Jorge Cimadevilla (born November 11, 1965) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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 ...

who played seven seasons in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL) with the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...

and

Nashville Kats The Nashville Kats were an Arena Football League team, located in Nashville, Tennessee. They were last coached by Pat Sperduto, who coached the team's original incarnation to two ArenaBowl appearances prior to the original franchise's move to A ...

. 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 ...

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. It was historically part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee under the Tennessee Board of Regents, but since 2016, ...

Early life

Jorge Cimadevilla was born on November 11, 1965, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He was raised in the

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

area. Cimadevilla played

for the

East Tennessee State Buccaneers The East Tennessee State Buccaneers are the 17 intercollegiate athletics teams that represent East Tennessee State University (ETSU), located in Johnson City, Tennessee. ETSU's teams include men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, socce ...

, and was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

from 1983 to 1986. He was a punter his first three seasons and a

in his final season. Cimadevilla earned

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in college.

Professional career

Cimadevilla went undrafted in the

1987 NFL draft The 1987 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987, at the Marriot Ma ...

. He signed with the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

of 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 ...

in May 1989. He was waived on August 29, 1989. Cimadevilla was working in institutional food sales when he was approached by

head coach Les Moss about playing in the

(AFL). Cimadevilla played in all ten games for the Predators in 1992, converting 13 of 34 field goals and 50 of 59 extra points while also recording four solo tackles, one assisted tackle, and one fumble recovery. The Predators finished the year with a 9–1 record and lost in ArenaBowl VI to the

Detroit Drive The Massachusetts Marauders were a professional arena football team that was based in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were a member of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 1988 to 1994. The team was established in Detroit in 1988, as the Detroit ...

by a score of 56–38. Cimadevilla was named first-team

All-Arena An All-Arena Team, an all-star team consisting of the best players of their position was selected every season in the Arena Football League (AFL). Teams * 1987 All-Arena Team, 1987 * 1988 All-Arena Team, 1988 * 1989 All-Arena Team, 1989 * 1990 Al ...

for his performance during the 1992 season. He appeared in all 12 games in 1993, totaling nine of 34 field goals, 57 of 66 extra points, and six solo tackles. Orlando finished the season 10–2 and lost in the semifinals to the

55–52. Cimadevilla played in all 12 games for the second consecutive season in 1994, recording six of 18 field goals, 66 of 77 extra points, five solo tackles, and one assisted tackle. The Predators went 11–1 and lost in

ArenaBowl VIII ArenaBowl VIII was the Arena Football League's eighth ArenaBowl. The game featured the #3 Arizona Rattlers (8–4) of the American Conference against the #1 Orlando Predators (11–1) of the National Conference. The Rattlers were making their fir ...

to the

Arizona Rattlers The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League ...

by a score of 36–31. Cimadevilla earned first-team All-Arena recognition for the 1994 season. In December 1994, Cimadevilla was selected by the

in an expansion draft. He had planned on retiring before being drafted by the Storm. Cimadevilla appeared in all 12 games for the third straight year in 1995, making 14 of 33 field goals and 69 of 79 extra points, as the Storm finished the season with a 10–2 record. On September 1, 1995, they won

ArenaBowl IX ArenaBowl IX was the Arena Football League's ninth ArenaBowl. The game featured the #6 Orlando Predators (7-5) of the National Conference against the #1 Tampa Bay Storm (10-2), also of the National Conference. This would be the first ArenaBowl to ...

against Cimadevilla's former team, the Predators, by a margin of 38–35. Cimadevilla played in all 14 games for Tampa Bay during the 1996 season, totaling six of 27 field goals, 74 of 89 extra points, nine solo tackles, and one assisted tackle. The Storm went 12–2 and won the ArenaBowl for the second consecutive season, defeating the

Iowa Barnstormers The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena, known in indoor football circles as "The Well". Sever ...

ArenaBowl X ArenaBowl X was the Arena Football League (1987–2008), Arena Football League's tenth ArenaBowl. The game featured the #2 Tampa Bay Storm of the National Conference against the #1 New York Dragons, Iowa Barnstormers of the American Conference. Bo ...

by a score of 42–38. In November 1996, Cimadevilla was selected by the

in an expansion draft. Cimadevilla, who was the AFL's all-time leading scorer at the time, was booed by Kats fans after going zero for four on field goals in a 1997 preseason game despite also making seven of seven extra points, with Cimadevilla stating "I expect to hear boos... especially in a new city that doesn't understand this game. They

ans Ans or ANS or ''variation'', may refer to: Places * Ans, Belgium, a municipality in Belgium * Ans, Denmark, a village in Denmark * Angus, Scotland, UK; a council area by its Chapman code * Ainsdale railway station, England, UK (by station cod ...

tend to forget the uprights are only 9 feet wide and they're expecting you to make, if not everything, a lot." ''

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, w ...

'' noted that the AFL field goal average was only 41% in 1996. Cimadevilla appeared in all 14 regular season games for the second straight year in 1997, recording 13 of 32 field goals, 81 of 96 extra points, 12 solo tackles, and one assisted tackle. The Kats finished 10–4 and lost in the quarterfinals to Cimadevilla's former team, the Storm. He played in three games during his final AFL season in 1998, converting six of 11 field goals and 16 of 17 extra points. He missed most of the 1998 season due to a groin injury. In 1999, Cimadevilla was named the kicker on the all-time All-ArenaBowl team.

Post-playing career

Cimadevilla spent time as an assistant coach in the AFL, an assistant general manager in the

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football r ...

, a sponsorship sales executive in the XFL, and the director of corporate sponsorships for the

Georgia Force The Georgia Force was an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States (part of suburban Atlanta) that played in the South Division of the American Conference. The team was owned by Doug MacGregor and Donn ...

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cimadevilla, Jorge Living people 1965 births American football placekickers American football punters East Tennessee State Buccaneers football players Houston Oilers players Orlando Predators players Tampa Bay Storm players Nashville Kats players Arena Football League coaches Af2 coaches Arena Football League executives Players of American football from Los Angeles Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Coaches of American football from California Coaches of American football from Georgia (U.S. state)