Donald Lee Cockroft (born February 6, 1945) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a punter and

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

for 13 seasons with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He has the third most career points for a Brown behind fellow kickers

Phil Dawson Philip Drury Dawson (born January 23, 1975) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns football, Texas Lo ...

(second) and

Lou Groza Louis Roy Groza (January 25, 1924 – November 29, 2000), nicknamed "the Toe", was an American professional American football, football Tackle (gridiron football position), offensive tackle and placekicker while playing his entire career for th ...

. Cockroft served as the Browns' primary punter and placekicker for the first nine seasons of his career. In 1977, he dropped punting from his duties and became solely a placekicker. He and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

kicker/punter Dave Green were two of the last NFL players to lead their teams in both punting and kicking in the same season (1976). He was involved in the January 4, 1981,

American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...

divisional play-off game versus the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

. Cockroft missed field goals from 47 and 30-yards in the second quarter. The Browns scored a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

on a 42-yard interception by Ron Bolton with 6:02 left in the second quarter, but the extra point attempt by Cockroft was blocked. Cleveland would lose the game 14–12, a game which is nicknamed

Red Right 88 In American football, Red Right 88 is the name given to a passing play called by the Cleveland Browns during a National Football League (NFL) playoff game against the Oakland Raiders on January 4, 1981. In the years since, the term has been used ...

. Later NFL players to have this dual role were Steve Little of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

in 1979,

Russell Erxleben Russell Erxleben (born January 13, 1957) is an American former professional football player and investor. A highly decorated college kicker for the University of Texas, Erxleben was a three-time All-American punter (1976, 1977, and 1978) and ...

of the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

briefly in 1979 and 1980, and

Frank Corral Juan Francisco Corrales Rodríguez (born June 16, 1955), better known as Frank Corral, is a Mexican Americans, Mexican-American former professional American football, football player who was a placekicker and punter (gridiron football), punter ...

for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

in 1980 and 1981. Doncockroftsignature

References

External links

Interview with Don Cockroft
conducted by Dan Coughlin at the

Cleveland Public Library The Cleveland Public Library is a public library system in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1869, it had a circulation of 3.5 million items in 2020. It operates the Main Library on Superior Avenue in downtown Cleveland, 27 branches throughout the cit ...

Sports Research Center on August 8, 2013. 1945 births Living people American football placekickers American football punters Adams State Grizzlies football players Cleveland Browns players Players of American football from Cheyenne, Wyoming Players of American football from Colorado {{Amfoot-kicker-stub