How Cameron Dicker’s 57-yard free kick stacks up against other sports rarities
Los Angeles Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker reached for rare air on Week 16’s “Thursday Night Football.”
As the second quarter wound down, the Denver Broncos were flagged for a pass breakup, which led to a 15-yard drive for the Chargers. The unexpected call gave Los Angeles a unique choice: try a Hail Mary, take a knee or try a free kick — a rarely seen play that allows for a field goal attempt from a good catch.
As the penalty moved the ball into Dicker’s range, the Chargers picked up a rare opportunity. Dicker rose to the occasion, making a 57-yard free kick as time expired in the half, cutting the deficit to 21-13. The kick wasn’t just a catch, it was historic, as it marked the NFL’s first successful free kick since Ray Wersching took 45 for the Chargers in 1976, according to Quirky Research.
A rare missed free kick results in a Cameron Dicker 57-yard FG for the @ Chargers 🤯
FG’s first free kick since 1976! pic.twitter.com/yb0cyPuKnR
-NFL (@NFL) December 20, 2024
It was also Dicker’s 16th career field goal of 50 yards or more, breaking John Carney’s record for most kicks in franchise history. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last eligible kick attempt occurred in 2019, when Joey Slye’s 60-yard attempt failed.
For Dicker, however, the stars aligned perfectly, and it got us thinking. What are some sporting achievements that are rare and hard to find?
The NBA
He averaged three triples for the entire season
In 2016-17, Russell Westbrook averaged 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 rebounds to help become the second player to average a double-double in a season. Westbrook did it in four different seasons.
The average triple-double in a season has only happened five times in NBA history. Oscar Robertson averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists per game in 1962.
It’s baseball
Triple Crowning
The Triple Crown has been accomplished in Major League Baseball just 16 times, most recently by Miguel Cabrera in 2012. Cabrera led the league in batting average (.330), home runs (44) and runs batted in (139), becoming the first player since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 to join the rare club. Rogers Hornsby (1922, 1925) and Ted Williams (1942, 1947) are the only players to accomplish the double.
Throwing the Triple Crown
Triple Crown installation Triple Crown is not rejected as a betting version, but it is still not a common success. Thirty-eight pitchers have led their league in wins, hits and earned run average in an MLB season, most recently Shane Bieber in 2020. Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw both did it in 2011. That season was the first since 1924 to see the Triple Crown winners in both leagues.
A pure innings
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Max Scherzer on September 12, 2021, became just the third pitcher in MLB history to record three perfect innings (three strikeouts on nine pitches). He recorded this in the same game in which he got his 3,000th career hit.
Scherzer is among seven pitchers yet to throw a perfect inning — Baseball Hall of Famers Lefty Grove, Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson and active pitchers Chris Sale and Kevin Gausman. Scherzer, Sale and Koufax are the only pitchers with three scoreless innings.
Hitting .400
Eight players have hit .400 or better in a season a total of 13 times since 1900, but none since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. In all, 20 players have hit the .400 mark in MLB history, and five have done so. more than once (a total of 28 .400 seasons).
Others have flirted with the number since Williams’ historic season, including Rod Carew, who finished at .388 in his 1977 MVP season, and George Brett, who was hitting over .400 on Sept. 19 but finished with a .390 in 1980. The all-time best hitter, Tony Gwynn, had his bid cut short by the 1994 players’ strike. still living in the area. season .394.
Most of the big prizes are rookies
Only Fred Lynn (1975) and Ichiro Suzuki (2001) have won Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. Fernando Valenzuela is the only player to win the Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young in the same season (1981).
Consecutive no-hitters
A seemingly unbreakable record, Johnny Vander Meer went 23 consecutive no-hitters. to match the game on July 19, 1973.
Coming off his second career no-hitter, he struck out 17 in Detroit four days ago, and Ryan went seven innings against the Baltimore Orioles before leaving the eighth game. In 1947, Cincinnati’s Ewell Blackwell threw 8â…“ innings of no-hit ball in his first no-hitter, the closest he came to matching Vander Meer.
Complete postseason games
Of the 23 complete games recorded in major league history, only Don Larsen’s in 1956 came in the postseason. The New York Yankees right-hander struck out seven and needed just 97 pitches to end the game.
His complete game remained the only no-hitter of any kind in the postseason until Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies threw a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds on October 6, 2010, in Game 1 of -NLDS. Led by Christian Javier’s six hitless innings, the Houston Astros rallied to go undefeated during the 2022 World Series.
The NFL
2,000-yard rushing season
Only Eric Dickerson, Jamal Lewis, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis, Chris Johnson, OJ Simpson, Adrian Peterson and, most recently, Derrick Henry have rushed for more than 2,000 yards in one season. Henry rushed for 2,027 yards in 2020, fifth most in NFL history. Dickerson holds the rushing record of 2,105 yards in 1984, his second season in the league.
College football
Winning the Heisman Trophy twice
Ohio State’s Archie Griffin is the only man to win the Heisman twice, back to back in 1974 and 1975. There have been a few close calls recently. Lamar Jackson ran, winning the award in 2016 and finishing third in the voting in 2017. Baker Mayfield won in 2017 after finishing third in 2016. Tim Tebow took home the award in 2012 and was third in 2013.
Winning the Heisman and a national championship
Only 17 Heisman Trophy winners have also won a national championship in the same season, the most recent being Alabama’s DeVonta Smith during the 2021 campaign.
Golf
Youngest winners on the PGA Tour
Jordan Spieth’s win at the 2013 John Deere Classic made him just the fourth golfer to win as a junior on the PGA Tour since 1931. Only Harry Cooper (19 years, 4 days; 1923 Galveston Open), Ralph Guldahl (19 years, 8 months, 3 days; days; 1911 US Open) won as a junior.
Note: Tom Morris, Jr. won the 1868 The Open Championship at age 17 years, 5 months, 8 days. He repeated in 1869 (18 years, 4 months, 27 days) and 1870 (19 years, 4 months, 26 days).
Men’s Grand Slam
Only Bobby Jones in 1930 completed a single season Grand Slam, winning the British Open, British Amateur, US Open and US Amateur. No modern-era Grand Slam finishers, with only five in the Masters era completing a career Grand Slam (Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen).
Woods accomplished the “Tiger Slam,” holding all four modern majors at the same time — the US Open, the Open Championship and the PGA Championship in 2000 and the 2001 Masters — though not in the same calendar year.
PGA Tour winners age 50 or older
Sam Snead (52; 1965 Greater Greensboro Open), Art Wall (51; 1975 Greater Milwaukee Open), Davis Love III (51; 2015 Wyndham Championship), Jim Barnes (51; 1937 Long Island Open), John Barnum (51; 1962 ) Cajun Classic), Fred Funk (50; 2007 Mayakoba Golf Classic), Phil Mickelson (50; 2021 PGA Championship) and and Craig Stadler (50; 2003 BC Open) are the only players to win on the PGA Tour at age 50 or older.
Tennis
Singles Grand Slam in one season
It has been achieved in men’s tennis only three times (Don Budge, Rod Laver twice), and in women’s tennis three times (Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court and Steffi Graf as recently as 1988).
Car racing
He won both the Daytona 500 and the Indy 500
Only Mario Andretti and AJ Foyt can claim to have won the Daytona 500 and Indy 500. Andretti is the only driver to have won the Daytona 500 (1967), the Indianapolis 500 (1969) and the Formula 1 world title (1978). Foyt is the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500 (1961, 1964, 1967, 1977), Daytona 500 (1972), 24 Hours of Le Mans (1967) and 24 Hours of Daytona (1983, 1985).
