 Turner in 1969 | |||||||||||||||||||
| No. 11, 15 | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Placekicker | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1941-03-28)March 28, 1941 Martinez, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Died | June 10, 2023(2023-06-10) (aged 82) Arvada, Colorado, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||
| High school | John Swett (Crockett, California) | ||||||||||||||||||
| College | Utah State | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1963: 19th round, 259th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career AFL/NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
James Bayard Turner (March 28, 1941 – June 10, 2023) was an American professionalfootballplacekicker who played in theAmerican Football League (AFL) andNational Football League (NFL) for theNew York Jets andDenver Broncos. He was a two-timePro Bowl selection with the Jets and a member of theirSuper Bowl III championship team. Turner was chosen for theAFL All-Time Second-team and theDenver Broncos Ring of Fame.
Turner was born and raised inMartinez, California.[1][2] He graduated fromJohn Swett High School in 1959. He played for the football team as aquarterback and was also afreestyle swimmer.[2] Turner attendedUtah State University, where he playedcollege football for theUtah State Aggies as both a quarterback andplacekicker.[3]
TheWashington Redskins of theNational Football League (NFL) selected Turner in the 19th round of the1963 NFL draft.[4] He signed with the Redskins,[5] but failed a tryout with the Redskins and was released. Turner signed with theNew York Jets of theAmerican Football League (AFL) as afree agent in1964.[6] He set then-league records with single-season totals of 145 points and 34field goals in1968.[1][7][8] He tieGino Cappelletti's AFL record with six field goals (on eight attempts) on November 3, 1968 against theBuffalo Bills. It was matched in 1972 but not broken untilJason Myers broke the record with seven field goals in 2018.[9][10] Turner kicked for nine points, making two of three field goals, inthe AFL Championship Game win over theOakland Raiders.[11][12] He had 10 points in the Jets' 16–7 defeat of theBaltimore Colts inSuper Bowl III.[13][14] He was named to thePro Bowl in 1968 and1969.[15]
Following the 1970 season, the Jets traded Turner to theDenver Broncos forBobby Howfield.[8] He scored four points in the Broncos' losing effort inSuper Bowl XII against theDallas Cowboys, connecting on a 47-yard field goal and anextra point following atouchdown run byRob Lytle.[16][17]
Turner finished his career with 304 of 488 (62%) field goals, 521 of 534 extra points and a touchdown on a 25 yard reception from a fake field goal,[18] giving him 1,439 total points.[15] Upon his retirement, he ranked second in field goals in NFL history, with only a fellow AFL veteran inGeorge Blanda having more; Turner now ranks in the top 35 for kickers four decades after his career ended.[19][20] He did not miss a game, playing in 228 consecutive contests.[13] His single-season scoring record was broken byMark Moseley in 1983, andAli Haji-Sheikh broke Turner's field goal record the same season.[1] He was inducted into theDenver Broncos Ring of Fame in 1988[21] and the Utah State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013.[3]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | Field goals | Extra points | Points | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FGA | FGM | Lng | Pct | XPA | XPM | Pct | ||||
| 1964 | NYJ | 14 | 27 | 13 | 50 | 48.1 | 33 | 33 | 100.0 | 72 |
| 1965 | NYJ | 14 | 34 | 20 | 49 | 58.8 | 31 | 31 | 100.0 | 91 |
| 1966 | NYJ | 14 | 35 | 18 | 45 | 51.4 | 35 | 34 | 97.1 | 88 |
| 1967 | NYJ | 14 | 32 | 17 | 48 | 53.1 | 39 | 36 | 92.3 | 87 |
| 1968 | NYJ | 14 | 46 | 34 | 49 | 73.9 | 43 | 43 | 100.0 | 145 |
| 1969 | NYJ | 14 | 47 | 32 | 50 | 68.1 | 33 | 33 | 100.0 | 129 |
| 1970 | NYJ | 14 | 35 | 19 | 42 | 54.3 | 28 | 28 | 100.0 | 85 |
| 1971 | DEN | 14 | 38 | 25 | 49 | 65.8 | 18 | 18 | 100.0 | 93 |
| 1972 | DEN | 14 | 29 | 20 | 49 | 69.0 | 37 | 37 | 100.0 | 97 |
| 1973 | DEN | 14 | 33 | 22 | 50 | 66.7 | 40 | 40 | 100.0 | 106 |
| 1974 | DEN | 14 | 21 | 11 | 43 | 52.4 | 38 | 35 | 92.1 | 68 |
| 1975 | DEN | 14 | 28 | 21 | 53 | 75.0 | 26 | 23 | 88.5 | 86 |
| 1976 | DEN | 14 | 21 | 15 | 47 | 71.4 | 39 | 36 | 92.3 | 81 |
| 1977 | DEN | 14 | 19 | 13 | 48 | 68.4 | 34 | 31 | 91.2 | 70 |
| 1978 | DEN | 16 | 22 | 11 | 45 | 50.0 | 35 | 31 | 88.6 | 64 |
| 1979 | DEN | 16 | 21 | 13 | 49 | 61.9 | 34 | 32 | 94.1 | 71 |
| Career | 228 | 488 | 304 | 53 | 62.3 | 543 | 521 | 95.9 | 1,433 | |
| Year | Team | GP | Field goals | Extra points | Points | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FGA | FGM | Pct | XPA | XPM | Pct | ||||
| 1968 | NYJ | 2 | 8 | 5 | 62.5 | 4 | 4 | 100.0 | 19 |
| 1969 | NYJ | 1 | 2 | 2 | 100.0 | – | – | – | 6 |
| 1977 | DEN | 3 | 6 | 3 | 50.0 | 7 | 7 | 100.0 | 16 |
| 1978 | DEN | 1 | 2 | 1 | 50.0 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 4 |
| 1979 | DEN | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 1 |
| Career | 8 | 18 | 11 | 61.1 | 13 | 13 | 100.0 | 46 | |
In 1981, Turner joinedNBC Sports as acolor commentarysportscaster.[22]
Turner's widow, Mary Kay, is fromEl Sobrante, California.[2] They had three daughters and lived inArvada, Colorado.[20]
Turner died in Arvada, Colorado from heart failure on June 10, 2023, at the age of 82.[23][24]