Zenon Andrusyshyn (born February 25, 1947) is a German-Canadian former Canadian Football League punter and

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

from –, –, primarily for the Toronto Argonauts. He also was a member of the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

in the National Football League and the Tampa Bay Bandits in the United States Football League. He played college football at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Early years

Andrusyshyn was born in Germany to Ukrainian parents. His family moved to

Ontario, Canada Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Cana ...

where he attended

Oakville Trafalgar High School Oakville Trafalgar High School (OTHS, often referred to as OT) is a secondary school located in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. The school receives most of its students from nearby feeder schools, including Maple Grove Public School, École EJ James, St ...

. He set a high school javelin record that lasted for 35 years. Andrusyshyn participated with the Canadian team in the javelin throw, shot put and discus during the

1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. They were followed by the 1966 Commonwealth P ...

. He held the Canadian javelin record with a throw of 242 feet 6 inches. He received a track and field scholarship from

to compete in the javelin throw, but suffered an elbow injury while preparing for the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

and decided to walk-on to the football team after kicking in a tryout 14 field goals in a row from 45 yards out. In one practice he kicked field goals of 57 and 62 yards. Andrusyshyn was used both as a punter and

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Sp ...

. As a sophomore, he led the NCAA in punting with a 44.2 average and also made 11 of 24 field goal attempts. Against the University of Southern California in a contest that was called " the game of the century", he missed one field goal, had two blocked, and failed a critical

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

that gave them the victory and the eventual 1967 National championship. Then USC head coach John McKay, remarked that "Andrusyshyn kicks with low leverage," and that is why he employed 6-foot-8 offensive tackle Bill Hayhoe to affect his kicking game. As a senior, he made 8 of 12 field goals, 33 of 44 extra points and had a 42.1-yard punting average. He was a two-time All-American punter (

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

) and was voted to UCLA's All Century Team.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Andrusyshyn was selected by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

in the ninth round (231st overall) of the

1970 NFL Draft The 1970 National Football League Draft was the 35th National Football League Draft and the first of the league's modern era, following the merger of the National Football League with the American Football League. It was held on January 27–28, ...

. He was waived before the start of the season on September 2.

Toronto Argonauts (first stint)

On May 5, 1971, he signed as a free agent with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. On October 23, 1977, he recorded a 108-yard punt against the Edmonton Eskimos, which still stands as the longest punt in professional football history.

Kansas City Chiefs

On April 14, 1978, he signed as a free agent with the

. He was named the team's starting punter, registering 79 punts for 3,247 yards (41.1-yard avg.), a long of 61 yards and one blocked punt. On August 21, 1979, he was waived after being passed on the depth chart by

Bob Grupp Robert William Grupp (born May 8, 1955) is a former American football punter who played for three seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Grupp was chosen for the Pro Bowl after the 1979 season as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. Bi ...

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

On September 7, 1979, he was signed as a free agent by the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fie ...

of the Canadian Football League. He appeared in the last 8 games handling both the punting and kicking roles. He made 10 of 20 field goals, 15 of 16 extra points and averaged 43.2 yards on 51 punts. On June 15, 1980, he was traded to the Toronto Argonauts in exchange for

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

man Al MacLean.

Toronto Argonauts (second stint)

In 1980, he was named the starting kicker and punter over

Ian Sunter Ian Sunter (born December 21, 1952) is a Scottish- Canadian Canadian football place kicker who also played two seasons in the NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams ...

. He was named CFL East All-Star in two straight seasons. On September 14, 1980, against the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

, he kicked a career-longest 57-yard field goal. He was passed on the depth chart by

Dean Dorsey Dean Dorsey (born March 13, 1957 in Toronto, Ontario) is a retired Canadian football placekicker in the Canadian Football League and the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Toronto. Dorsey took over kickin ...

and was released in September 1982.

Edmonton Eskimos

In September 1982, he was claimed off waivers by the Edmonton Eskimos to replace

Hank Ilesic Henry "Hank" Ilesic (born September 7, 1959, in Edmonton, Alberta) is a former all-star punter in the Canadian Football League. He also handled place kicking and kickoffs. He was twice an all-star punter and played in the CFL for 19 seasons. He pl ...

, who walked out in a contract dispute.

Tampa Bay Bandits

On December 29, 1982, he signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League. He was the starter at kicker and punter for three seasons until the team folded in 1986.

Montreal Alouettes

On October 1, 1986, he signed as a free agent with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes ( French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Cana ...

to replace an injured Roy Kurtz. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

Personal life

Andrusyshyn met his wife on the television show The Dating Game in 1969. That year, he also had a small part in the television show Medical Center. He was ordained a minister in the Southern Baptist denomination in 1990 in Nashville, Tennessee. He also graduated from

Dallas Theological Seminary Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) is an evangelical theological seminary in Dallas, Texas. It is known for popularizing the theological system dispensationalism. DTS has campuses in Dallas, Houston, and Washington, D.C., as well as extension ca ...

in 1995 with a Master in Arts, Biblical Studies (MABS). He was the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Tampa Area Director from March 1987, completing 20 years with FCA in 2007. In October 2007, Zenon Andrusyshyn formed his own ministry with his wife Sue. Known as Zenon Ministries Inc., it is a 501(c)(3) non-profit youth ministry. Andrusyshyn has been on over 15 mission trips which includes delivering medical supplies to Cuna Indians- Panama (three times), to Cancer Hospitals for Children in Kyiv and

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

, Ukraine (four times), Missions abroad in England (three times), Germany (three times) and Mexico (three times). He served as Youth Chairman for the

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christia ...

Crusade-1998 Tampa, Florida, and as Youth Chairman for Luis Palau's TampaBayFest 2007.

References

External links

UCLA's Zenon Andrusyshyn kick-started his life after 1967 loss to USCRetro Profile: Zenon Andrusyshyn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrusyshyn, Zenon 1947 births Living people American football placekickers American football punters Canadian football placekickers Canadian football punters Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Canadian male javelin throwers Canadian male shot putters Canadian male discus throwers Canadian players of American football Edmonton Elks players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Kansas City Chiefs players Montreal Alouettes players Southern Baptist ministers Tampa Bay Bandits players Toronto Argonauts players UCLA Bruins football players Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Canada Track and field athletes in the National Football League People from Günzburg Sportspeople from Swabia (Bavaria)