Maximmillian Javier Zendejas (born September 2, 1963) is a Mexican former

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 ...

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 ...

(NFL) for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

Early life

Zendejas, was born in Curimeo, Mexico as one of nine children. His parents moved the family to

Chino, California Chino ( ; Spanish for "Curly") is a city in the western end of San Bernardino County, California, United States, with Los Angeles County to its west and Orange County to its south in the Southern California region. Chino's surroundings ha ...

when he was 6 years old. Soccer was the main sport for the Zendejas family. He attended Don Antonio Lugo High School, where he followed his older brother

Luis Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...

footsteps, playing both football and soccer. He did not begin to play football until his senior year, because he wanted to wait for Luis to graduate. That season, he made 4 field goals of over 50 yards.

College career

Zendejas accepted a football scholarship from the

where he became a four-year starter. As a freshman in 1982, he made a 48-yard field goal with 6 seconds remaining in a 16–13 win over then No. 9

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

. The next year, he kicked a 45-yard field with 3 seconds left to beat

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

18–17 in

Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...

. In 1985, he was chosen as the team's most valuable player when he led the conference with 22 field goals and was second with 89 points (behind John Lee). He was also the

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

MVP and received honorable-mention

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. Zendejas graduated after breaking almost every kicking record in school history, including career field goals (79), career points (360), career field goal percentage (.738), consecutive field goals made (11), season field goals (22) and career field goals over 50 yards (13). He finished tied for third on the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

career field goal list (77), fourth on the career scoring list (360) and tied the record for consecutive games with a field goal (18). Some of his most impressive statistics were that with the game on the line he made 5-of-6 field goals and his field goal percentage from 50 yards or more was 61% (14-of-23). In 1999, he was inducted into the

Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Zendejas was selected by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

in the fourth round (100th overall) of the

1986 NFL draft The 1986 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 29–30, 1986, at the Marriott M ...

. It is the highest position where Dallas has ever drafted a

, because at the time the team was concerned about Rafael Septien's recurring back problems. A healthy Septien won the preseason competition and Zendejas was waived on September 1.

Washington Redskins

On October 13,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

, he was signed as 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 ...

by the

to take over

Mark Moseley Mark DeWayne Moseley (born March 12, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played for Philadelphia Eagles (1970), the Houston Oilers (1971–72) ...

's role, who at the time was a 16-year veteran and the oldest

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (magazine), sports magazine in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the wor ...

in the

. Although he helped the Redskins to qualify for the playoffs by making a 27-yard field goal with four seconds left in a 20–17 win over the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

, after missing five field goals and five extra point conversions in nine games, he was replaced with

Jess Atkinson Jess Gerald Atkinson (born December 11, 1961) is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, Washington Redskins, and the Indianapolis Colts. He played college footba ...

and was put on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

with one week left in the regular season. On August 20,

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, he was released after losing the preseason kicking competition with Atkinson.

Green Bay Packers

After the players went on a strike on the third week of the 1987 season, those games were canceled (reducing the 16-game season to 15) and the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

decided that the games would be played with replacement players. Zendejas was signed to be a part of the

replacement team and was kept for the rest of the season, after making all of his 7 field goal attempts. On November 11, he was activated to take over the kicking role in place of a struggling

Al Del Greco Albert Louis Del Greco (born March 2, 1962) is an American former professional American football, football placekicker and a current sports radio personality. After eight years as golf coach at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Alabama, Del Grec ...

. The team would later waive Del Greco on November 25. In

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, he tied a franchise record with four field goals in a victory over the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

on October 16. He was released on October 25, after making 9 of 16 attempts and missing the game-tying field goal against the

with 11 seconds left in regulation.

Indianapolis Colts

On July 24,

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, he was signed by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

, who were protecting themselves in the case of an extended contract holdout by Dean Biasucci. He was waived on August 21.

London Monarchs

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, he was drafted by the

London Monarchs The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were re ...

of the

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

, but was cut on March 17.

Personal life

His brothers

and Joaquin also played professional football. His nephew, Alex Zendejas Jr. was also a

for the

. His cousins

Tony Zendejas Antonio Guerrero Zendejas (born May 15, 1960) is a Mexican-American former professional football placekicker. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League (USFL). After the USFL folded, ...

and Marty Zendejas also had success in college and professional football.

References

External links

University Arizona Sports Hall of Fame bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zendejas, Max 1963 births Living people Sportspeople from Michoacán Mexican players of American football American football placekickers Arizona Wildcats football players Green Bay Packers players Washington Redskins players NFL replacement players Mexican emigrants to the United States Players of American football from San Bernardino County, California People from Chino, California Expatriate players of American football Mexican expatriate sportspeople in England Zendejas family