Matt Stover

John Matthew "Matt" Stover (born January 27, 1968) is a former American Football placekicker. As of the start of the 2009 NFL season, he was the third most accurate kicker in the history of the National Football League. He is of Greek descent. He has played for the New York Giants, the Cleveland Browns, and the Baltimore Ravens, with whom he played for 13 seasons. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts in October 2009 to replace injured kicker Adam Vinatieri. {Navbuttons}}

Early years
Stover attended Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, Texas (Class of 1986), the alma mater of fellow NFL placekicker Phil Dawson (Cleveland Browns). Stover won All-District honors as both a wide receiver and kicker. During the 1985-86 LHHS season he kicked a 53-yard field goal.

College career
Prior to his NFL career, Stover attended Louisiana Tech University, where he joined the Alpha Omega chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon and served as vice president. He graduated with a degree in marketing. During his college career, Stover successfully converted on 64 of 88 field goal attempts. As a sophomore, facing Texas A&M, he kicked a 57-yard field goal, then a school record. He also punted as a senior, punting 36 times for 1,277 yards (34.1 yards per punt avg). He left Louisiana Tech with 262 career total points and seven field goals of 50 yards or more. While at La Tech, Stover would usually kick the ball through the goal posts on the first kick-off of the game. Stover currently holds the NCAA record for most punts in a single game at 16 against Louisiana-Monroe November 18, 1988.

New York Giants
Stover was drafted by the New York Giants with the 329th selection (12th round) in the 1990 NFL Draft. He was on the injured reserve list the entire season as the Giants won Super Bowl XXV.

Cleveland Browns
Stover signed with the Cleveland Browns in 1991 and spent five seasons as a Brown.

Baltimore Ravens
In 1996 the Browns moved to Baltimore to become the Baltimore Ravens. Stover spent the majority of his career as a Raven. In 2000, the Ravens failed to score an offensive touchdown in five straight games, in which Stover, who was selected as a Pro Bowler, scored all the team's points. Stover received a Super Bowl ring that year when the Ravens defeated his former team, the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV.

Stover remained kicking with the Ravens, setting several records and kicking 18 game-winning field goals. In 2008, Stover booted a 43-yard field goal to win against the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Divisional Round. That was Stover's last field goal as a Raven. The Ravens decided not to re-sign Stover following the 2008 season.

On Nov 20, 2011, Stover was inducted into the Ravens Ring of Honor, during a half-time ceremony at M&T Bank Stadium against the Cincinnati Bengals

Indianapolis Colts
As a free agent following 2008, Stover signed with the Indianapolis Colts in the middle of the 2009 NFL season to replace the injured Adam Vinatieri. In Indianapolis, Stover played in two wins against the Ravens, and helped the Colts to an appearance in Super Bowl XLIV, at age 42, which made Stover the oldest player in Super Bowl history. However, he was not resigned.

Retirement
Stover announced his retirement from football on May 25, 2011 with the Baltimore Ravens. At the time of his retirement, he was the last remaining member of the original Cleveland Browns still active in the NFL, and was also the last Raven to have played for the franchise before the team moved from Cleveland. He retired as the NFL's fourth all-time leading scorer.

NFL records

 * NFL's fifth all-time leading scorer
 * Most consecutive PATs: 422
 * Most consecutive games with a field goal: 38
 * Oldest player to participate in a Super Bowl: 42 years, 11 days old
 * Oldest player to score in a Super Bowl: 42 years, 11 days old

Ravens franchise records

 * Most career field goals (354)
 * Most field goals in a singles season: 35 (2000)