 Agajanian, circa 1947 | |||||||||||
| No. 15, 12, 27, 24, 25, 89, 43, 3, 41, 8 | |||||||||||
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| Position: | Placekicker | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | (1919-08-28)August 28, 1919 Santa Ana, California, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Died: | February 8, 2018(2018-02-08) (aged 98) Cathedral City, California, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | San Pedro (CA) | ||||||||||
| College: | New Mexico | ||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 1941 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Benjamin James Agajanian (August 28, 1919 – February 8, 2018), nicknamed "the Toeless Wonder", was an Americanfootball player, primarily a placekicker in theNational Football League (NFL), theAll-America Football Conference (AAFC) andAmerican Football League (AFL).
Born inSanta Ana, California, he graduated fromSan Pedro High School in theSan Pedro community inLos Angeles. Aplacekicker, he playedcollege football atCompton Junior College and theUniversity of New Mexico inAlbuquerque.[1] He served in theU.S. Army Air Forces duringWorld War II as a physical training instructor.[2] While playing in college, Agajanian had four toes of his kicking foot crushed in a work accident and then amputated in 1939.[2][3]
Agajanian played professionally in theNational Football League from 1945 through 1959, then in the newly formedAmerican Football League for theLos Angeles/San Diego Chargers in 1960 and 1964. He also played for theDallas Texans in 1961 and theOakland Raiders in 1962. He is one of two players (the other wasHardy Brown) who played in theAll-America Football Conference, theAmerican Football League, and theNational Football League.[4]
He was pro football's third kicking specialist (afterJack Manders andMose Kelsch), bootingfield goals for 10 different professional teams in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, including twoNFL champions: theNew York Giants in1956 and theGreen Bay Packers in1961.[5] In the 1956 title game, he went 5-for-6 on extra points and 2-for-3 on field goals, while in the 1960 title game he was perfect on extra points (one) and field goals (three).
During Agajanian's time with the Packers, he was mistakenly assigned the number 3; the number had been retired forTony Canadeo nine years earlier.[6] Agajanian remains the last Packer to wear number 3.[7]
He led the league in field goal attempts in 1947 (24) and 1954 (25) and also led in made field goals (15) in the former.
After retiring from the field at age 45,[8] he was theDallas Cowboys kicking coach for 20 years. He also coachedChicago Bears kickerMac Percival for the 1968 season.
Agajanian died inCathedral City, California, on February 8, 2018, at age 98.[9] His older brother was auto racing promoterJ. C. Agajanian.
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