THE IRISH WONDER

Sports Guy had some good comments about the Giants/Seahawks fiasco last Sunday, where Jay Feely missed 3 game-winning FGs. Amazingly, there was someone with worse luck, and his name was Neil O'Donoghue.

SG: You know what was crazy about that game? I remember thinking to myself, "Wow, that was one for the ages -- the first-ever Triple Stomach Punch Game. We will never see anything like that again." Then I'm watching "SportsCenter" that night and they show a graphic about how Cardinals kicker Neil O'Donoghue missed three overtime kicks in an eventual Monday night tie against the Giants in 1983 (including a 19-yarder). Astounding, right? So I immediately went online to research this O'Donoghue game, stumbling across another O'Donoghue disaster in Tampa Bay where he had four kicks blocked by the Vikings in a 1979 game, including a last-second PAT attempt that would have sent the game into overtime.

Now I was intrigued. I started googling phrases like "Neil O'Donahue horrible," "Neil O'Donahue missed" and "Neil O'Donahue blocked." And games kept popping up, In 1984, he blew a game to the Packers with a missed PAT and a 45-yard field goal that was short. On the last game of the '84 season, needing a win against Washington to make the playoffs, O'Donoghue missed the game-winning field goal as time expired. Playing for Tampa Bay in 1978, someone snapped the ball over his holder's head, followed by O'Donoghue trying to kick the ball out of bounds and whiffing on it -- leading to an 80-yard return by the Vikes and Bucs coach John McKay to derisively call him "The Irish Wonder." Turns out he played nine seasons for three teams and went 112-189 on field goals, which means he averaged 12-for-21 every year for nine years. If this guy doesn't warrant his own "SportsCentury" episode, I don't know who does.


Here's some of the "highlights" of the Irish Wonder's career:

Career Stats

Profile: Kicked the NFC Central Division title winning field goal in 1979 but was replaced by veteran Garo Yepremian the following season. A native of Ireland by birth, he kicked for the Cardinals for several seasons after that. Kicked two seasons for Auburn and was a 5th round pick of the Bills in 1977. Played five games with Buffalo before being cut and had immigration problems in 1978 that nearly saw him deported back to Ireland before being able to sign for the Buccaneers. Played soccer for Shamrock Rovers and also rugby and hurling to a high standard before crossing the Atlantic.

Sept. 17, 1978: The first NFC Central win in franchise history was not without a Bucs blooper. Tampa Bay led 16-7 with about 5 minutes left and lined up for a game-clinching field goal, but Charlie Hannah snapped the ball 10 feet over holder Dave Green's head. The ball was bouncing around near midfield when kicker Neil O'Donoghue tried to boot it out of bounds, prompting coach John McKay to call him "the Irish wonder." He whiffed and Fred McNeill picked up the ball and headed for a Vikings touchdown. He was tackled at the 10 by O'Donoghue. Tampa Bay lost 80 yards on the play, but the defense held Minnesota to a field goal, and the Bucs won 17-10.

Oct. 24, 1983: In one of the worst ``Monday Night Football'' games in history, Cardinals kicker Neil O'Donoghue misses three field-goal attempts in overtime -- including a chip shot from 19 yards -- in a 20-20 tie with the New York Giants.

Sept. 2, 1984: In Forrest Gregg's coaching debut for Green Bay, the Packers won at home, but more by default than anything. They were outgained, 417 yards to 266, and escaped with a 24-23 victory only because St. Louis Cardinals kicker Neil O'Donoghue missed an extra point in the third quarter and left a 45-yard field goal attempt short with 2 minutes 10 seconds remaining in the game. "We lost the football game," Neil Lomax, the St. Louis quarterback, said in the locker room. "I don't think they won it."

Dec. 16, 1984: With one week to play, Washington led the NFC East at 10-5. Breathing down their backs were the Giants, Cardinals, and Cowboys, all tied at 9-6. Thus, with the division-title at stake, the Redskins hosted the rematch versus St. Louis. The Cards had taken the first contest, a tightly fought 26-24 decision, earlier in the season. Thus a win at RFK Stadium would have given St. Louis the season-sweep and hence the tie-breaker advantage and the NFC East title (the team would also have held tie-breaker advantage over New York and Dallas). A loss would mean elimination.

This battle would be prove to be just as competitive as the earlier meeting, but the situation would be reversed. This time it was Washington who held the slim 2-point lead, 29-27, late in the fourth period. Amid the swirling December winds, the Cardinals frantically tried to put together one final drive. Then, as the final seconds were ticking away, St. Louis managed to creep into field goal range. Unable to stop the clock, the kicking unit was raced onto the field. Kicker Neil O'Donoghue had earlier tied the team record for most points in a season with 117, but on this final, hurried attempt, luck would side with Washington. The kick sailed wide as time expired.