Gary Anderson, South African-American football player
Gary Allan Anderson (born 16 July 1959) is a South African former American football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. The first South African to appear in an NFL regular season game, he spent the majority of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and is also known for his tenure with the Minnesota Vikings. Anderson earned four Pro Bowl and two first-team All-Pro honors after joining the league in 1982 and was named to the NFL's second All-Decade teams of the 1980s and 1990s, as well as the Steelers All-Time Team.
With the Vikings in 1998, Anderson became the first NFL kicker to convert every field goal and extra point in the regular season. During the postseason, however, he missed a critical field goal in the NFC Championship Game, which is regarded as a primary factor in the Vikings' subsequent defeat. Anderson continued his NFL career for six more seasons until retiring in 2004. He ranks third in games played (353), points scored (2,434), and field goals made (538) and is also the Steelers' all-time leading scorer at 1,343 points.
1959Jul, 16
Gary Anderson (placekicker)
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Events on 1959
- 1Jan
Cuban Revolution
Fulgencio Batista, dictator of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro's forces during the Cuban Revolution. - 7Jan
Fidel Castro
The United States recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro. - 20Feb
John Diefenbaker
The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate. - 8Apr
COBOL
A team of computer manufacturers, users, and university people led by Grace Hopper meets to discuss the creation of a new programming language that would be called COBOL. - 23Nov
Charles de Gaulle
French President Charles de Gaulle declares in a speech in Strasbourg his vision for "Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals".