The Denver Broncos honored late kicker Jim Turner in a unique way at Tuesday’s minicamp practice.
Turner, who died at age 82 this week, won Super Bowl III with the New York Jets and later helped Denver reach Super Bowl XII. A two-time Pro Bowler and a member of the Broncos’ Ring of Fame, Turner played 16 years in the NFL.
Turner played during the era of straight-on kicks when field goal posts were at the front of the end zone. Without the end zone adding 10 yards to each kick, Turner set a record for the shortest field goal in NFL history: 9 yards.
To honor Turner, Denver coach Sean Payton had kickers Elliott Fry and Randy Bullock kick straight-on, nine-yard field goals on Tuesday.
“I never met Jim Turner,” Payton said after practice. “I met Tom Dempsey once as a kid in training camp and got an autograph. He was my first autograph ever — Tom Dempsey. Then, 38 years later, I’m the head coach of the Saints and I meet him at a Saints function. We did a little research on Jim Turner. You guys know [about] him. [He played] nine years here. [He made] three field goals in the Super Bowl [III] win against the Jets.
“He was a kicker for us for our first Super Bowl, and then he did something that will never be done again. He kicked a nine-yard field goal. Obviously, the uprights were at the goal line then. We made the kickers today kick straight on and we spotted the ball nine yards deep in the end zone. When you actually look at that field goal, it’s not an easy one to hit. In fact, all of the offensive linemen were worried about getting buried in the back. Both kickers had never kicked straight on, so they didn’t have a squared toe [cleat]. That was just for them to recognize a little bit of the history here.
“That’s a member of our Ring of Fame. He passed, and we were fortunately 2-for-2. In fact, we looked a little better kicking straight on then we did with the soccer-style attempts. It was just in honor of him.”
Turner was added to the team’s Ring of Fame in 1998. He ranks third on Denver’s all-time scoring list with 742 points.
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