Antonio Guerrero Zendejas (born May 15, 1960) is a Mexican-American former professional

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 ...

. He 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 Los Angeles Express of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). After the USFL folded, he was selected in the first round of the 1984 NFL Supplemental draft by 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 ...

. In his career, Zendejas also played for 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 ...

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 ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

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).

Early life

Zendejas was born in Curimeo,

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. 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 ...

. As a 12-year-old, he led the youth soccer league with 100 goals scored in one season. He attended Chino High School where he practiced both

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

and football. As a junior, although he alternated at kicker with senior Tony Gonzales, he still managed to convert 7 field goals and 11 extra points in 12 games. His 53-yard field goal against Ganesha High School, was the second longest in CIF history. As a senior, he set a single-season school record with 10 field goals. He also received All-CIF honors in

College career

In 1979, he enrolled at Santa Ana Junior College. At the time his main sport was

, until breaking his leg during a

tournament just before having a scheduled tryout with the

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs were an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California, that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 North American Soccer League season, 1974 ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. In 1980, he transferred to Mt. San Antonio College. Although he could not play football while recovering from his injury,

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded ...

assistant coach John Smith recruited him based on what he did in high school. In 1981, he transferred to Division I-AA

, where he played under head coach Chris Ault. As a sophomore, he set school records for field goals made in a single-season (21) and longest field goal (55 yards). As a junior, he set new conference and school records for field goals attempted (33) and field goals made (26). As a senior, he converted 23 field goals and broke his school record for longest field goal (58 yards). He also made a 32-yard field goal in blizzard conditions to help win an overtime playoff game against the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

. Zendejas played three seasons at Nevada, in 33 games he registered 70 field goals, 90 extra points and 300 points, while leading the nation in field goals made every year. Most of his kicking records were eventually broken by younger brother Marty Zendejas.

Professional career

Initially, he played in the

for the Los Angeles Express. He joined the

when he was chosen by the

in the first round of the

1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL Players The 1984 NFL supplemental draft of USFL and CFL players was a one-time draft of United States Football League (USFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) players held on June 5, 1984. While there were a few Hall of Famers and Pro Bowl players in ...

. During his eleven seasons in the NFL, Zendejas made 186 field goals in 252 attempts; he also scored 316 extra points for 874 points. He held the record for consecutive field goals made from 50 or more yards with 11 such kicks until when the record was eclipsed by Blair Walsh of 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 ...

and Robbie Gould of the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. In 1991, he became the first kicker in NFL history to convert all of his

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, ...

attempts, going 17-of-17. He fell one missed extra point short of having the first "perfect season" for a kicker, a mark Gary Anderson reached seven years later.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Zendejas was accused of drugging and raping a woman in January 2008, but he was acquitted of all charges in 2009. He owns and operates Zendajas Mexican Restaurant in

San Dimas, California San Dimas (Spanish language, Spanish for "Penitent thief, Saint Dismas") is a city in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 34,924. It historic ...

known to be very popular with Rams fans during the regular season games. He is the older brother of former

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

and Arena league kicker Marty Zendejas, and the cousin of former NFL kickers Joaquin Zendejas,

Luis Zendejas Luis Fernando Zendejas (born October 22, 1961) is a Mexican former player of American football who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys. He also was a member of ...

and Max Zendejas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zendejas, Tony 1960 births Living people Mexican players of American football Sportspeople from Michoacán American football placekickers Nevada Wolf Pack football players Los Angeles Express players Houston Oilers players Los Angeles Rams players Atlanta Falcons players San Francisco 49ers players Mexican expatriates in the United States Players of American football from San Bernardino County, California Chino High School alumni Soccer players from California People from Chino, California College men's soccer players in the United States Mt. San Antonio College alumni Men's association football players not categorized by position Association football players not categorized by nationality Zendejas family Santa Ana College alumni American men's soccer players