Roy Gerela

Roy Gerela (born April 2, 1948, Sarrail, Alberta) is a former American football placekicker best known for his years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, with whom he won three Super Bowl rings.

Gerela graduated from Kalani High School in Honolulu, and played college football at New Mexico State University. He was selected in the fourth round of the 1969 AFL Draft by the Houston Oilers and played for them in the American Football League in 1969 and in the NFL 1970. He signed with the NFL's Steelers before the 1971 season, and quickly became popular with Steelers fans, who had suffered through years of mediocre placekicking. He even inspired a fan club, "Gerela's Gorillas." He led the AFC in scoring in 1973 and 1974, and was named to the Pro Bowl in 1973 and 1975.

Gerela was a member of the Steelers' Super Bowl championship teams in 1973-74, 1974-75, and 1978-79, but was released by the Steelers before the 1979-80 season in favor of Matt Bahr. He appeared in three games for the San Diego Chargers in 1979 before a torn groin muscle ended his career. He is now an assistant coach at New Mexico State.

Gerela ranks third on the Steelers's all-time scoring list, behind Gary Anderson and Jeff Reed.^[1]

Sources

• Kaneshiro, Jason (2005-10-14). "Kalani graduate Gerela giving back with the Aggies". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. http://starbulletin.com/2005/10/14/sports/story02.html. Retrieved 2006-07-25. 

References

1. ^ Bouchette, Ed (29 December 2008). "Steelers Notebook: Pass-happy Hines Ward makes his 800th catch". Quick hits (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08364/938287-66.stm. Retrieved 29 December 2008. 

External links

• Roy Gerela statistics at databasefootball.com
• New Mexico State Aggies Coaching Bio