How Chargers' Cameron Dicker's 57-yard free throw stacks up against rare play in other sports
Los Angeles Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker pulled off a rare air show in Week 16 of Thursday Night Football.
Towards the end of the second quarter, the Denver Broncos were flagged for interference with a fair catch, resulting in a 15-yard gain by the Chargers. The unexpected call gave Los Angeles a unique choice: attempt a Hail Mary, take a knee or attempt a free kick — a rare play in which a field goal can be attempted from a fair catch point.
With the free throw in Dick's range, the Chargers took advantage of the rare opportunity. At the end of the first half, Dick stepped up and hit a 57-yard free kick to narrow the score gap to 21-13. According to Quirky Research, the kick was not only critical, but also historic because it marked the NFL's first successful free kick since Ray Wersching's 45-yard free kick for the Chargers in 1976.
Cameron Dicker made a rare 57-yard field goal on a free kick for the team @charger 🤯
This is the first free kick since 1976! pic.twitter.com/yb0cyPuKnR
— NFL (@NFL) December 20, 2024
This was also Dick's 16th career field goal of more than 50 yards, breaking John Carney's record for most field goals in franchise history. The last fair catch attempt was in 2019, when Joey Slye's 60-yard field goal attempt failed, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
For Dick, however, the stars aligned perfectly and made us think. What other achievements in sports are equally rare and elusive?
NBA
Averaged a triple-double all season
In the 2016-17 season, Russell Westbrook averaged 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game, becoming the second player to average a triple-double in a single season. Westbrook has done this in four different seasons.
A triple-double per game has only occurred five times in NBA history. In 1962, Oscar Robertson averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists per game.
baseball
batting treble
MLB has only won 16 Triple Crowns, the most recent being Miguel Cabrera in 2012. Leading the league in goals scored (139) Carl Yastrzemski has been a player since he joined the elusive club in 1967. Rogers Hornsby (1922, 1925) and Ted Williams (1942, 1947) are the only players to accomplish this feat twice.
pitching triple crown
A pitcher's Triple Crown isn't as rare as a hitter's Triple Crown, but it's still not a common accomplishment. During an MLB season, 38 pitchers have led their respective leagues in wins, strikeouts and ERA, the most recent being Sean Bieber in 2020. Shaw did this in 2011.
perfect game
According to ESPN Stats and Information, on September 12, 2021, Max Scherzer became the third pitcher in MLB history to record three perfect innings (strikeouts on nine pitches). He accomplished the feat in the same game as he recorded his 3,000th career strikeout.
Scherzer is one of seven pitchers to throw a perfect inning, joining Baseball Hall of Famers Lefty Grove, Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson, as well as current players Pitchers Chris Sale and Kevin Gausman. Scherzer, Sale and Koufax were the only pitchers with three perfect innings.
Reach 0.400
Since 1900, eight players have hit .400 or better in a season a combined 13 times, but nothing like that has happened since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. A total of 20 players in history have hit the .400 mark, with five players hitting it more than once (28 .400 seasons total).
Others have taken note of that number since Williams' historic season, including Rod Carew, who finished with a .388 mark during his MVP season in 1977; George Brett ), who hit over .400 on September 19 but averaged .390 in 2017. The 1994 season was interrupted by a players strike and ended with a .394 season.
Newcomers win many important awards
Only Fred Lynn (1975) and Ichiro Suzuki (2001) won both Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. Fernando Valenzuela is the only player to win Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award in the same season (1981).
consecutive no hits
Johnny Vander Meer's streak of no-hit starts in 1938 looked set to never be broken. Entering the eighth inning of a no-hitter), this was his best chance to accomplish the feat on July 19, 1973.
Four days earlier, Ryan threw his second career no-hitter in Detroit, striking out 17 and going seven innings against the Baltimore Orioles before losing in the eighth inning. In 1947, Cincinnati's Ewell Blackwell came closest to Vander Meer, pitching 8⅓ innings of no-hitter after a no-hitter.
perfect playoff game
Of the 23 perfect games recorded in major league history, only Don Larsen reached the postseason in 1956. The New York Yankees right-hander struck out seven and needed only 97 pitches to end the game.
His perfect game remained the only no-hitter in the postseason until October 6, 2010, when the Philadelphia Phillies' Roy Halladay pitched a no-hitter in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Cincinnati Reds. Hit game. Led by Christian Javier's six-inning no-hitter, the Houston Astros also posted a no-hitter in the 2022 World Series.
National Football League
2,000 yard rushing season
Only Eric Dixon, Jamal Lewis, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis, Chris Johnson, O.J. Simpson, Adrian Peterson and most recently Derrick Henry. Rushed for over 2,000 yards in a single season. Henry ran for 2,027 yards in 2020, fifth-most in NFL history. In 1984, Dickerson's second season in the league led to a rushing record of 2,105 yards.
college football
Two-time Heisman Trophy winner
Ohio State's Archie Griffin is the only person to win the Heisman Trophy twice, winning the award in back-to-back years in 1974 and 1975. situation. Lamar Jackson has also been in the mix, winning the award in 2016 and finishing third in 2017. Tim Tebow won the award in 2012 and finished third in 2013.
win the heisman and national championship
Only 17 Heisman Trophy winners have won a national championship in the same season, the most recent being Alabama's DeVonta Smith during the 2021 campaign.
golf
PGA Tour Junior Champion
Jordan Spieth's victory at the 2013 John Deere Classic made him the fourth golfer to win on the PGA Tour as a junior and the first since 1931 A winning golfer. Only Harry Cooper (19 years, 4 days; 1923 Galveston Open), Ralph Guldahl (19 years, 8 months, 3 days; 1931 Santa Monica Open) and Johnny McDermott (19 years, 10 months and 14 days; 1911 U.S. Open) won at a younger age.
Side note: Tom Morris, Jr. won the 1868 British Open at the age of 17 years, 5 months and 8 days. He repeated this in 1869 (18 years, 4 months, 27 days) and 1870 (19 years, 4 months, 26 days).
Men's Grand Slam
Only Bobby Jones in 1930 completed a single-season Grand Slam, winning the British Open, British Amateur, U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur. No one has completed a modern major, and only five people have completed a career major in the Masters era (Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Saracen) .
Woods completed the “Tiger Slam” by winning all four modern majors simultaneously – the 2000 U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship and the 2001 Masters – albeit not on the same calendar Year.
PGA Tour champions 50 years or older
Sam Sneed (age 52; 1965 Greater Greensboro Open), Wall Art (age 51; 1975 Greater Milwaukee Open), Davis Love III (age 51; 2015 Wyndham Championship), Jim Barnes (age 51; 1937 Long Island Open), John Barnum (age 51; 1962 Cajun Classic), Fred Funk (age 50; 2007 Mayakoba Golf Classic), Phil Mickelson (50; 2021 PGA Championship) and Craig Stadler (50; 2003 BC Open) are the only players 50 or older to win PGA Tour champion player.
tennis
Single Season Grand Slam
It has only been achieved 3 times in men's tennis (twice by Don Budge, Rod Laver) and 3 times in women's tennis (Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court and most recently Steffi Graf in 1988).
racing
Daytona 500 and Indy 500 winner
Only Mario Andretti and AJ Foyt can say they won the Daytona 500 and Indy 500. . Foyt is the only man to win the Indianapolis 500 (1961, 1964, 1967, 1977), the Daytona 500 (1972), the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1967) and the 24 Hours of Daytona Race (1983, 1985) driver.
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