John Haggerty III (born 6 February 1995) is an Australian professional

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

punter for 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 ...

of 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 is a two-time

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 ...

champion after winning with the Argonauts in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Early life

Haggerty grew up in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, where he played

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

, and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

. His biggest inspiration in sports was

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 20-year career with t ...

and he played football with Michael Dickson.

College career

After attending Prokick Australia, a program designed to train Australian athletes in

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

, Haggerty was recruited to the

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers are the athletic teams that represent Western Kentucky University (WKU), located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, competing in the ...

program where he played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

from 2019 to 2021. He set single-season program records for punting average in each of his three years, with 45.7 yards in 2020, 45.9 yards in 2019, and 48.7 yards in 2021.

Professional career

Haggerty was drafted in the first round, fourth overall by the

in the 2022 CFL Global Draft and signed with the team on 10 May 2022. Following

training camp, he was named the team's punter, allowing

Boris Bede Boris Bede (born November 20, 1989) is a French professional Canadian football placekicker and punter who is a free agent. He most recently played for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He first enrolled at Tiffin Universit ...

to focus on

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

. He played in his first career professional game on 16 June 2022, against the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

, where he had four punts for a 51.2-yard average and scored two

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in the one-point victory. Haggerty played in 17 regular season games where he had 107 punts for a 48.2-yard average, 36.9 yards net, and five singles. He was named a CFL East All-Star at the end of the regular season. He also played in his first

game where he had six punts for a 49.2-yard average as the Argonauts defeated the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

24–23 in the

109th Grey Cup The 109th Grey Cup decided the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship for the 2022 CFL season, 2022 season. The game was played on November 20, at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan. It marked the fourth Grey Cup game to be held in Regin ...

and Haggerty won his first championship. In

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, Haggerty played in 12 games while sitting out six due to injury. He led the league in punting average with 48.0 yards per punt and had three singles. He also played in the team's East Final loss to the Montreal Alouettes. In the 2024 season, Haggerty played in all 18 regular season games and had 88 punts for a 50.3-yard average which ranked as the third-highest single season punting average of all-time. However, it was the second-highest average in that season as Jake Julien set the all-time record that year. Nonetheless, Haggerty was named to the East Division All-CFL team for the second time in his career. He also played in all three post-season games, including the

111th Grey Cup The 111th Grey Cup was played to decide the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship for the 2024 CFL season, 2024 season. The game was played on November 17, 2024, at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Toronto Argonauts defea ...

where he had five punts for a 54.8-yard average and one single in the Argonauts' 41–24 victory over the

. He became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

upon the expiry of his contract on 11 February 2025. However, he eventually re-signed with the Argonauts on 4 April 2025.

Personal life

Haggerty and his wife, Spenser, have one son, Lincoln John Haggerty, who was born in July 2021.

References

External links

Toronto Argonauts bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haggerty, John 1995 births Living people American football punters Australian players of American football Australian players of Canadian football Canadian football punters Toronto Argonauts players Sportspeople from Sydney Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football players