Patrick Joseph Leahy (born March 19, 1951) is an American former

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 for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

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 played

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

for the

Saint Louis Billikens The Saint Louis Billikens are the college athletics in the United States, collegiate athletic teams that represent Saint Louis University, located in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri. The Billikens compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the Natio ...

Early years

Leahy attended Augustinian Academy. He accepted a soccer scholarship from

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

. As a starting

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, he helped lead the school to 4 soccer NCAA finals, winning 3 national championships, while also receiving

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 1994, he was inducted into the Billiken Hall of Fame. In 2007, he was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Inductee.

Professional career

St. Louis Cardinals

Leahy was signed as an

undrafted 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

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 the

1973 NFL draft The 1973 NFL draft was held January 30–31, 1973, at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Houston Oilers selected defensive end John Matuszak. Player selections Round one ...

, having participated in an open try-out, even though he didn't play

in college. In 1974, he was re-signed to be a part of

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

. Even though the Cardinals made the unusual move of keeping 2 kickers on the final roster, they chose to keep Jim Bakken and fellow rookie and ex-soccer player Sergio Albert. Leahy was waived on August 29.

New York Jets

In 1974 he was signed by the

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 ...

, after Bobby Howfield suffered a leg injury. He began on a standby basis until replacing Howfield. In 1979 he suffered a right knee sprain during a practice while running pass patterns simulating an opposing team's

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He played in only 6 games after being placed 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 ...

. In 1985 he set the franchise record for the longest field goal of 55 yards. In 1986, he set the franchise record for consecutive successful

field goals 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, a ...

made with 22, which was broken by

Jay Feely Thomas James Feely (born May 23, 1976) is a former professional football player. He started his playing career as a placekicker with the Florida Bobcats in the Arena Football League (AFL) as a free agent in 1999 before playing for several Na ...

in 2009. In 1991, he played in 15 games but was replaced by

Raul Allegre Raul, Raúl, Raül, and Raüll are forms of a common first name in Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan. The name is cognate of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph and the French ...

for the season finale because of a sciatic nerve condition. On July 6, 1992, he announced his retirement because of a recurring sciatic nerve condition in his right leg. At the time, he ranked third in scoring in NFL history, was the Jets all-time leading scorer, with 1,470 points and scored 100 points or more in seven seasons. Over the course of his career, Leahy completed 71.4% of his field goal attempts and 95.5% of his extra points. He currently ranks 24th on the list of highest

NFL career scoring leaders The top 25 scorers in National Football League history are all placekickers. Statistics include regular season scoring only. List Key ''Updated through the 2023 season'' Non-kickers The top five scoring non-kickers in NFL history are liste ...

Career regular season statistics

''Career high/best bolded''

Personal life

Leahy and his wife, Colleen, currently live in St. Louis and have three children: Lizzy, Cullen, and the youngest Nora.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leahy, Pat 1951 births Living people Soccer players from St. Louis Players of American football from St. Louis American football placekickers Saint Louis Billikens men's soccer players New York Jets players Men's association football midfielders American men's soccer players 20th-century American sportsmen