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So Close: What Happened Along The Way To A Kickoff TD

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 17, 2007

It took 1,865 tries, but one of the most dubious streaks in NFL history isno more. Here's what happened along the way.

COMING CLOSE

Prior to Sunday's historic kickoff return for a touchdown, these were the five longest kickoff returns in Bucs history:

WR Isaac Hagins, cut by the Vikings, was signed by Tampa Bay during the 1976 exhibition season. And what an exhibition he put on in the practice games. The first time he touched the ball, Hagins scored on a 92-yard kickoff return against Chicago. The next week, Hagins scored on a 102-yard kickoff return against Cincinnati. Hagins had 38 regular-season kickoff returns - none for touchdowns. His claim to fame - and NFL Films still shows it in the blooper highlights - was breaking free for a certain TD bomb for the 0-and-24 Bucs against the Lions in 1977, then having the ball bounce off his helmet and onto the ground.

KICKOFF RETURN DEFENSE

On the flip side, here's a statistic you probably hadn't heard. Since Tampa Bay entered the NFL as an expansion team in 1976, opposing teams have returned eight kickoffs for touchdowns (the Bucs were 2-6 in those games). In that 32-season span, only nine other teams allowed fewer kickoff return touchdowns than Tampa Bay.

NO WAITING

Bucs fans had to endure 32 seasons, 498 regular-season games and 1,865 kickoff returns before finally witnessing Micheal Spurlock go all the way on Sunday.

Two teams - the Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints - didn't have to wait before registering their first touchdown on a kickoff return. It happened immediately.

•On Sept. 2, 1996, the first play in Dolphins' franchise history, Joe Auer scored on a 95-yard kickoff return against the Oakland Raiders.

•On Sept. 17, 1967, the first play in Saints' franchise history, John Gilliam scored on a 94-yard kickoff return against the Los Angeles Rams.

•The Seattle Seahawks, meanwhile, which entered as a fellow expansion team with the Bucs in 1976, didn't get their first kickoff return for a touchdown until Nov. 11, 1983, a 94-yarder by Zachary Dixon in the franchise's 112{+t}{+h} game.

EXHIBITIONISTS

When it didn't count, the Bucs had five kickoff returns for touchdowns in exhibition games. None were more dramatic than Aug. 12, 2002, when Frank Murphy began Coach Jon Gruden's era in Tampa Bay by scoring on an opening 95-yard kickoff return against the Miami Dolphins.

"Coach grabbed me, gave me a big hug and said, 'That's the way to explode,'" Murphy said. "I want my touchdown to be a statement to the team that we can run them back like that."

Murphy made the statement, all right. But until Sunday, nobody listened.

SPIRIT OF '76

Since the Bucs and Seattle Seahawks entered the NFL as expansion franchises in 1976, there had been 298 kickoff-return touchdowns in regular-season games before Tampa Bay's Micheal Spurlock scored Sunday on his historic 90-yarder. Here's the team-by-team breakdown during that 32-season span.

THEY SAID IT

Just about everyone at Sunday's game had a comment about Micheal Spurlock's historic kickoff return for a touchdown:

''When he got to midfield, I started shouting, 'This is history.' I look at it as an early Christmas present for Buc fans.'' - Gene Deckerhoff, voice of the Bucs since 1989

''I saw him on the verge of breaking it, he was right in front of me, and I just assumed he would step out of bounds or something would happen. We've had opportunities to get close; it's almost a snake-bitten play for us.'' - Bucs coach Jon Gruden

''It was just a matter of time.'' - Bucs QB Jeff Garcia

''I knew it was gonna happen … eventually. Everything you can do as a team we've done now.'' - Former Bucs QB Parnell Dickinson

''It was emotional to think that after 30-something years, we finally got one. Anything can happen now and it couldn't have happened to a better guy than Spurlock. And once you get your first one, he might stay hungry and get another one.'' - Former Bucs QB and current Bucs personnel executive Doug Williams

''Seeing that today just makes me think how ridiculous it was that we hadn't gotten one.'' - Bucs MLB Barrett Ruud

''I was jumping up and down. It's a franchise play - how do you NOT get excited?'' - Bucs C John Wade

''I was a livid man; I was upset because I wasn't out there. I was one of the guys that wanted to be on the field when that happened.'' - RB (and former special teams player) Earnest Graham

''History has not been on our side in that situation. Kickers have been our kryptonite and knocked our return man down. We're very fortunate Spurlock is immune to that and got around the kicker.'' - Bucs LB Ryan Nece

''He took a good angle. I thought I could get him, but he beat me to it. I didn't know [this was a franchise first], but I didn't want it to come against us.'' - Falcons CB Lewis Sanders, the last man who had a shot at Spurlock

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