James Bayard "Jim" Turner (born March 28, 1941 in
Martinez, California) is a former
American football player. A
quarterback and
placekicker, he played
college football for
Utah State University and was signed as a
free agent in 1964 by the
American Football League's
New York Jets head coach Weeb Ewbank. "Tank" kicked a then record 145 points in the
1968 regular season, with a professional football record 34
field goals. Turner kicked for nine points in the
AFL Championship game win over the
Oakland Raiders, and ten points in the Jets's 16-7 defeat of the
Baltimore Colts in the Third
World Championship of Professional Football,
Super Bowl III.
The last of Turner's three field goals in
Super Bowl III was for 9 yards, the shortest in Super Bowl history. At that time, the goal posts were located at the front of the end zones. They have since been moved to the back, so it's no longer possible to kick a field goal from this short a distance.
Mike Clark of the
Dallas Cowboys tied Turner's record for the shortest Super Bowl field goal in
Super Bowl VI.
In the locker room after the game, on national television (
NBC-TV), Turner shouted
"Welcome to the AFL !"Following the
AFL-NFL merger, Turner also played with the
Denver Broncos for another nine seasons and kicked four points in a losing effort in
Super Bowl XII against the
Dallas Cowboys, connecting on a 43-yard field goal and an extra point following a 5-yard touchdown run by
Rob Lytle. He was inducted...
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