| Herman Weaver | |
|---|---|
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| Date of birth: | November 17, 1948 |
| Place of birth: |  Villa Rica, Georgia |
| Career information | |
| Position(s): | Punter |
| College: | Tennessee |
| NFL Draft: | 1970 / Round: 9 |
| Organizations | |
| As player: | |
| 1970-1976 1977-1980 |
Detroit Lions Seattle Seahawks |
| Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com | |
Herman Weaver was a punter with a 11 year career in the National Football League from 1970 to 1980. Herman “Thunderfoot” Weaver spent 11 years punting in the National Football League for the Detroit Lions and the Seattle Seahawks. During his career, Herman punted 693 times for 27,897 total yards. In 1975, Herman was named the NFC Punter of the Year and in 1988 the Sporting News called Herman “One of the Top 20 Punters of all Time”. During his storied career, Herman was teammates with some of the games greats; players like Greg Landry, Lem Barney, Charlie Sanders, Alex Karras, Jim Zorn and Steve Largent. Herman still holds the dubious all-time NFL record for the most punts blocked in a career at 14 (you’ve got to be known for something).
Herman played college football for the University of Tennessee Volunteers. While at Tennessee, he had a punt of 71 yards. He also had the best hang-time ever of 5.7 seconds.
The Nickname "Thunderfoot" On one overcast day, as the Detroit Lions were preparing for their showdown on ABC's Monday Night Football, Herman Weaver stepped back to punt as the special teams took the field. The punt was typical of #18 - a high, spiraling arc setting the blockers off on another 50-yard sprint. Two things were different about this punt, however. One, Howard Cosell was watching practice and two, at the highest point of the ball flight, a blast of thunder let out of the sky. The next night on Monday Night Football, with millions of fans viewing in, Howard Cosell referred to Herman Weaver as "Thunderfoot". And the name stuck.
Herman Weaver is the only punter in NFL history known primarily by a nickname.
Career Statistics:
- 1970 DET 62 2,483 40.0
- 1971 DET 42 1,752 41.7
- 1972 DET 43 1,734 40.3
- 1973 DET 54 2,333 43.2
- 1974 DET 72 2,772 38.5
- 1975 DET 80 3,361 42.0
- 1976 DET 83 3,280 39.5
- 1977 SEA 58 2,293 39.5
- 1978 SEA 66 2,440 37.0
- 1979 SEA 66 2,651 40.2
- 1980 SEA 67 2,798 41.8
Honors
- NFC Punter of the Year, 1975
- "One of the top 20 punters of all time," Sporting News, 1988
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