 Bakkenc. 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||
| No. 25 | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Kicker | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1940-11-02)November 2, 1940 (age 85) Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Madison West | ||||||||||||||||||
| College | Wisconsin | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1962: 7th round, 88th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
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James LeRoy Bakken (born November 2, 1940) is an American former professionalfootball player who was akicker in theNational Football League (NFL) for theSt. Louis Cardinals, playing occasionally as apunter as well. He was a four-timePro Bowl selection and was named to theNFL 1960s and1970s All-Decade Team. Bakken is one of 29 individuals to be named to twoAll-Decade teams.[1]
Bakken was born on November 2, 1940, inMadison, Wisconsin.[2] He attendedMadison West High School in Madison, graduating in 1958. He was on the football, basketball and baseball teams. The 1957 football team went undefeated (8–0), and was considered the best high school team in Wisconsin that year. In the same year, Bakken was Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Big 8 Conference, and the All-Statequarterback.[3] He was All-State in baseball and basketball as well at Madison West.[4]
He went on to play three seasons of varsity football at theUniversity of Wisconsin (1959–61).[5] He played football under coachMilt Bruhn. As a sophomore, Bakken shared the quarterback position withDale Hackbart, and was also the team's kicker and punter.[3] Bakken's 1959Badger team wasBig-Ten Conference champion, and played in the1960 Rose Bowl. He was honorable mention All-Big Ten that year.[6]
In 1960, he became the first punter in school history to average more than 40 yards per punt (41.9); and was seventh in the nation in punting average. In 1961, he was team co-captain. He led the Big Ten in punting average in 1960 and 1961.[6][7] In a 1961 game againstNorthwestern, he had a 90-yard punt, 47-yard field goal, and returned aninterception for a touchdown, in the Badgers' upset victory.[3]
He also played one year of baseball for the Badgers.[3][4]
He was named to the Madison (Wisconsin) Sports Hall of Fame in 1984, and was inducted into the UW Athletic Department-National W Club Hall of Fame in 2001.[7][6]
Bakken was drafted by theLos Angeles Rams in the seventh round of the1962 NFL draft.[8][9] He did not make the team and was instead picked up by theSt. Louis Cardinals, where he played his entire NFL career.[2][3] He played 17 seasons, scoring a total of 1,380 points while never missing a game between 1963 and 1978;playing 234 consecutive games.[2][10] OnlyLarry Fitzgerald has played more games for the Cardinals.[11] In the first fifty seasons of the NFL (1920-1969), for all field goal kickers with 200 field goal attempts, Bakken ranked 1st at 61.5, having made 134 of his 218 attempts.[12]
At the time he retired, his 1,380 points were second-most in AFL/NFL history (behind onlyGeorge Blanda). When he retired, his 282 field goals were third most in NFL history (behind only George Blanda andJim Turner).[13] He cracked the 100-point threshold in a season three times (1964, 1967, and 1973), making him one of fifteen players with three 100-point seasons at the time.[14] He was selected to kick in thePro Bowl four times, which at the time made him one of three primary kickers to make the Pro Bowl four times.[15] He led the NFL in made field goals in 1964 and 1967, as well as in scoring in 1967 (117 points).[2][6][3] He remains the Cardinals all-time leading scorer (as of 2025).[16] Bakken is the AFL/NFL's 39th leading scorer (as of 2025).[17]
He was selected first-team All-Conference in 1975 and 1976, and first-teamAll-Pro by theNewspaper Enterprise Association (NEA),Pro Football Writers, andPro Football Weekly both of those years.[18][19] In 1976, he was selected as the Cardinals' MVP.[6] In 1969, he was president of theNational Football League Players Association (NFLPA).[20][3]
Bakken was the first NFL kicker to attempt ninefield goals and successfully convert seven in a Week 2 28–14 win over thePittsburgh Steelers atPitt Stadium on September 24, 1967.[21] That single-game field goal record was broken byRob Bironas with eight in a game in 2007.[22]
His nickname with the Cardinals was "Bags".[4]
Bakken was named by the voters of thePro Football Hall of Fame to theProfessional Football 1960s All Decade Team, which included both NFL andAmerican Football League players.[23] The voters of thePro Football Hall of Fame also selected Bakken to theNFL 1970s All-Decade Team, second-team, one vote behindGaro Yepremian.[24][4]
He is a member of the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.[10] TheMissouri Athletic Club selected him Sportsman of the Year in 1976.[6]
In December 2010, the annual trophy for the Big Ten's best kicker, the "Bakken-Andersen Kicker of the Year" award, was co-named in his honor.[25]
In 1990, Bakken was hired as director of external relations at the University of Wisconsin's athletic department.[26]
Bakken was the Wisconsin State Masters Handball Doubles Champion seven times (1991-1997).[6]
Career high/bestbolded
| Regular season statistics | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team (record) | G | FGM | FGA | % | <20 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ | LNG | BLK | XPM | XPA | % | PTS |
| 1962 | STL (4–9–1) | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 1963 | STL (9–5) | 14 | 11 | 21 | 52.4 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 45 | 0 | 44 | 44 | 100.0 | 77 |
| 1964 | STL (9–3–2) | 14 | 25 | 38 | 65.8 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 51 | 0 | 40 | 40 | 100.0 | 115 |
| 1965 | STL (5–9) | 14 | 21 | 31 | 67.7 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 45 | 0 | 33 | 33 | 100.0 | 96 |
| 1966 | STL (8–5–1) | 14 | 23 | 40 | 57.5 | 8–8 | 7–8 | 4–8 | 4–12 | 0–4 | 47 | 0 | 27 | 28 | 96.4 | 96 |
| 1967 | STL (6–7–1) | 14 | 27 | 39 | 69.2 | 8–8 | 8–9 | 8–11 | 3–10 | 0–1 | 47 | 0 | 36 | 36 | 100.0 | 117 |
| 1968 | STL (9–4–1) | 14 | 15 | 24 | 62.5 | 2–2 | 7–7 | 3–6 | 3–8 | 0–1 | 47 | 0 | 40 | 40 | 100.0 | 85 |
| 1969 | STL (4–9–1) | 14 | 12 | 24 | 50.0 | 2–2 | 4–8 | 3–4 | 3–7 | 0–3 | 46 | 0 | 38 | 40 | 95.0 | 74 |
| 1970 | STL (8–5–1) | 14 | 20 | 32 | 62.5 | 4–4 | 3–6 | 7–7 | 6–11 | 0–4 | 49 | 0 | 37 | 38 | 97.4 | 97 |
| 1971 | STL (4–9–1) | 14 | 21 | 32 | 65.6 | 5–5 | 8–13 | 5–6 | 3–8 | 0–0 | 45 | 0 | 24 | 24 | 100.0 | 87 |
| 1972 | STL (4–9–1) | 14 | 14 | 22 | 63.6 | 4–5 | 2–5 | 2–3 | 6–9 | 0–0 | 49 | 0 | 19 | 21 | 90.5 | 61 |
| 1973 | STL (4–9–1) | 14 | 23 | 32 | 71.9 | 4–4 | 6–7 | 10–12 | 3–8 | 0–1 | 46 | 0 | 31 | 31 | 100.0 | 100 |
| 1974 | STL (10–4) | 14 | 13 | 22 | 59.1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 5–9 | 6–10 | 0–0 | 47 | 0 | 30 | 36 | 83.3 | 69 |
| 1975 | STL (11–3) | 14 | 19 | 24 | 79.2 | 0–0 | 10–11 | 5–7 | 4–6 | 0–0 | 48 | 0 | 40 | 41 | 97.6 | 97 |
| 1976 | STL (10–4) | 14 | 20 | 27 | 74.1 | 0–0 | 10–11 | 6–8 | 4–8 | 0–0 | 43 | 0 | 33 | 35 | 94.3 | 93 |
| 1977 | STL (7–7) | 14 | 7 | 16 | 43.8 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–5 | 2–8 | 0–1 | 49 | 0 | 35 | 36 | 97.2 | 56 |
| 1978 | STL (6–10) | 16 | 11 | 22 | 50.0 | 0–0 | 4–5 | 4–7 | 3–10 | 0–0 | 45 | 0 | 27 | 30 | 90.0 | 60 |
| Career (17 seasons) | 234 | 282 | 447 | 63.1 | 37–38 | 73–95 | 65–93 | 50–115 | 0–15 | 51 | 0 | 534 | 553 | 96.6 | 1380 | |