Norwood was one of many players the Bills picked up as the USFL contracted and ultimately collapsed; he eventually beat out Todd Schlopy (who would later come back when Norwood went on strike in 1987) for the Bills' starting kicker position. He quickly became an asset to an offense that was going places as the Bills' general manager, Bill Polian, assembled talent like Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, and Bruce Smith. Within two seasons of Norwood's arrival, the Bills had won the AFC East for the first time since 1980 and made it to the conference championship game. He soon overtook O. J. Simpson as the team's all-time leading scorer. Following the 1990 season, the Bills advanced to their first-ever Super Bowl.
Norwood's field goal range was unusually short for a professional kicker [citation needed] and he had difficulties in converting field goals over 40 yards throughout his career, especially on natural grass (the Bills' home stadium used AstroTurf, which mitigated this issue). Super Bowl XXV, which was played on January 27, 1991, cemented Norwood's name in football history when he missed a 47-yard field goal attempt with 8 seconds left in the game, giving the New York Giants their 2nd Super Bowl victory, and started the Bills' string of four consecutive Super Bowl losses. This kick was made famous by the "wide right" call by ABC announcer Al Michaels. Later video analysis revealed the holder mistakenly aligned the laces to the right, thereby positioning the kicked ball to fade right once in the air.
Although the Bills signed Björn Nittmo as Norwood's potential replacement in the 1991 offseason, Norwood remained with the Bills through that season. The Bills returned to the Super Bowl and Norwood was perfect throughout the postseason, including a 44-yard field goal that served as the decisive margin in the AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos.
After the Bills waived him, Norwood initially returned home to Northern Virginia and disappeared completely from the public eye for several years, eventually becoming an insurance salesman during the 1990s then moving back to Buffalo as a real estate agent in 2002.[3][4][5]
Norwood lives with his wife Kimberly in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Centreville, Virginia. They have three children: twins Carly and Connor (born 1995) and Corey (born 1996).[4]
In popular cultureedit
In the 1994 film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, a key plot point involves a kicker for the Miami Dolphins named Ray Finkle; in the story, Finkle misses a field goal attempt in the closing moments of Super Bowl XVII, causing the Dolphins to lose the game by a single point–an obvious reference to Norwood's infamous kick in Super Bowl XXV.[6][7] (In reality, Super Bowl XVII was contested between the Dolphins and the Washington Redskins; the Redskins won 27-17.)
The 1998 film Buffalo '66 features a subplot where main character Billy Brown, played by Vincent Gallo, attempts to murder a former Buffalo kicker named "Scott Wood", whose missed field goal led to Brown losing a large bet and serving a prison term when he took the fall for his bookie.
Referencesedit
^*Greenfeld, Karl Taro, "A Life After Wide Right," Sports Illustrated, July 12, 2004
^Greenfield, Karl Taro (July 12, 2004). "A Life After Wide Right". Sports Illustrated. p. 2.
^Lewis, Michael (October 28, 2007). "The Kick Is Up and It's ... A Career Killer". New York Times Magazine.
^"30 years ago today: An unforgettable moment in Buffalo Bills history". www.syracuse.com. The Post-Standard. January 27, 2021. from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
^"The Untold Truth Of Ace Ventura". looper.com. Static Media. June 8, 2022. from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
Paul Jannace, www.wellsvilledaily.com, March 29, 2010
January 01, 1970
scott, norwood, scott, allan, norwood, born, july, 1960, american, former, professional, football, player, placekicker, seven, seasons, with, buffalo, bills, national, football, league, also, played, birmingham, stallions, united, states, football, league, usf. Scott Allan Norwood born July 17 1960 is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker for seven seasons with the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League NFL He also played for the Birmingham Stallions in the United States Football League USFL for two seasons As Buffalo s placekicker from 1985 to 1991 Norwood led the league in scoring for the 1988 season and played in their first two Super Bowl appearances Despite his accomplishments he is best known for missing a game winning field goal attempt at the end of Super Bowl XXV Scott NorwoodNo 4 11Position PlacekickerPersonal informationBorn 1960 07 17 July 17 1960 age 63 Alexandria Virginia U S Height 6 ft 0 in 1 83 m Weight 207 lb 94 kg Career informationHigh school Jefferson Alexandria College James Madison 1978 1981 Undrafted 1982Career historyAtlanta Falcons 1982 Birmingham Stallions 1983 1984 Buffalo Bills 1985 1991 Offseason and or practice squad member onlyCareer highlights and awardsFirst team All Pro 1988 Pro Bowl 1988 NFL scoring leader 1988 PFW Golden Toe Award 1988 Career NFL statisticsField goal attempts 184Field goals made 133Field goal 72 28Player stats at NFL com PFR Contents 1 Early life and college 2 Professional career 2 1 Birmingham Stallions 2 2 Buffalo Bills 2 2 1 Super Bowl XXV 3 Post football career 4 NFL career statistics 4 1 Playoffs 5 Personal life 6 In popular culture 7 ReferencesEarly life and college editNorwood was born in Alexandria Virginia and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria in 1978 1 He played both football and soccer at James Madison University and graduated with a business degree in 1982 2 Professional career editBirmingham Stallions edit Norwood began his professional career with the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League playing two seasons before the Stallions signed Danny Miller to replace him Buffalo Bills edit Norwood was one of many players the Bills picked up as the USFL contracted and ultimately collapsed he eventually beat out Todd Schlopy who would later come back when Norwood went on strike in 1987 for the Bills starting kicker position He quickly became an asset to an offense that was going places as the Bills general manager Bill Polian assembled talent like Jim Kelly Thurman Thomas and Bruce Smith Within two seasons of Norwood s arrival the Bills had won the AFC East for the first time since 1980 and made it to the conference championship game He soon overtook O J Simpson as the team s all time leading scorer Following the 1990 season the Bills advanced to their first ever Super Bowl Super Bowl XXV edit Further information Wide Right Buffalo Bills Norwood s field goal range was unusually short for a professional kicker citation needed and he had difficulties in converting field goals over 40 yards throughout his career especially on natural grass the Bills home stadium used AstroTurf which mitigated this issue Super Bowl XXV which was played on January 27 1991 cemented Norwood s name in football history when he missed a 47 yard field goal attempt with 8 seconds left in the game giving the New York Giants their 2nd Super Bowl victory and started the Bills string of four consecutive Super Bowl losses This kick was made famous by the wide right call by ABC announcer Al Michaels Later video analysis revealed the holder mistakenly aligned the laces to the right thereby positioning the kicked ball to fade right once in the air Although the Bills signed Bjorn Nittmo as Norwood s potential replacement in the 1991 offseason Norwood remained with the Bills through that season The Bills returned to the Super Bowl and Norwood was perfect throughout the postseason including a 44 yard field goal that served as the decisive margin in the AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos Norwood was waived in the first roster move of the off season after the Bills signed Steve Christie formerly of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3 Post football career editAfter the Bills waived him Norwood initially returned home to Northern Virginia and disappeared completely from the public eye for several years eventually becoming an insurance salesman during the 1990s then moving back to Buffalo as a real estate agent in 2002 3 4 5 NFL career statistics editLegend Led the league Bold Career high Year Team GP FGM FGA FG XPM XPA XP PTS 1985 BUF 16 13 17 76 5 23 23 100 0 62 1986 BUF 16 17 27 63 0 32 34 94 1 83 1987 BUF 12 10 15 66 7 31 31 100 0 61 1988 BUF 16 32 37 86 5 33 33 100 0 129 1989 BUF 16 23 30 76 7 46 47 97 9 115 1990 BUF 16 20 29 69 0 50 52 96 2 110 1991 BUF 16 18 29 62 1 56 58 96 6 110 Total 108 133 184 72 3 271 278 97 5 670 Playoffs edit Year Team GP FGM FGA FG XPM XPA XP PTS 1988 BUF 2 2 5 40 0 3 3 100 0 9 1989 BUF 1 1 1 100 0 3 4 75 0 6 1990 BUF 3 5 7 71 4 13 14 92 9 28 1991 BUF 3 5 5 100 0 8 8 100 0 23 Total 9 13 18 72 2 27 29 93 1 66Personal life editNorwood lives with his wife Kimberly in the Washington D C suburb of Centreville Virginia They have three children twins Carly and Connor born 1995 and Corey born 1996 4 In popular culture editIn the 1994 film Ace Ventura Pet Detective a key plot point involves a kicker for the Miami Dolphins named Ray Finkle in the story Finkle misses a field goal attempt in the closing moments of Super Bowl XVII causing the Dolphins to lose the game by a single point an obvious reference to Norwood s infamous kick in Super Bowl XXV 6 7 In reality Super Bowl XVII was contested between the Dolphins and the Washington Redskins the Redskins won 27 17 The 1998 film Buffalo 66 features a subplot where main character Billy Brown played by Vincent Gallo attempts to murder a former Buffalo kicker named Scott Wood whose missed field goal led to Brown losing a large bet and serving a prison term when he took the fall for his bookie References edit Greenfeld Karl Taro A Life After Wide Right Sports Illustrated July 12 2004 Greenfield Karl Taro July 12 2004 A Life After Wide Right Sports Illustrated p 2 a b A Life After Wide Right p 4 A Life After Wide Right p 5 Lewis Michael October 28 2007 The Kick Is Up and It s A Career Killer New York Times Magazine 30 years ago today An unforgettable moment in Buffalo Bills history www syracuse com The Post Standard January 27 2021 Archived from the original on May 1 2023 Retrieved June 16 2023 The Untold Truth Of Ace Ventura looper com Static Media June 8 2022 Archived from the original on May 4 2023 Retrieved June 16 2023 Paul Jannace Norwood s life after football is business as usual www wellsvilledaily com March 29 2010 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Scott Norwood amp oldid 1221837907, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
