Kendall Trainor (born July 8, 1967) is a former

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 ...

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 ...

for the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

in 1988. Trainor was an All-State selection for Fredonia High School under head coach Gene John and helped them to the 1983 Class 4A State Championship before he graduated in 1985. In college, he led the nation in

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

s per game as a senior in 1988 under head coach Ken Hatfield. Trainor, in addition to setting five school records, including most FG in a game, was a first-team All-

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

selection following his senior year and a first-team All-American on teams selected by the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

, the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

, the Walter Camp Foundation and ''The

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

''. In 1989 he set the Southwest Conference Record for most successful FGs in a row with 24 and help the team win the Southwest Conference Championship. Trainor was also a

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 ...

on the Razorback

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

team under coach Norm DeBryn. Trainor was drafted by the Phoenix Cardinals in the 9th Round of the

1989 NFL Draft The 1989 NFL draft (also known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting) was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft was held April 23–24, 1989, at the Marriott Marquis in Ne ...

(#234 overall) with whom he signed, but he was released at the end of training camp that August. In 1991, Trainor was the first kicker drafted in the World League of American Football draft, by the

Sacramento Surge The Sacramento Surge was a professional American football team that played in the World League of American Football (WLAF) in 1991 and 1992. The team played its first season at Charles C. Hughes Stadium, Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, and the se ...

. After playing 6 games for the Surge in 1991, he moved to the New York/New Jersey Knights. With the Knights he hit 12/14 extra point attempts and 9/16 field goal attempts, finishing the inaugural season of the World League with 39 points, fifth overall among kickers. He was also the Surge's punter that year, punting 29 times for 946 yards. He stayed with the Knights for the 1992 season, kicking 22/25 extra points and 6/11 Field goals for 40 total points. In 2015 Trainor was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor.

References

1967 births Living people All-American college football players American football placekickers Arkansas Razorbacks baseball players Arkansas Razorbacks football players New York/New Jersey Knights players Sacramento Surge players People from Fredonia, Kansas Players of American football from Kansas {{Amfoot-kicker-stub