Curt Knight
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Gulfport, Mississippi, U.S.
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| Position | Placekicker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | April 14, 1943 Gulfport, Mississippi, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | March 23, 2022 (aged 78) | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Mineral Wells (Mineral Wells, Texas) | ||||||||
| College |
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| NFL draft | 1966: undrafted | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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Luther Curtis Knight Jr. (April 14, 1943 – March 23, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a placekicker for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1973. He played college football for the Coast Guard Bears and is their only player to ever play in the NFL.[1] Knight was an early adopter of the soccer style kick, having played soccer in high school and college, but switched to straight-on kicking in the NFL.
Curt Knight was born in Gulf Port, MS to Luther Curtis Knight, Sr. and Dolores Juanita Miller Knight on April 14, 1943. His father was in the Coast Guard. He went to Mineral Wells High School for one year in 1960-61 where he played football and ran track.[2][3][4]
Knight went to college at the United States Coast Guard Academy, where was played both soccer and football, but after his second year he was convinced to focus on football, despite having been an All-New England player in soccer.[5] He played split end, safety and kicker in 1965.[2][6]
From 1966-67 he was in the Army, where he also played football.[5] He was the Best Kicker in league at Division Level both years.[4]