hanson was named the 2002 recipient of the Detroit Lions/Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association/Pro Football Writers Association's Media-Friendly "Good Guy" Award. The Good Guy Award is given yearly to the Detroit Lions player who shows consideration to, and cooperation with the media at all times during the course of the season.

The Detroit Lions inducted him into the Ring of Honor in fall 2013 at Ford Field for his success and dedication to Detroit Lions football.[9]

Career regular season statistics

Career high/best bolded

NFL records

  • Most field goals of 40 or more yards (total) – 189
  • Most consecutive field goals of 40 or more yards (total) – 24 (2007–2009)
  • Became the second player in league history (after Jason Elam) to score 200+ points against 3 different teams (division rivals Packers, Bears, and Vikings).
  • Most career games with one NFL team (327 1992-2012).
  • Most career seasons with one NFL team (21 1992-2012).
  • On December 18, 2011, became the first player in NFL history to score 2,000 points with one franchise.
  • Most career game winning field goals in overtime – 9 – tied with Jason Elam, Jim Breech, and Steve Christie

Personal life

Hanson and his wife, Kathleen, were married in 1992 and have three children. His younger brother Travis was a kicker for the rival University of Washington Huskies, and was a member of the 1991 national championship team.[10] Hanson is a Christian.[11] Jason Hanson's eldest son, Ryan, is best known for winning three Intramural Championships in one year: Men's Soccer, Coed Soccer, and Coed Badminton.[12] 

Unfortunately, Ryan's winning streak was ended on December 4, 2017, when he took last place in his 2017 Fantasy Football league. Needless to say, when performance was truly needed, he completely frosted over.

References

  1. ^ Taylor, Kevin (June 1, 1988). "Lemery, Hanson are top scholar-athletes". Spokesman-Review. p. D3.
  2. ^ Bergum, Steve (September 13, 1988). "There's something special about Mead's Hanson". Spokane Chronicle. p. B1.
  3. ^ Bergum, Steve (August 26, 1989). "Coach helps Coug kicker toe mark". Spokesman-Review. p. B1.
  4. ^ Murphy, Austin (October 21, 1991). "Best in his field". Sports Illustrated: 54.
  5. ^ Weaver, Dan (June 25, 2001). "He gets his kicks". Spokesman-Review. p. C1.
  6. ^ "More awards for Hanson". Lewiston Morning Tribune. November 22, 1991. p. 2B.
  7. ^ Detroit Lions place kicker Jason Hanson on injured reserve – ESPN Chicago. Sports.espn.go.com (December 3, 2010). Retrieved on November 28, 2013.
  8. ^ Lions kicker Jason Hanson retires after 21 seasons USA Today, April 4, 2013
  9. ^ Detroit Lions induct Jason Hanson into ring of honor during retirement press conference. MLive.com (April 9, 2013). Retrieved on November 28, 2013.
  10. ^ Rockne, Dan (September 17, 1992). "(Travis) Hanson set to get his kicks". Spokesman-Review. p. C1.
  11. ^ "Football: Ex-NFL kicker Hanson talks about playing experience, Christianity, faith at New Bern rally".
  12. ^ http://www.hope.edu/student/intra/
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