Carl Roy Gerela (born April 2, 1948) is a Canadian former professional

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

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

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL) and

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 won three

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

s with the

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 ...

. Gerela graduated from

Kalani High School Kalani High School is a four-year public high school located in East Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Kalani is a part of the Hawaii Department of Education. Kalani is located on Kalanianaole Highway. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schoo ...

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, and 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 ...

for the

New Mexico State Aggies The New Mexico State University teams are called the Aggies, a nickname derived from the university's agricultural beginnings. The mascot is known as " Pistol Pete". NMSU's colors are crimson and white. Since 2023 the Aggies have competed in Co ...

. He was selected in the

fourth round Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

of the

1969 NFL/AFL draft The 1969 NFL/AFL draft was part of the common draft, the third and final year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players. The draft took place January 28–29, 1969. The draft began with first overall pick of O. J. Simpso ...

by 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 ...

and played for them in the

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

, as well as their first NFL season of

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

. Gerela signed with the Steelers before the

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

season, and quickly became popular with Steelers fans, inspiring a fan club, "Gerela's Gorillas." He led the AFC in scoring in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

and

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, and was named 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 ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

and 1974. Gerela was a member of the Steelers' Super Bowl championship teams in 1974,

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, and

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, but was released before the

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

season in favor of rookie

Matt Bahr Matthew David Bahr (born July 6, 1956) is an American former professional American football, football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL), and professional soccer player in the North American Soccer League (1968–84), North Americ ...

. He appeared in three games for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

in 1979 before a torn groin muscle ended his career. Gerela ranks fourth on the Steelers' all-time scoring list, behind Gary Anderson, Jeff Reed, and

Chris Boswell Christopher Lynn Boswell (born March 16, 1991) is an American professional football placekicker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Rice Owls and was signed by the Houston Texans ...

. Since his playing career ended, Gerela has worked as both a high school and college assistant football coach. In 2012, he became the head football coach of Gadsden High School in

Anthony, New Mexico Anthony is a city in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 8,693 at the 2020 census. It is located on the New Mexico–Texas state line in the Upper Mesilla Valley (immediately north of Anthony, Texas), and on Inter ...

. Gerela came from a particularly gifted family. His brothers were also professional kickers in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

;

Ted Gerela Theodore Gerela (March 12, 1944 – July 16, 2020) was a kicker in the Canadian Football League. Life Gerela, a graduate of Washington State University, joined the British Columbia Lions in 1967 and played with them for 7 seasons. Though he was ...

with the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

and

Metro Gerela Metro Gerela is a Canadian soccer coach and former professional soccer player. In 1953, during the first Vancouver Sun Tournament of Champions (Youth Provincial Cup Competition Finals) played in Callister Park, Gerela ( Powell River) was chosen ...

briefly with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

(Metro is enshrined in the ''Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame''.) In 1993, his son Ted Gerela was selected in the seventh round of the 1993 CFL Draft by the BC Lions as a linebacker from

Rocky Mountain College Rocky Mountain College (Rocky or RMC) is a private college in Billings, Montana, United States. It offers 50 liberal arts and professional majors in 24 undergraduate disciplines. As of 2013, the college had 1,069 enrolled students. RMC is affil ...

Sources

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External links

*
New Mexico State Aggies Coaching Bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerela, Roy Living people 1948 births New Mexico State Aggies football players Houston Oilers players Pittsburgh Steelers players San Diego Chargers players American football placekickers American Conference Pro Bowl players New Mexico State Aggies football coaches American Football League players Players of American football from Alberta