Shayne Graham

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**Shayne Graham**
Personal Info
Date of Birth	December 9, 1977
Place of Birth	Radford, Virginia
Height	6'-0"
Weight	197 pounds
Player Information
Position	Placekicker
Number	17
College	Virginia Tech
Awards
Pro Bowls
1 (2005)
NFL Draft
Undrafted
Teams Played For
2000	New Orleans Saints (did not play)
2001	Buffalo Bills
2002	Carolina Panthers
2003 -	Cincinnati Bengals

Michael Shayne Graham (born December 9, 1977 in Radford, Virginia) is an American football placekicker who currently plays for the Cincinnati Bengals. He attended Virginia Tech and signed as a free agent with the New Orleans Saints in 2000, but was waived before the start of the regular season. He has previously played for the Carolina Panthers and Buffalo Bills. Graham attended Pulaski County High School and was an avid football (soccer) player as a kid. Graham has an one older sister named Michelle.

Ever since joining the Bengals, Graham has had an extremely successful career. In his first year with Cincinnati in 2003, Graham set a franchise record by making 88%(22 of 25) of his field goals. In the following season, Graham narrowly missed equalling his previous mark, finishing the year 27 of 31(87.1%). In 2005, Graham made 28 of 32 field goals(87.5%), scored a franchise record 131 points, was selected to be the kicker for the AFC pro bowl squad, and helped the Bengals record their first winning season since 1990. Graham was the first kicker in franchise history ever to be selected to play in a pro bowl.

[edit] Charity Work

Graham has worked to gain sponsorship for a program that donated $200 for each of his field goals in 2004 to Cincinnati's FreeStore/FoodBank, and he extended that program to also cover field goals made by the Cincinnati Marshals indoor team. He built a partnership with the Cincinnatian Hotel to give deserving children a chance to eat with him at the hotel's gourmet restaurant. He donated proceeds from a local kicking clinic to the YMCA, and he is a board member of the "Kicks for Kids" foundation, started by former Bengals kicker Doug Pelfrey, which raises money for children in need in the local Cincinnati and northern Kentucky area. He also has worked with the Cincinnati V.A. Hospital, the Fraternal Order of Police, and the IHOP Read Across America