Errol Denis Mann (June 27, 1941 – April 11, 2013) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

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 ...

. He played in 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) from 1968 to 1978, and was a member of 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 ...

Super Bowl XI Super Bowl XI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1976 Oakland Raiders season, Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1976 Minnesota Vikings season, Minnesota Vikings ...

winning team. When attempting kicks, Mann used the straight-on style, which was the standard method at the time. This style of kicking later fell into disuse with the advent of soccer/association football-style place-kicking in the 1970s. The straight-on method is almost never used by American football placekickers now.

Professional career

Born in

Campbell, Minnesota Campbell is a city in Wilkin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 164 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Wahpeton, ND- MN Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Campbell was laid out in 1871. A post office has been in o ...

, Mann began his career by playing for teams located in the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a northern subregion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed upon, the region is usually defined to include the states of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wi ...

such as the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

before transferring to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

in the next year. In 1970, Mann led the NFL in extra points attempted and extra points scored, being a perfect 41 out of 41 on extra points. In 1976, he played for both the Lions and the

, but made only 8 of 22 field goals in the regular season. When the Raiders appeared in

, Mann made two field goals, including one from 40 yards, to help the Raiders become Super Bowl Champions for the first time in the history of their franchise. However, he also missed a 29-yard field goal and two extra point attempts. The following season, 1977, was arguably the best season of his career, leading the NFL in extra points attempted with 42, extra points made with 39 and he also led the NFL in points scored with 99. Mann left the NFL after playing for the Raiders in the 1978 season.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, Errol 1941 births 2013 deaths American football placekickers Detroit Lions players Green Bay Packers players Oakland Raiders players North Dakota Fighting Hawks football players People from Breckenridge, Minnesota