Louis Andrew Michaels (originally Majka) (September 28, 1935 – January 19, 2016) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player who was a standout

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

for the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

from 1955 to 1957. After Kentucky's victory over archrival

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

in 1957, Michaels has been quoted saying, "Nothing sucks like a Big Orange." Michaels played professionally for 14 years, 1958–71, 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 ...

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

and

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

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 ...

(NFL). He also played

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 ...

, and was selected to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

after the 1962 and 1963 seasons. In 1962, Michaels led the league in field goals made. He finished his career with a 54.8% field goal percentage and 955 points. By 1969 he was almost exclusively a placekicker for the Colts but after a season in which he was successful on less than half his field goal attempts and struggled especially with longer kicks, rookie Jim O'Brien won the Colts placekicking job in the 1970 preseason and Michaels was waived. After sitting out the 1970 season he tried out with the Packers in their 1971 training camp and won their place kicking job. After playing the first 10 games of the Packers' season he was placed on the

taxi squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scout ...

and rookie

Tim Webster Tim Webster (born 15 December 1951) is an Australian television and radio personality and sports broadcaster. He held various presenting roles on Network 10 from 1981 until 2008. Career Early career In 1972, Webster started working for B ...

replaced him for the last 4 games of the season. After being listed behind Webster and rookie

Chester Marcol Czesław Bolesław "Chester" Marcol (born October 24, 1949) is a Polish American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Green Bay Packers from 1972 to 1980. He played co ...

on the Packers' preseason depth chart in 1972, Michaels did not report the Packers' training camp and the team waived him. Michaels was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

in 1992 and into the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. He was inducted into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019. His brother, Walt Michaels, also played in the NFL. Michaels died January 19, 2016, from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

Personal life

Michaels was born to a Polish family, son of a coal miner from

Swoyersville, Pennsylvania Swoyersville is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,008 in the 2020 census. Swoyersville is located within the Wyoming Valley West School District. History Originally a part of Kingston Township, whe ...

. The family's surname is originally Majka, but was anglicized to Michaels in school.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michaels, Lou 1935 births 2016 deaths American football defensive ends American football placekickers Baltimore Colts players Green Bay Packers players Kentucky Wildcats football players Los Angeles Rams players Pittsburgh Steelers players All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players People from Swoyersville, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania American people of Polish descent Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Pennsylvania