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| Position | Punter | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | (1955-06-29)June 29, 1955 (age 70) Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight | 192 lb (87 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school | Bethel Park | ||||||||||
| College | Ohio State | ||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1977: 2nd round, 46th overall pick | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Thomas Edward Skladany (born June 29, 1955) is an American former professionalfootball player who was apunter in theNational Football League (NFL), primarily with theDetroit Lions. He playedcollege football for theOhio State Buckeyes. A three-time first-teamAll-American, he is widely considered to be, along withRay Guy, one of the two greatest punters in college history.
Skladany later played in the NFL from 1978 to 1983. Skladany, the only three-time, first-teamAll-American punter in college history, made Big Ten history in 1973 when he became the first specialty player given a football scholarship in Big Ten football. Skladany was considered by Street & Smith's and Parade to be the consensus number one high school kicker and punter in America in 1972. Skladany turned down scholarship offers from Michigan, Penn State and hometown Pittsburgh to sign withWoody Hayes and Ohio State. Skladany was a three-timeAll-American atOhio State University (1974–1976). He was inducted into the Ohio State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991.[1]
Skladany, the Cleveland Browns' second pick in 1977, made professional sports history when he held out the entire season in a contract dispute, becoming the first-ever NFL draft pick to hold out a full season. His rights were traded to the Detroit Lions after the 1977 season. Skladany was selected to thePro Bowl after the 1981 season and named first-team All Pro in 1978 and 1981. A back injury ended Skladany's career prematurely in 1983 while punting for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Skladany comes from a football family of note. Tom's uncle,Leo blocked a field goal as regulation time expired in the 1949 NFL championship game to propel the Philadelphia Eagles to the NFL title over the Los Angeles Rams. Another uncle,Joe "Muggsy" Skladany is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and played for thePittsburgh Steelers in 1941 before enlisting inWorld War II. Tom's uncle Ed Skladany turned down theChicago Bears to sign with theCincinnati Reds in 1945. Tom's brother Joe Skladany was an All-American linebacker at LaFayette University in 1981, and played forArizona Wranglers of theUSFL in 1982.
After retiring from the NFL in 1983, Tom opened an American Speedy Printing Center in suburban Columbus, Ohio, and raised four daughters, all of whom played Division I collegiate soccer. His daughter, Karly, married*NSYNC singerChris Kirkpatrick in 2013, and his youngest daughter, Camryn, has excelled both athletically and professionally. Camryn is currently a leading executive in the professional staffing and recruitment industry. Tom Skladany is a past President of the NFL Alumni Association of Ohio (1989–2013).