1971 Profiles: Pete Gogolak and Tom Blanchard

PETE GOGOLAK

Place Kicker
No. 3
Cornell
"Ever since the Giants lured Pete Gogolak away from the Buffalo Bills, then of the rival American Football League, they've been waiting for a big season from the soccer-style place kicker. Finally, in his fifth year in New York, Gogo came through. He accounted for 107 points, including a 54-yard field goal- both club records.
Pete, who introduced the side-of-the-foot kicking style to American college football while at Cornell, came here from Hungary during the 1956 uprisings.
He was always accurate inside 40 yards, but seems to be kicking the long ones with more regularity now."

-Brenda Zanger, Pro Football 1971

"The first of the soccer-style place kickers. Last season Gogolak led the Giants in scoring and ranked third in the NFC. He kicked 32 extra points without a miss and booted 25 field goals in 41 attempts.

Gogolak was born in Budapest, Hungary, and escaped with his family during the 1956 revolt. At Cornell, he showed that soccer-style kicking could make for longer and more accurate kicking. He once kicked a 50-yard field goal in college and would set an Ivy League record, later broken by his brother Charlie at Princeton, with 44 straight conversions.

He was signed by Buffalo in 1964. He set the AFL record for field goals in one season (28 in 1965). He signed with the Giants as a free agent in 1966, a move that bought the AFL and NFL together to stop any more raiding of talent.

Gogolak is interested in hotel administration."

-John Devaney, The Complete Handbook of Pro Football (1971 Edition)

"Pete introduced the soccer-style place kick to the U.S. while attending Cornell where he set an Ivy League record of 44 consecutive conversions, a mark later broken by his younger brother Charlie at Princeton. Pete had a record 50-yarder for Cornell.

He was signed as a free agent by the Giants in 1966 after two years with the Bills. He led the team in scoring in 1966 with 77 points including 16 field goals, then managed to appear in nine games in 1967 on weekend passes from the Army. Pete was the third leading scorer in the NFC last season and topped 100 points for the third time in his career.

Pete is a recent bridegroom."

-1971 Topps No. 167

TOM BLANCHARD

Punter-Quarterback

12th Round

Oregon

Tom was third in the Pac 8 in 1969 with 1,488 yards passing and fourth with 12 touchdown passes. He was on his way to another fine season in 1970 when felled by a knee injury.

Although Tom holds the Oregon record with four touchdown passes in one game, the Giants are counting on him to greatly improve their punting- he also holds the school record for career punting average (40.7).