The Kick. Football fans in Oklahoma, at least those of a certain age, need no other introduction.

    It was a typical autumn day, that September 24, 1977. Almost 90,000 fans filled the horseshoe shaped Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Two of the most storied college football teams – 4th ranked Ohio State University and the 3rd ranked University of Oklahoma – were meeting for the first time. ABC broadcast the event to a nationwide television audience.

    In a game marred by fumbles, OU ran out to a 20-0 lead. But never count out perennial national powerhouse Ohio State. The Buckeyes stormed back and took a 28-20 lead. Late in the fourth quarter, led by reserve quarterback Dean Blevins, OU scored a touchdown, but was stopped short on the two-point conversion attempt.

After a successful onside kick, the Sooners drove the ball to the Ohio State 23 yard line. With only six seconds remaining in the game, OU was down to its last play.

    The Sooners lined up for a field goal. Uwe von Schamann, the young kicker for OU, was ready to go when legendary Ohio State coach Woody Hayes called time out.

    During the pause, the partisan Buckeyes crowd loudly cheered, “Block that kick.” Cool as a cucumber, von Schamann eased the tension of the moment by waiving his hands at the crowd, directing the Ohio State cheers.

    As his Sooners again took the field, Coach Barry Switzer knelt on the sidelines. Number 10, Uwe von Schamann, prepared to kick the ball. The snap was perfect, the ball holder placed it down, and von Schamann nailed the 41-yard field goal right through the center of the uprights. The Sooners won and moved to the top spot in the polls.

    Von Schamann went on to be named the all-time, All Big 8 kicker, and the All Century OU kicker. Drafted by the Miami Dolphins, he made 101 of his 149 NFL field goal attempts and was 237 out of 250 on extra points. Perfect in his two Superbowls appearances, his 70 extra point attempts in 1984 set an NFL record that stood until 2007.

    Von Schamann, who moved from Berlin, Germany, to Fort Worth at the age of 16, considers his greatest accomplishment to have been his return to the University of Oklahoma, where he earned his journalism degree in 1996.

    Since 2001, he has been affiliated with the J. D. McCarty Center for children with developmental disabilities in Norman, and currently works with Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company. He is a frequent speaker on leadership styles, values and principles he learned both on and off the football field.

    Please come for President Gail’s first meeting, and welcome our special guest, Uwe von Schamann, to the Rotary Club of Edmond.

    Andy