| Date of birth: | August 18, 1970 |
| Place of birth: | Houma, Louisiana |
| Career information | |
|---|---|
| Position(s): | Placekicker |
| College: | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| Organizations | |
| As player: | |
| 1997-1999 1999-2000 2002 |
Dallas Cowboys Carolina Panthers Jacksonville Jaguars |
| Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com | |
Richard Anthony "Richie" Cunningham (born August 18, 1970 in Houma, Louisiana) is a former All-Pro National Football League placekicker who played for the Dallas Cowboys, the Carolina Panthers, and the Jacksonville Jaguars during the late 1990s and early 2000s. He attended Terrebonne High School and the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.
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He attended Terrebonne High School and went on to play football at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he was the kickoff specialist since his freshman year and became the team's placekicker until his junior year.
Cunningham was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys in 1994, but was released at the end of training camp after being beaten out by Chris Boniol. In 1997 he finally made the team, becoming an All-Pro kicker in his first NFL season. He was 34 for 37 on his field goal attempts, leading the NFL in field goals made, setting the club record and earning the second place ranking for a rookie in league history. He was also second in the NFL in field goal percentage and points scored (also a team record). He was 24 for 24 on extra points.
In 1998 season he made 29 of his 35 field goal attempts, which at the time ranked third in club history. The Cowboys released him 12 games into the 1999 season, after he slumped to 12 for 22 in his field goal attempts.
He finished the 1999 season playing in three games for the Carolina Panthers, replacing injured kicker John Kasay. He appeared in four more games for the Panthers in 2000.
He finished his NFL career in 2002 season, appearing in one game for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Cunningham was 84 for 105 in career NFL field goal attempts. His 80 percent rate put him at 27th all-time for field goal after the 2008 season. [1]
He also received some notoriety during his NFL career for sharing the same name of the Happy Days television character played by Ron Howard.