Evan Anthony Arapostathis (born October 30, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was a punter for 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 (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals h ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He played one season for the Cardinals in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

Playing career

Growing up in

San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

, Arapostathis attended

Helix High School Helix High School, in La Mesa, California, is a charter high school built in 1952. It received its charter in 1998. Part of the Grossmont Union High School District, it serves a mid-level socioeconomic community and has a student body of approxim ...

in La Mesa. After two years at

Grossmont College Grossmont College is a public community college in El Cajon, California. Its name originated with the silent film actor and producer William J. Gross, who was enticed by Ed Fletcher to invest the purchase of land, part of which was called Grossm ...

El Cajon El Cajon ( , ; Spanish: El Cajón, meaning "the box") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajón, which was in turn named for the box-like shape of the va ...

, he transferred to

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

, where he was both their

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 ...

and punter for two years. In

, Arapostathis signed as a free agent with the

, where he was primarily used on kickoffs during the preseason. With veteran punter

Carl Birdsong Carl Birdsong (born January 1, 1959 in Kaufman, Texas) is a former National Football League punter from (1981-1985) for the St. Louis Cardinals. Birdsong attended Crockett Junior High School in Amarillo, Texas. Birdsong graduated from Amarillo ...

and rookie kicker

John Lee John Lee may refer to: Academia * John Lee (astronomer) (1783–1866), president of the Royal Astronomical Society * John Lee (university principal) (1779–1859), University of Edinburgh principal * John Lee (pathologist) (born 1961), English ...

also on the roster, the Cardinals eventually cut him. However, St. Louis later cut Birdsong, and re-signed Arapostathis for the season opener. In his NFL debut against the

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

, he punted eight times and kicked off twice. Arapostathis played for five games before St. Louis cut him, signing

Greg Cater Gregory Allen Cater (born April 17, 1957) is an American former professional football punter who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills and St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional b ...

as his replacement. Arapostathis averaged 38.0 yards on 30 punts, and was ranked 13th out of 14 punters in the

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

with a net average of 32.5. In 1987, he signed with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

as a

replacement player In professional sports, a replacement player is an athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a strike or lockout, serving as a strikebreaker. Instances of replacement players Natio ...

during the NFL strike that season.

Later years

Arapostathis was a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...

for the

San Diego State Aztecs The San Diego State Aztecs are the sport, athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). San Diego State currently sponsors six men's and eleven women's sports at the varsity level. The Aztecs compete in NCAA Division I (NCAA D ...

, overseeing their kickers. He ran the ABCD Kicking Camps with former NFL kicking specialists Darren Bennett, John Carney and

Brad Daluiso Bradley William Daluiso (born December 31, 1967) is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League. He played twelve seasons, the majority of them with the New York Giants. In addition, he played for the Atlanta Falcons, ...

. He later worked in the

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system ...

industry before returning to football in 2019 as the vice president for the

San Diego Strike Force The San Diego Strike Force is a professional indoor football team based in San Diego, California. It is a member of the Indoor Football League and began play in 2019 at Pechanga Arena in the city's Midway district. It is the second professional ...

of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams am ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arapostathis, Evan 1963 births Living people American football punters Eastern Illinois Panthers football players Grossmont Griffins football players St. Louis Cardinals (football) players Players of American football from San Diego