Russell Erxleben
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| Russell Erxleben | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | January 13, 1957 |
| Place of birth | Seguin, Texas |
| Position(s) | Kicker |
| College | Texas |
| NFL Draft | 1979 / Round 1 |
| Stats | |
| Team(s) | |
| 1979-1983 1987 |
New Orleans Saints Detroit Lions |
Russell Erxleben is a former American football player and currency investor. He shares the record for the longest field goal in NCAA history, originally set in 1977 while playing for the University of Texas. He was convicted of securities fraud in 1999, and was released from federal prison in 2005.
Erxleben was raised in Seguin, Texas, where he was a stand-out as a high school kicker. He had a conventional straight-on kicking style, using a two-step approach. Highly recruited, he entered the University of Texas as a top prospect in 1975. He quickly earned a reputation as a reliable kicker for the Longhorns. In December of his freshman year, he played in the Bluebonnet Bowl against the University of Colorado. Despite early troubles in the game, including a missed field goal and a blocked extra point, Erxleben kicked a field goal late in the game, breaking the tie and securing the win for Texas. In 1977, in a game against Rice University, he set the record for the longest field goal in NCAA history with a 67 yard kick. UT head coach Fred Akers said of the kick, "It was like a gunshot. We couldn't believe a ball was going that far. It had another eight yards on it." [1] The record was tied two weeks later by Steve Little of the University of Arkansas. Erxleben kicked two other field goals over sixty yards that season. Rule changes in NCAA football since 1977, specifically the prohibition against the use of kicking tees, as well as the placement of the ball following a failed kick, have discouraged such long attempts, and thus attempts to break the record are now rare. The longest field goal since the rule changes came in 1998, when Martin Grammatica of Kansas State made a 65-yard attempt.
In 1979 he was drafted in the first round (eleventh pick overall) by the New Orleans Saints. The unexpected selection, the eleventh overall in the draft, remains the highest selection of a kicker in the draft. He played ten seasons in the NFL as a placekicker. He later played for the Detroit Lions and retired in 1988. Despite his stellar college career, he was not considered a standout on the pro level, and did not make the Pro Bowl during his NFL career.
His first NFL game was a portent of his pro career. On September 2, 1979, the Saints and their hated archrivals, the Atlanta Falcons went into overtime with the game tied 34-34. Midway through overtime, a snap went over Erxleben's head and rolled to the goal line. Erxleben picked the ball up and made a hurried chest pass. The pass was intercepted by Atlanta's James Mayberry at the 6-yard line, and he trotted into the end zone for a touchdown and a 40-34 Falcon victory. The loss proved to be devastating for the Saints, as it cost the team their first winning season. New Orleans finsihed the year at 8-8, one game behind the Los Angeles Rams, who won the division at 9-7 and played in Super Bowl XIV.
In the 1980 season opener, Erxleben blew a game-tying field goal attempt in a 26-23 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, a team that had won four games over the previous two seasons. The loss was the first of 14 consecutive defeats for the Saints, who ended the year 1-15.
After retiring from the NFL, he became a financial investor in foreign exchange trading, founding the successful Austin Forex International in Austin, Texas. In 1999, following an investigation by the Texas Securities Board and the Internal Revenue Service, Erxleben pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, and a second count for securities fraud, in connection with misleading statements regarding the past performance of Austin Forex. On September 18, 2000, Erxleben was sentenced by United States District Court Judge James R. Nowlin to 84 months in prison, and ordered to pay a total of $28 million in restitution and a one million dollar fine. Erxleben's lawyers, the law firm of Locke, Liddell & Sapp, settled a related lawsuit for $22m in 2000. Harriet Miers, who currently serves as White House Counsel to President Bush and who was nominated by Bush in the fall of 2005 to serve on the United States Supreme Court (a nomination that was later withdrawn) was a co-manager at the law firm during AFI's reported criminal activity.
