GaroYepremian was an American football placekicker in the NFL for the Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers….during a career that spanned from 1966 to 1981….wherein his career he was successful on 210 of 313 field goals….and 444 of 464 extra points for a total of 1,074 points…..after he led the league in field-goal accuracy three times.
Despite all of Yepremian’s success…..many fans remember him for an incident in Super Bowl VII in 1973….when with his team leading the Washington Redskins 14 – 0….Yepremian was sent in to kick a field goal with slightly more than two minutes left….which would have put the game out of reach…..but the field goal attempt was blocked by Bill Brundige….after which Garo managed to get to the ball before any other player did….and instead of just falling on the ball to preserve the Dolphins’ 14 – 0 lead…..he picked it up and frantically attempted to throw a pass….when the ball slipped from his hands….and went straight up in the air…..as Yepremian then attempted to bat the ball out of bounds…..but instead batted it back up in the air and it went right into the arms of his former Lions teammate, Redskins cornerback Mike Bass….who returned it for a touchdown. The Dolphins managed to hold on to win, 14 – 7, thus completing the Dolphins’ undefeated 1972 season…..as Garo Yepremian later joked to reporters after the game…“This is the first time the goat of the game is in the winner’s locker room.”
