| Nickname(s) | Big Z[1] |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: | February 25, 1947 |
| Place of birth: | Günzburg, Allied-occupied Germany |
| Career information | |
| Position(s): | K/P |
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| College: | UCLA |
| NFL Draft: | 1970 / Round: 9 / Pick: 231 |
| Drafted by: | Dallas Cowboys |
| Organizations | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| CFL All-Star: | 1980, 1981 |
| Honours: | *2× All-American (1967, 1969) |
| Career stats | |
| Field Goals | 215/365 (58.9%) |
| Longest FG | 57 |
| Kickoffs | 501 (Avg: 57.3 yards) |
| Longest Kickoff | 90 |
| Punting | 1,320 (Avg: 45.1 yards) |
| Longest Punt | 108 *CFL statistics only |
Zenon Andrusyshyn (born February 25, 1947) is a German-Canadian former Canadian Football League punter and kicker from (1971–1977, 1979–1982) for the Toronto Argonauts. He also played for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League and the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League. He played college football at UCLA.
Early years[]
Andrusyshyn was born in Germany and his family moved to Ontario, Canada where he attended Oakville Trafalgar High School.[2] He set a high school javelin record that lasted for 35 years.[2] Andrusyshyn participated with the Canadian team in the javelin throw, shot put and discus during the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.[3] He held the Canadian javelin record with a throw of 242 feet 6 inches.
He received a track and field scholarship for UCLA, but suffered an elbow injury while preparing for the 1968 Summer Olympics and decided to walk-on to the football team after kicking in a tryout 14 field goals in a row from 45 yards out.[4] In one practice he kicked field goals of 57 and 62 yards.[5]
Andrusyshyn was used both as a punter and placekicker. He led the NCAA in punting as a sophomore with a 44.2 average, but against USC he missed one field goal, had two blocked, and failed a critical extra point that gave them the victory and the eventual 1967 National championship.[6] Then USC head coach John McKay, remarked that "Andrusyshyn kicks with low leverage," and that is why he employed 6-foot-8 offensive tackle Bill Hayhoe to affect his kicking game.
He would become a two-time All-American punter (1967, 1969) and was voted to UCLA's All Century Team.
Professional career[]
Dallas Cowboys[]
Andrusyshyn was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the ninth round (231st overall) of the 1970 NFL Draft.[7] On September 8, he was waived before the start of the season.
Toronto Argonauts[]
On October 23, 1977, he recorded a 108-yard punt against the Edmonton Eskimos, which still stands as the longest punt in professional football history. On September 14, 1980 against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, he kicked a career-longest 57-yard field goal[8].
Kansas City Chiefs[]
On April 14, 1978, he signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs.[9] He was waived in August[when?] 1979.
Tampa Bay Bandits[]
He played three season (1983-1985) with the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League.[10]
Personal life[]
Andrusyshyn met his wife on the television show The Dating Game in 1969. That year, he also had a small part in the television show Medical Center.
He was ordained a minister in the Southern Baptist denomination in 1990 in Nashville, Tennessee. He also graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1995 with a Master in Arts, Biblical Studies (MABS).
He was the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Tampa Area Director from March 1987, completing 20 years with FCA in 2007. In October 2007, Zenon Andrusyshyn formed his own ministry with his wife Sue. Known as Zenon Ministries Inc., it is a 501(c)(3) non-profit youth ministry. Andrusyshyn has been on over 15 mission trips which includes delivering medical supplies to Cuna Indians- Panama (three times), to Cancer Hospitals for Children in Kiev and Odessa, Ukraine (four times), Missions abroad in England (three times), Germany (three times) and Mexico (three times). He served as Youth Chairman for the Billy Graham Crusade-1998 Tampa, Florida, and as Youth Chairman for Luis Palau's TampaBayFest 2007.
References[]
- ↑ "Argos sign UCLA kicker Medlock". Sportsnet. 12 September 2009. https://www.sportsnet.ca/football/cfl/argos-medlock-2/. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Zenon Andrusyshyn". Oakville Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180311140944/http://www.oshof.com/vhof/andrusyshyn_ze0.html. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
- ↑ "'Golden Toe' rejoins Argos". https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19710506&id=HJEuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=I6EFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4713,1491004. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ↑ "10 UCLA". https://www.si.com/vault/1967/09/11/614191/10-ucla. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ↑ "Soph Sensation Solves UCLA's Punt problems". https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19670901&id=i1UyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KeYFAAAAIBAJ&pg=7122,1474195. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ↑ "Missed Extra Point Will Haunt UCLA's Andrusyshyn". https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1665&dat=19671207&id=204aAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hCQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2366,5669874. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ↑ "Cowboys draft Andrusyshyn". https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19700129&id=S3oyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=I7kFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3696,6394434. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ↑ "Metcalf leads Argonauts to victory". https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19800915&id=MNEyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=be4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4687,2383780. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ↑ "Chiefs sign Andrusyshyn". https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19780415&id=b0MyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=beYFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5470,2386101. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ↑ "Andrusyshyn: Inspiration is easy when your career may be ending". https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kNItAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xlkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6864,1585131&dq=zenon+andrusyshyn&hl=en. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
External links[]
- UCLA's Zenon Andrusyshyn kick-started his life after 1967 loss to USC
- Retro Profile: Zenon Andrusyshyn
- CFL bio
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