Henry Ilesic (born September 7, 1959) is a former all-star punter in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He also handled place kicking and kickoffs. He was twice an all-star punter and played in the CFL for 19 seasons. He played on seven Grey Cup winning teams, and retired in 2001. He remains third overall for Most Punting Yards, All-Time Regular Season. He played one season 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 ...

Professional career

Ilesic, at 6 feet 1 inch and 210 pounds, went straight from St. Joseph's High School to the CFL, starring with his hometown

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

at age 17 in 1977. At St. Joseph, he was a football teammate of fellow Hall of Fame inductee Paul Graham. Ilesic's punting was an essential part of the Eskimos' record-setting five

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

dynasty. He kicked for Edmonton until joining the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

in 1983, where he won another Grey Cup. He won the record for most punting yards in the regular season in 1986. He remained there until 1993, then played for 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 (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

until 1995. Ilesic came out of retirement to punt for the B.C. Lions in 1998, playing only three games. Ilesic signed with the Eskimos again in 2001 and to the

Ottawa Renegades The Ottawa Renegades were a Canadian Football League franchise based in Ottawa, Ontario founded in 2002, six years after the storied Ottawa Rough Riders folded. After four seasons, the Renegades franchise was suspended indefinitely by the league d ...

practice squad in 2005, but did not play in any games in either stint. Ilesic also punted in 1989 for the NFL's

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

, punting 76 times in 14 games for 3049 yards, averaging 40.1 yards a punt. He signed with 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 1990, but did not play. Ilesic is the CFL's third all-time leading punter in yardage with 91,753 yards. His 8,004 yards in 1986 is the second most for a season in league history. He was on a CFL record seven Grey Cup-winning teams and is eighth all-time in CFL history for regular-season games played with 259. His 19 seasons played ranks his tied for fourth all-time. His is also fifth all-time for scoring single points in the regular season with 185, many coming on his exceptionally long kick-offs. In 2018 he was inducted into Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Unlike most modern-day placekickers, Ilesic kicked with the front of his toe (called kicking "straight-on") and not the side (called the "soccer-style").

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilesic, Hank 1959 births Living people American football punters BC Lions players Canadian football placekickers Canadian football punters Edmonton Elks players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Los Angeles Rams players Ottawa Renegades players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Players of Canadian football from Alberta San Diego Chargers players Canadian football people from Edmonton Toronto Argonauts players Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Players of American football from Alberta 20th-century Canadian sportsmen