Patriots UK Connection 70s Kicker John Smith to travel with the team - New England Patriots Forums

PATRIOTSFANINPA · 10-22-2009, 11:50 AM

Former New England Patriots kicker John Smith has British ties - ESPN Boston

Great to see Smith still hanging out with the team after all these years,I really liked the kid back in the 70s and he was a great Patriot for 10 years through thick and thin times.

I think for those of us old enough to remember some of the memorable moments in John Smith's career remember he was the only player to score in the famous Snowplow game against Miami in 1982 and another moment us older guys can remember was when on MNF John was getting in line to kick a FG once again against Miami in 1980 when the news broke out and Howard Cosell told the nation that John Lennon was shot and killed.

***MassPats38*** · 10-22-2009, 04:13 PM

He owns and runs an indoor soccer center in Milford, MA. I had the opportunity to speak to him on a few occasions bringing my nephews and niece to practices there. He was very approachable, and it was enjoyable talking to him. He is still very much in the Patriots alumni circle and follows the current Patriots.

As the conversations were generally about recent games, I regrettably never got around to asking him about the snow plow.

BennyBledsoe · 10-22-2009, 04:25 PM

Yeah, he was very quick on the turnaround with an autograph request I sent through his website

JD10367 · 10-22-2009, 04:44 PM

One thing about the Pats, they've always had kicking. Gino Cappelletti, John Smith, Tony Franklin (the ex-Eagle barefoot kicker), Vinatraitor, Ghost... We'll skip over the Scott "Missin" Sisson years...

Bostonian1962 · 10-23-2009, 10:40 AM

Thanks for posting this. Alot of great memories John Smith brings back. One of our best kickers ever, although isn't it ironic that the two best ever may very well be the last two we've had.

***shmessy*** · 10-23-2009, 11:16 AM

The 'Ol Weetabix Spokesman!

I'll always be thankful to Mr. Smith for helping alleviate my homesickness in the fall/winter of 1985 as I was in London for a Junior semester abroad. Britain's Channel Four had a Sunday night show each week hosted by him and some other guy and they did a rehash on what went down the week before in the NFL and played a condensed version of the game of the week. I still can remember the opening sequence of each show having Bonnie Tyler singing "We Need a Hero" and then John coming on and explaining what an "offsides" meant.

***jmt57*** · 10-23-2009, 01:05 PM

More on Smith: Former kicker John Smith is now the team's ambassador in his home country by Jim Donaldson of the Providence Journal

I had forgotten that the Pats cut him and had him play with a semi-pro team here for a year so he could learn the game when they first brought him over from England.

Quote:

“The first game of football I ever saw was the first one I played in.”

At the time, Smith feared it might be his last NFL game.

“All I had to do was kick off,” he said. “In practice, I’d been knocking the ball out of the end zone. But this was the first time I had guys lined up in front of me who wanted to hit me. There was a huge linebacker 10 yards across from me who was shouting all sorts of abuse about me, and about my mother.

“I’d been told that, when I was ready to kick, I should wave to the guy in the vest at the other end of the field. But, when I waved, he wouldn’t blow his whistle. I had no clue then that television could hold up the game.

“And, all this time, that linebacker was yelling things at me. Finally, the whistle blew. I was supposed to signal to my teammates when I was about to kick, but I just took off, running toward the ball. When I did, the other guys hadn’t moved. The ball barely stayed in bounds, around the 20-yard line.

“The game was televised, and my wife, Vivian, was watching, back in Massachusetts. Howard Cosell was one of the announcers, and he said: ‘The Patriots brought this kid over from England and it looks as if he’ll be on the first boat back.’ ”