John Lee (placekicker)
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| Position: | Placekicker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | May 19, 1964 Seoul, South Korea | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 182 lb (83 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Downey | ||||||||
| College: | UCLA | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1986 / round: 2 / pick: 32 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| John Lee | |
| Hangul | 이민종[1] |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization | I Min-jong |
| McCune–Reischauer | I Minjong |
John Lee (Korean: 이민종; RR: I Min-jong; born May 19, 1964) is a former two-time All-American placekicker for the UCLA Bruins football team from 1982–1985. He was the 32nd pick selected in the 1986 NFL Draft and later played one year for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was inducted to the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. Former UCLA Bruins coach Rick Neuheisel began his career as the placekick holder for Lee.[2] He is distinguished as being the first Korean to play in the National Football League.
NCAA records held or tied
- Broke the Pacific-10 Conference single game field goal record (since matched by two others) with six made against the San Diego State Aztecs in 1984.
- Holds the highest percentage of extra points and field goals made in a career with 93.3% (116 of 117 PATs, 79 of 92 FGs).
- Most field goals made per game for a season (2.6, 1984, 29 in 11 games) and in a career (1.84, 79 in 43 games)
- Highest percentage of field goals made in a season (100%, 1984, 16 out of 16) and in a career (minimum 55 attempts) (85.9%, 79 out of 92)
- Highest percentage of field goals made under 40 yards in a season (minimum 16 made) (100%, 1984, 16 out of 16) and in a career (minimum 40 made) (96.4%, 54 of 56)
- Most times kicking four field goals in a game in a career (six times)
- Most games in which field goal provided the winning margin in a career (ten times)
Rose Bowl record
Lee played in the 1983, 1984 and 1986 Rose Bowl, and was an integral part of the success of the UCLA Bruins during his college career, as evidenced by his conference-leading accuracy and the 10 games won by the margin of a field goal.[3] He holds the Rose Bowl career record of 24 most scoring points made by kicking, 1983 UCLA vs. Michigan (3 PAT, 1 FG), 1984 UCLA vs. Illinois (6 PAT, 1 FG) and 1986 UCLA vs. Iowa (6 PAT, 1 FG).[4] The 15 total PAT points in three games also is a record and the 6 PAT-points in each of the two games ranks second in Rose Bowl history.
Professional career
St. Louis Cardinals
Lee was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the second round (32nd overall) of the 1986 NFL Draft, making him one of the highest placekickers ever drafted and the first East Asia native to play in the NFL. He was seen as a can't miss prospect and on July 27, Lee agreed to a four-year $900,000 contract, including a $250,000 signing bonus, making him the highest paid player at his position in the league.[5]
Although he made his first six kicks in preseason,[6] he unexpectedly suffered through a slump and began missing field goals. More seriously, his leg was not nearly strong enough to get adequate distance on kickoffs, and he lost his confidence.[7] He made 8 of 13 field goals as a rookie, before undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and missing the last five regular season games. He was waived on September 8, 1987.[8]
Los Angeles Raiders
In 1988, he was signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Raiders to compete with incumbent kicker Chris Bahr, who struggled in 1987. He was waived on August 22, after missing 2 out of 3 field goals in preseason.[9]
Personal life
After leaving the NFL, he was involved in his family real estate business.
References
- ^ 박병기 [Bak Byeong-gi]; 장윤호 [Jang Yun-ho] (2006-09-27), "NFL 한국계 스타, 하인스 워드만 있는게 아냐", JoongAng Ilbo, retrieved 2011-09-28
- ^ Bruin 2008 Football Then ... Now ... Forever, 2008 UCLA Football Media Guide, UCLA, August 2008
- ^ "UCLA To Induct New Hall of Fame Class". CSTV. 2001-10-10. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
- ^ Rose Bowl Historical Media Guide, Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, December 2009
- ^ Ostler, Scott (1986-07-28). "UCLA Placekicker John Lee Agrees to Sign Four-Year Cardinal Contract for $900,000". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Landman, Brian (1986-08-21). "John Lee Is Off on the Right Foot : Ex-Bruin Place Kicker Goes 6 for 6 in First 3 Pro Games". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Bonk, Thomas (1987-10-01). "NO LEEWAY : When John Lee Suddenly Became Less Than Automatic, the Cardinals Gave Him the Boot". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Cardinals Cut Ex-UCLA Kicker Lee". Los Angeles Times. 1987-09-09.
- ^ Heisler, Mark (1988-08-23). "Lee Is Cut by Raiders, but He Takes It in Stride". Los Angeles Times.