| Date of birth: | May 7, 1953 |
| Place of birth: | Villa Park, California |
| Career information | |
|---|---|
| Position(s): | P/WR |
| College: | Harvard |
| NFL Draft: | 1975 / Round: 5/ Pick 120 |
| Organizations | |
| As player: | |
| 1976-1985 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Pro Bowls: | 1 |
| Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com | |
John Patrick "Pat" McInally (born May 7, 1953 in Villa Park, California), is a former punter and wide receiver for the National Football League's Cincinnati Bengals from 1976 to 1985.
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He attended Harvard University, where he wore uniform number 84. Due to a broken leg he suffered in the College All-Star Game at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers (who are still the Bengals' division rivals), McInally missed his entire rookie year. This injury, coupled with a decrease in popularity, led to the cancellation of the game after the 1976 event. He was drafted in the 5th round of the 1975 NFL draft.
Paul Brown's practice of drafting intelligent players was, arguably, exemplified by the selection of Pat McInally, who scored the only verified perfect score on the Wonderlic Test, an intelligence test which was developed in the early 1970s that is given to prospective players by the NFL to judge their aptitude for adapting to certain situations.
According to McInally, "it really did seem like an easy test at the time. One of the reasons I did so well is because I didn't think it mattered. So I think I didn't feel any pressure at all. It was more of a lark, and that's when you do your best. If I took it 100 times I'd probably never do that again."[1] McInally claims it hurt rather than enhanced his position in the draft because "coaches and front-office guys don't like extremes one way or the other, but particularly not on the high side. I think they think guys who are intelligent will challenge authority too much."[2]
McInally served as the Bengals punter from 1976 to 1985, and also saw some playing time as a receiver on offense during the first half of his career. He led the league in net yards per punt in 1977(36.4) and in punting average in 1978 (43.1) and 1981 (45.4). He also has the distinction of being the first Harvard graduate ever to play in a pro bowl and a Super Bowl, both of which he did in the 1981 season.
Due to suffering a series of concussions, the 6'-7", 210 pound McInally, who led the nation in receiving as a collegian in 1973, punted exclusively in the latter stage of his professional career. He finished his career with 700 punts for 29,307 yards, an average of 41.9 yards per punt. He also caught 57 passes for 808 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Pat McInally conceived the Starting Lineup series of action figures circa 1986, the final year of his career, and pitched the idea to Kenner, a leading producer of toys. They agreed to develop it and the line became a top-seller. Kenner was later sold to Hasbro. McInally himself was not included in the Starting Lineup line until a 10th anniversary figure of him was released in 1997.[3] "SLUs," as collectors call the figures, were discontinued after the 2001 Major League Baseball season.
After his retirement, the royalties Pat McInally received from Kenner provided income and also allowed him to work in youth sports and that led to the founding of Good Sports For Life, an organization that, according to McInally: "is dedicated to working with partners to improve youth sports by promoting meaningful participation, improved performance, personal growth, and creating positive experiences for the thirty-seven million kids playing sports today." He writes regular columns on behalf of the organization that appear on NFL.com. [4]
In 2006 the Wonderlic Company named Pat McInally its director of marketing and testing to help student athletes prepare for the SAT.[5]
He is also a children's book collector, and in 2009 he was reported to have sold at auction for $115,000 a rare edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, which had been given to the real Alice (Alice Liddell). [6]
In February 2011, it was announced that Pat McInally signed as the head varsity football coach at Brethren Christian Junior/Senior High School in Huntington Beach, California.
He has two children, Jack and Abby, with his wife Leslie.
