James LeRoy Bakken (born November 2, 1940) is an American former professional football player who was a kicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis Cardinals, playing occasionally as a punter as well. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and was named to the NFL 1960s and 1970s All-Decade Team. Bakken is one of 29 individuals to be named to two All-Decade teams.

Early life Bakken was born on November 2, 1940, in Madison, Wisconsin. He attended Madison West High School in Madison, graduating in 1958. He was on the football, basketball and baseball teams. The 1957 football team went undefeated (8–0), and was considered the best high school team in Wisconsin that year. In the same year, Bakken was Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Big 8 Conference, and the All-State quarterback. He was All-State in baseball and basketball as well at Madison West.

College football He went on to play three seasons of varsity football at the University of Wisconsin (1959–61). He played football under coach Milt Bruhn. As a sophomore, Bakken shared the quarterback position with Dale Hackbart, and was also the team's kicker and punter. Bakken's 1959 Badger team was Big-Ten Conference champion, and played in the 1960 Rose Bowl. He was honorable mention All-Big Ten that year.

In 1960, he became the first punter in school history to average more than 40 yards per punt (41.9); and was seventh in the nation in punting average. In 1961, he was team co-captain. He led the Big Ten in punting average in 1960 and 1961. In a 1961 game against Northwestern, he had a 90-yard punt, 47-yard field goal, and returned an interception for a touchdown, in the Badgers' upset victory.

He also played one year of baseball for the Badgers.

He was named to the Madison (Wisconsin) Sports Hall of Fame in 1984, and was inducted into the UW Athletic Department-National W Club Hall of Fame in 2001.UWBadgers.com, "Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Friday", . Retrieved November 21, 2010.

Professional career Bakken was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the seventh round of the 1962 NFL draft. He did not make the team and was instead picked up by the St. Louis Cardinals, where he played his entire NFL career. He played 17 seasons, scoring a total of 1,380 points while never missing a game between 1963 and 1978; playing 234 consecutive games. Only Larry Fitzgerald has played more games for the Cardinals. In the first fifty seasons of the NFL (1920-1969), for all field goal kickers with 200 field goal attempts, Bakken ranked 1st at 61.5, having made 134 of his 218 attempts.

At the time he retired, his 1,380 points were second-most in AFL/NFL history (behind only George Blanda). When he retired, his 282 field goals were third most in NFL history (behind only George Blanda and Jim Turner). He cracked the 100-point threshold in a season three times (1964, 1967, and 1973), making him one of fifteen players with three 100-point seasons at the time. He was selected to kick in the Pro Bowl four times, which at the time made him one of three primary kickers to make the Pro Bowl four times. He led the NFL in made field goals in 1964 and 1967, as well as in scoring in 1967 (117 points). He remains the Cardinals all-time leading scorer (as of 2025). Bakken is the AFL/NFL's 39th leading scorer (as of 2025).

He was selected first-team All-Conference in 1975 and 1976, and first-team All-Pro by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), Pro Football Writers, and Pro Football Weekly both of those years. In 1976, he was selected as the Cardinals' MVP. In 1969, he was president of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA).UWBadgers.com, "Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Friday",

Bakken was the first NFL kicker to attempt nine field goals and successfully convert seven in a Week 2 28–14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Pitt Stadium on September 24, 1967. That single-game field goal record was broken by Rob Bironas with eight in a game in 2007.Most field goals in a game – Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 15, 2023.

His nickname with the Cardinals was "Bags".

Honors Bakken was named by the voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame to the Professional Football 1960s All Decade Team, which included both NFL and American Football League players. The voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame also selected Bakken to the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team, second-team, one vote behind Garo Yepremian.

He is a member of the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame. The Missouri Athletic Club selected him Sportsman of the Year in 1976.

In December 2010, the annual trophy for the Big Ten's best kicker, the "Bakken-Andersen Kicker of the Year" award, was co-named in his honor.BigTen.org, "Football Trophy Names", http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121310aaa.html . Retrieved December 14, 2010.

Personal life In 1985 Baaken was appointed athletic director at St. Louis University and was employed there for several years. In 1990, Bakken was hired as director of external relations at the University of Wisconsin's athletic department.

Bakken was the Wisconsin State Masters Handball Doubles Champion seven times (1991-1997).

Career regular season statistics Career high/best bolded Regular season statisticsSeasonTeam (record)1962 STL (4–9–1)8 0 1 0.0 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0 0 0 0 0.0 01963 STL (9–5)14 11 21 52.4 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 45 0 44 44 100.0 771964 STL (9–3–2)14 25 38 65.8 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 51 0 40 40 100.0 1151965 STL (5–9)14 21 31 67.7 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 45 0 33 33 100.0 961966 STL (8–5–1)14 23 40 57.5 8–8 7–8 4–8 4–12 0–4 47 0 27 28 96.4 961967 STL (6–7–1)14 27 39 69.2 8–8 8–9 8–11 3–10 0–1 47 0 36 36 100.0 1171968 STL (9–4–1)14 15 24 62.5 2–2 7–7 3–6 3–8 0–1 47 0 40 40 100.0 851969 STL (4–9–1)14 12 24 50.0 2–2 4–8 3–4 3–7 0–3 46 0 38 40 95.0 741970 STL (8–5–1)14 20 32 62.5 4–4 3–6 7–7 6–11 0–4 49 0 37 38 97.4 971971 STL (4–9–1)14 21 32 65.6 5–5 8–13 5–6 3–8 0–0 45 0 24 24 100.0 871972 STL (4–9–1)14 14 22 63.6 4–5 2–5 2–3 6–9 0–0 49 0 19 21 90.5 611973 STL (4–9–1)14 23 32 71.9 4–4 6–7 10–12 3–8 0–1 46 0 31 31 100.0 1001974 STL (10–4)14 13 22 59.1 0–0 2–3 5–9 6–10 0–0 47 0 30 36 83.3 691975 STL (11–3)14 19 24 79.2 0–0 10–11 5–7 4–6 0–0 48 0 40 41 97.6 971976 STL (10–4)14 20 27 74.1 0–0 10–11 6–8 4–8 0–0 43 0 33 35 94.3 931977 STL (7–7)14 7 16 43.8 0–0 2–2 3–5 2–8 0–1 49 0 35 36 97.2 561978 STL (6–10)16 11 22 50.0 0–0 4–5 4–7 3–10 0–0 45 0 27 30 90.0 60Career (17 seasons) 234 282 447 63.1 37–38 73–95 65–93 50–115 0–15 51 0 534 553 96.6 1380

See also List of most consecutive starts and games played by National Football League players

References

External links Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison Hall of Fame biography