Age: 39
17th
season in pro football, 1st with Vikings
College: Syracuse
Height: 5’11” Weight: 178
Prelude:
Born in South
Africa, Anderson’s family moved to the US when he was a teenager. Having played
rugby while growing up, he quickly showed that he could kick an American
football and received a scholarship to Syracuse University. In college, he
played two seasons of soccer and, in football he set school season records for
field goals (18) and field goal percentage (94.7) in 1981. Anderson was chosen
in the seventh round of the 1982 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills, who cut him
prior to the season. Picked up by the Steelers, he was successful on 10 of 12
field goal attempts as well as all 22 tries for extra points during the
strike-shortened ’82 season. Wearing his characteristic single-bar facemask,
Anderson went on to kick for 13 seasons with the Steelers. He topped the AFC in
scoring in 1983, the first of three consecutive seasons in which he did so, and
he led the AFC in field goals in ’84 (24) and the entire NFL with 33 in 1985
(his high with Pittsburgh). Anderson received at least some All-NFL recognition
in 1985 and ’93 and was named to the Pro Bowl three times as a Steeler. He left
Pittsburgh following the 1994 season as the franchise leader in field goals
(309) and scoring (1343 points) and spent two years with Philadelphia and one
with the 49ers in ’97. Anderson signed a three-year contract to join the
Vikings in 1998.
1998 Season Summary
Appeared in
all 16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Kicking
Field goals –
35 [2, 1st in NFC]
Most field
goals, game – 6 at Baltimore 12/13
Field goal
attempts – 35 [4, tied with Richie Cunningham & John Hall]
Most field
goal attempts, game – 6 at Baltimore 12/13
Field goal
percentage – 100.0 [1]
PATs – 59 [1]
PAT attempts
– 59 [1]
Longest field
goal – 53 yards vs. Jacksonville 12/20
Scoring
Field Goals –
35
PATs – 59
Points – 164
[1]
Postseason: 2
G
Field goals –
4
Most field
goals, game – 2 vs. Arizona, NFC Divisional playoff
Field goal
attempts – 5
Most field
goal attempts, game – 3 vs. Atlanta, NFC Championship
PATs – 8
Most PATs,
game – 5 vs. Arizona, NFC Divisional playoff
PAT attempts
– 8
Longest field
goal – 35 yards vs. Atlanta, NFC Championship
Awards & Honors:
1st
team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, Sporting News
1st
team All-NFC: Pro Football Weekly
Pro Bowl
Vikings went 15-1
to finish first in the NFC Central with the league’s best record while leading
the NFL in passing yards (4328), touchdowns (64), and scoring (556 points). Won
NFC Divisional playoff over Arizona Cardinals (41-21). Lost NFC Championship to
Atlanta Falcons (30-27).
Aftermath:
His excellent
1998 season having come to a disappointing end in the postseason, Anderson
followed up with a career-low 63.3 field goal percentage in 1999 but bounced
back to connect on 95.7 percent in 2000 (22 of 23) and lasted with the Vikings
through 2002. He finished his career with two seasons in Tennessee in 2003 and
’04, by which time he was 45 years old. Overall, over the course of 23 seasons,
Anderson kicked 538 field goals in 672 attempts, both career NFL records at the
time, for an 80.1 percentage and 2434 points, also the league career high (his
contemporary, Morten Andersen, ultimately surpassed him in all three NFL-record
categories). He also kicked 820 extra points, which were second-highest in
league history at the time. Anderson added another 32 field goals, in 40
attempts (80.0 %) and 57 extra points in 22 postseason games, with a high of
four field goals against the Oilers in 1989.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
