Why did Uwe von Schummann retire from the Dolphins ?

[milesl]

I was reading online ESPN's The Face of the Sooners
http://myespn.go.com/s/conversations/show/story/3376767:confused:
and someone mentioned von Schummann and "the Kick".
Watched that and then decided to look him up on Wikipedia and they
listed his college and professional accomplishments. His biggest year in
the NFL was also the year he retired ?

Professional career 1979-1984

After college, the Miami Dolphins drafted von Schamann, for whom he played for six seasons. While with the Dolphins, he was a member of two Super Bowl teams and was perfect in both of them, not missing an extra point or a field goal in either season.

Von Schamann finished his NFL career with 101 of 149 field goal attempts (67%) and 237 of 250 extra points (94%), for 540 total points. In the 1984 season he set an NFL record, with 70 extra point attempts, converting 66 of them, records that stood until they were broken by Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski in 2007. A clip from the 1984 season of von Schamann kicking is used in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

[BoulderSooner79]

I was reading online ESPN's The Face of the Sooners
http://myespn.go.com/s/conversations/show/story/3376767:confused:
and someone mentioned von Schummann and "the Kick".
Watched that and then decided to look him up on Wikipedia and they
listed his college and professional accomplishments. His biggest year in
the NFL was also the year he retired ?

Professional career 1979-1984

After college, the Miami Dolphins drafted von Schamann, for whom he played for six seasons. While with the Dolphins, he was a member of two Super Bowl teams and was perfect in both of them, not missing an extra point or a field goal in either season.

Von Schamann finished his NFL career with 101 of 149 field goal attempts (67%) and 237 of 250 extra points (94%), for 540 total points. In the 1984 season he set an NFL record, with 70 extra point attempts, converting 66 of them, records that stood until they were broken by Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski in 2007. A clip from the 1984 season of von Schamann kicking is used in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

My guess is he didn't make the team :(

[sooneron]

My guess is he didn't make the team :(

:rolleyes:

uh, yeah...

[goingoneight]

Because he knew even back then how much they would suck today and wanted to avoid association with them?

[pweitkem]

When I was a kid we used to watch Uwe warm up... he could kick from the 50 yardline, through the uprights and into the stands with good consistency. Of course the goal posts were wider and he could kick off a tee, but his leg strength was impressive none the less.

Uwe moved back to Norman after leaving Miami... he lived with his mom in the Cherry Creek subidivision on Main Street. Uwe told my dad it was a choice for him to leave the NFL. Not sure if it was because of his mom's ailing health, but Uwe made it sound like he just walked away from the game. He had plenty of cash and cool cars, I do remember that.

[soonerfan28]

I met him once. Great guy. It was for an all-county football dinner. Never to big for the small guys.

[12]

Who among us farts old enough to remember "THE KICK" live will ever forget that moment? I remember it on television and everyone in the house jumping up and down for a couple of minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbjD8QWlKtU

I love it when he is revving up the Buckeye crowd. The King is over there on his knees. Also, Woody's reaction is classic.

[opksooner]

The vid doesn't show it too clearly but after Woody called the last time-out the OSU crowd was doing the "BLOCK THAT KICK" thing, and Uwe was right there at mid-field leading the cheer like an orchestra conductor.

Now, THAT'S cool!.

[Breadburner]

Old school swagger from Uwe.....

[SoonerShark]

And if he would have just kicked nine field goals against Arkansas in the Orange Bowl we would have won the national championship in 1977.

[SoonerShark]

:rolleyes:

uh, yeah...

Of course, he could just have decided that he was tired of playing a game and wanted to do something grown-up in life. Football that matters ends after college.

[sooneron]

Of course, he could just have decided that he was tired of playing a game and wanted to do something grown-up in life. Football that matters ends after college.

uh, yep

[Shneeg11]

Of course, he could just have decided that he was tired of playing a game and wanted to do something grown-up in life. Football that matters ends after college.

I would say that being able to support yourself and being successful on the biggest stage of your given profession is pretty grown-up

[KingBarry]

I would say that being able to support yourself and being successful on the biggest stage of your given profession is pretty grown-up

I remember reading an article by a sports writer, must have been 10-15 years ago, when Michael Jordan was in his prime. The sports writer was discussing Jordan and others, and made the observation that he had never known a great athlete that was not, in many ways, very childlike.

His opinion was that, in comparison to many other human endeavors, sports is rather trivial and that only the childish -- who can believe sports is so important that they would pour their lives and souls into it -- can commit themselves strongly enough to be champions.

Maybe Uve the Great just didn't see it as that important to him anymore? Besides, he was German, they only really care about soccer.

But, rest assured, I'll never forget that kick in Columbus.

[sooner rick]

Who among us farts old enough to remember "THE KICK" live will ever forget that moment? I remember it on television and everyone in the house jumping up and down for a couple of minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbjD8QWlKtU

I love it when he is revving up the Buckeye crowd. The King is over there on his knees. Also, Woody's reaction is classic.

I still get goosebumps today watching that kick. Definitely a play I will never forget!

[HateTheWhorns]

Who among us farts old enough to remember "THE KICK" live will ever forget that moment? I remember it on television and everyone in the house jumping up and down for a couple of minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbjD8QWlKtU

I love it when he is revving up the Buckeye crowd. The King is over there on his knees. Also, Woody's reaction is classic.

I was a 15 year old kid and making my first big non-conference road trip with my dad. We sat on the OU side of the field about even with the ball placement for the final FG. I'll never forget all the excitement leading up to that game (WH vs. BS, OU vs. tOSU, ABC game of the week, etc.). On the day before the game, I went down on the field with my dad and was introduced to Keith Jackson and Billy Vessels among others. It was a young Sooner fan's dream, but before the weekend was out it appeared to be turning into a nightmare. I remember how ecstatic we were when we dominated them in the 1st Qtr. I really thought it would be a blow out that day, but then the turnovers started and Lott got hurt. Next thing I know, we have Jimmerson and Blevins trying to lead a desparate comeback. I just sat there in my seat dreading the aftermath of blowing this game and dreading the long flight home. I WAS SICK. Uwe was my medicine. What a magical finish. SOONER MAGIC BABY!

[Scott D]

he suffered a back injury. So I'm pretty sure the ****ing contest over a pro career being less important than a college career can stop.


Von Schamann Still Uncertain

SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: January 22, 1983

Coach Don Shula of the Dolphins said today that the decision on whether to use his place-kicker, Uwe von Schamann, in the American Conference championship game against the Jets will not be made until just before game time Sunday.

Von Schamann suffered a hairline fracture of the transverse process, a set of bones in the lower back, in the Dolphins' victory over San Diego last Sunday. He continued to play, and kicked two field goals and two extra points. But after X-rays taken Monday revealed a fracture Monday, he stopped practicing.

[mobilesteve]

Laces out Dan! Finkle is Einhorn?!

[C&CDean]

I happen to know Uwe pretty well. Besides the back, he had some other health issues that caused him a lot of pain/suffering. He didn't want to quit, he had to quit. Dude hurt for a couple years there really, really bad.

[Since71ASooner4Life]

Who among us farts old enough to remember "THE KICK" live will ever forget that moment?

I was born in Columbus OH and have been a Buckeye fan for all but one game they've played since I started watching football as a kid in 1971. Thought for a while I was going to have to root against them last year in the NC game too.

[SanDiegoSoonerGal]

I remember "The Kick." I was at my grandparents' for the weekend and watching that game stressed me out so much I finally had to turn it off for awhile and do something else.

I turned it back on just in time to see the kick being set up. I witnessed this Sooner moment on a fuzzy b & w TV (with rabbit ears even, I think) in Tupelo, OK, and I will never forget it.

A few years later when I was a freshman at OU and hanging out with a guy on the soccer team, I was invited to a party hosted by Uwe. I was so excited! But much too unsure of myself at that age to talk to him directly. My impression, though, was of a nice guy happy to be hanging out with his friends and not in any way full of himself.

Whatever he's doing these days, I wish him well.

[soonerboy_odanorth]

Who among us farts old enough to remember "THE KICK" live will ever forget that moment? I remember it on television and everyone in the house jumping up and down for a couple of minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbjD8QWlKtU

I love it when he is revving up the Buckeye crowd. The King is over there on his knees. Also, Woody's reaction is classic.

Mah Brother.... Oh where do I start....

Met Uwe at the K-State game in Manhattan in '96. Sat right behind him. I wasn't paying very much attention when my buddy I was with started yapping with these guys. He talked for several minutes and I wasn't in the conversation, mighta been payin' attention to some of those cheerleading types... I dunno. Anyway, he grabs my attention and asks, "Do you know this guy?" And of course I said, "No." He says, "C'mon, you're the biggest OU historian I know, and you don't know who this guy is?" And I say (irritated), "No, I don't recognize him..."

"Can I introduce you to Uwe Von Schamann."

"Bull****."

"Uwe, I apologize, but could you tell my buddy who you are?"

He stood up, smiled, grabbed his wallet out of his back pocket, and pulled out his freakin' driver's license.

Yup.

Uwe Von Schamann.

I laughed, and I gotta tell you, he is a very nice man... putting up with idiots like me. (Dean, you can back me up... on either that "he's a nice man" or "I'm an idiot." :D )

So, back to my early childhood.

I have three very distinct OU memories.

1.) OU beating Nebraska 20-17 in '76. The hook-and-lateral game. Elvis down to the 3 yard line. My dad screaming at the top of his lungs, scaring my lil' baby brother half to death, "Stick that in your ear, Bob Devaney!" (Bob was no longer coach of NU, but the coverage was incessant interviewing him from the sidelines and "getting his thoughts" on the game.)

2.) The kick. OK, so there was the amazing onside, and Uwe leading the crowd chant. But I remember Woody. Before the game: "Oh, I have no doubt but that it will be exciting." After the game: "I'd rather it have been boring as Hell and won."

3.) Smoke. Keyhole. I was there. My very first game as a lil' Sooner. 1974 against those awful Halloween-clad clowns in Norman. Punt return. Look it up on YouTube. (And if you don't know to whom I am referring you kiddies need to open a book.)

[Animal Mother]

Mah Brother.... Oh where do I start....

Met Uwe at the K-State game in Manhattan in '96. Sat right behind him. I wasn't paying very much attention when my buddy I was with started yapping with these guys. He talked for several minutes and I wasn't in the conversation, mighta been payin' attention to some of those cheerleading types... I dunno. Anyway, he grabs my attention and asks, "Do you know this guy?" And of course I said, "No." He says, "C'mon, you're the biggest OU historian I know, and you don't know who this guy is?" And I say (irritated), "No, I don't recognize him..."

"Can I introduce you to Uwe Von Schamann."

"Bull****."

"Uwe, I apologize, but could you tell my buddy who you are?"

He stood up, smiled, grabbed his wallet out of his back pocket, and pulled out his freakin' driver's license.

Yup.

Uwe Von Schamann.

I laughed, and I gotta tell you, he is a very nice man... putting up with idiots like me. (Dean, you can back me up... on either that "he's a nice man" or "I'm an idiot." :D )

So, back to my early childhood.

I have three very distinct OU memories.

1.) OU beating Nebraska 20-17 in '76. The hook-and-lateral game. Elvis down to the 3 yard line. My dad screaming at the top of his lungs, scaring my lil' baby brother half to death, "Stick that in your ear, Bob Devaney!" (Bob was no longer coach of NU, but the coverage was incessant interviewing him from the sidelines and "getting his thoughts" on the game.)

2.) The kick. OK, so there was the amazing onside, and Uwe leading the crowd chant. But I remember Woody. Before the game: "Oh, I have no doubt but that it will be exciting." After the game: "I'd rather it have been boring as Hell and won."

3.) Smoke. Keyhole. I was there. My very first game as a lil' Sooner. 1974 against those awful Halloween-clad clowns in Norman. Punt return. Look it up on YouTube. (And if you don't know to whom I am referring you kiddies need to open a book.)

A few things I can almost remember from "The Kick" contest.

Jerry Parks (?) on channel 5 showing a tape of Woodhead Hayes smacking a kid in Sooner garb.The kid stuck a number one finger in Hayes' face on the field after the game and Parks saying "My friends! That was not a love tap!"

Running into The King and Lacewell in the parking lot at Will Rogers. They were the only people as drunk as we were that evening. I walked up to The King and screamed "Boomer Sooner!!!" He replied "We beat Ohio State! How about that sports fans?!?!?!?!"

Talking to the channel nine sports dude (Chris something) and telling him about our friends driving all the way to the airport to see the team. Didn't get to see them because the security guy panicked so bad over the enormous crowd he told the bus driver to take the team out some other gate.He mentioned our names on the sportscast and how it wasn't good pub for the airport to redirect the team bus or some crap like that.

[journeyman]

Uwe is a fundraiser for the JD McCarty Center in Norman. The McCarty Center assists children who are developmentally disabled. He also signs a lot of autographs, especially in exchange for donations to the Center.

[tulsaoilerfan]

Mah Brother.... Oh where do I start....

Met Uwe at the K-State game in Manhattan in '96. Sat right behind him. I wasn't paying very much attention when my buddy I was with started yapping with these guys. He talked for several minutes and I wasn't in the conversation, mighta been payin' attention to some of those cheerleading types... I dunno. Anyway, he grabs my attention and asks, "Do you know this guy?" And of course I said, "No." He says, "C'mon, you're the biggest OU historian I know, and you don't know who this guy is?" And I say (irritated), "No, I don't recognize him..."

"Can I introduce you to Uwe Von Schamann."

"Bull****."

"Uwe, I apologize, but could you tell my buddy who you are?"

He stood up, smiled, grabbed his wallet out of his back pocket, and pulled out his freakin' driver's license.

Yup.

Uwe Von Schamann.

I laughed, and I gotta tell you, he is a very nice man... putting up with idiots like me. (Dean, you can back me up... on either that "he's a nice man" or "I'm an idiot." :D )

So, back to my early childhood.

I have three very distinct OU memories.

1.) OU beating Nebraska 20-17 in '76. The hook-and-lateral game. Elvis down to the 3 yard line. My dad screaming at the top of his lungs, scaring my lil' baby brother half to death, "Stick that in your ear, Bob Devaney!" (Bob was no longer coach of NU, but the coverage was incessant interviewing him from the sidelines and "getting his thoughts" on the game.)

2.) The kick. OK, so there was the amazing onside, and Uwe leading the crowd chant. But I remember Woody. Before the game: "Oh, I have no doubt but that it will be exciting." After the game: "I'd rather it have been boring as Hell and won."

3.) Smoke. Keyhole. I was there. My very first game as a lil' Sooner. 1974 against those awful Halloween-clad clowns in Norman. Punt return. Look it up on YouTube. (And if you don't know to whom I am referring you kiddies need to open a book.)

Number 3 is pure greatness

[sooneron]

When we first moved back to Norman in 78, I decided to take up running as a young lad (6th grade). I would go to Owen Field and run around that atrocious pink track in the freezing cold. Occasionally, I would see another dude out there running too. One day he had a large duffel full of footballs. He started taking the footballs out and kicking them. I eventually realized it was Uwe.
I mustered the courage to approach him and talk to him about the "kick". We had seen it on tv too. We talked and after a while, he asked if I would hold for him. I couldn't believe it. He knew he had offered some dumb kid a great moment to remember and all I could do was try not to let go of the ball before he could make contact with what seemed like a sledgehammer igniting the ball up and through the uprights.
Great memory and a good guy.

[Shneeg11]

I remember reading an article by a sports writer, must have been 10-15 years ago, when Michael Jordan was in his prime. The sports writer was discussing Jordan and others, and made the observation that he had never known a great athlete that was not, in many ways, very childlike.

His opinion was that, in comparison to many other human endeavors, sports is rather trivial and that only the childish -- who can believe sports is so important that they would pour their lives and souls into it -- can commit themselves strongly enough to be champions.

Maybe Uve the Great just didn't see it as that important to him anymore? Besides, he was German, they only really care about soccer.

But, rest assured, I'll never forget that kick in Columbus.

But if someone is incredibly skilled in their particular field, be it a salesman, an entrepreneur (sp?), a banker, or any other field, why shouldn't they pursue that to make a living? I agree that a lot of athletes are childish (see: legal trouble), but if that is what you have to do to provide for your family, I don't see the problem. Maybe it is because I am young and have yet to truly live in the "real world", but I don't see any problem with somebody pursuing a career in what they have specialized in their entire life in order to become one of the elite.

Now onto that writer....
I think it's fairly safe to say that he is probably pretty childish himself. The profession on which his job is based is full of "childish" men and women working hard everyday to become the best at what they do. And here he is writing about their endeavors. If athletes are childish, yet he relies on them to make a living, I'm gonna say that he probably didn't think that through very well.

[olevetonahill]

When we first moved back to Norman in 78, I decided to take up running as a young lad (6th grade). I would go to Owen Field and run around that atrocious pink track in the freezing cold. Occasionally, I would see another dude out there running too. One day he had a large duffel full of footballs. He started taking the footballs out and kicking them. I eventually realized it was Uwe.
I mustered the courage to approach him and talk to him about the "kick". We had seen it on tv too. We talked and after a while, he asked if I would hold for him. I couldn't believe it. He knew he had offered some dumb kid a great moment to remember and all I could do was try not to let go of the ball before he could make contact with what seemed like a sledgehammer igniting the ball up and through the uprights.
Great memory and a good guy.

So your sayin ur name aint Lucy ?

[Oldnslo]

I've met Uwe. Good guy.

I thought he got injured in the offseason... training camp, maybe? I heard some story at some time about how the new dolphin coach had him running sprints with the team and Uwe pulled something.

I have no idea if the story is true.

[Animal Mother]

I've met Uwe. Good guy.

I thought he got injured in the offseason... training camp, maybe? I heard some story at some time about how the new dolphin coach had him running sprints with the team and Uwe pulled something.

I have no idea if the story is true.

I'd go with A) false

Besides Schula the only other Miami coaches have been that Yo-Yo from the Cowchips and Nick Satan... I mean Saban. And of course that hair-do from Stillwaterbreedsstillminds JJ.