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John Lee (Korean: 이민종; RR: I Min-jong; born May 19, 1964) is a Korean former player of American football who was a placekicker for the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, twice earning All-American honors, including a unanimous selection in 1985. Lee was selected by St. Louis in the second round of the 1986 NFL draft. He played one season with the Cardinals and was the first Korean to play in the NFL. He was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.

Early life

Lee was born in South Korea where he primarily played baseball, even playing in the Little World Series regional qualifying tournament. His family moved to the United States when he was in the sixth grade. He began playing football as a freshman at Downey High School and studied kicking under the tutelage of Ben Agajanian. It was on Agajanian's recommendation that UCLA signed Lee to an athletic scholarship.

NCAA records held or tied

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• Broke the Pacific-10 Conference single game field goal record (since matched by two others) with six made against the San Diego State Aztecs in 1984.
• Holds the highest percentage of extra points and field goals made in a career with 93.3% (116 of 117 PATs, 79 of 92 FGs).
• Most field goals made per game for a season (2.6, 1984, 29 in 11 games) and in a career (1.84, 79 in 43 games)
• Highest percentage of field goals made in a season (100%, 1984, 16 out of 16) and in a career (minimum 55 attempts) (85.9%, 79 out of 92)
• Highest percentage of field goals made under 40 yards in a season (minimum 16 made) (100%, 1984, 16 out of 16) and in a career (minimum 40 made) (96.4%, 54 of 56)
• Most times kicking four field goals in a game in a career (six times)
• Most games in which field goal provided the winning margin in a career (ten times)

Rose Bowl record

Lee played in the 1983, 1984 and 1986 Rose Bowl, and was an integral part of the success of the UCLA Bruins during his college career, as evidenced by his conference-leading accuracy and the 10 games won by the margin of a field goal. He holds the Rose Bowl career record of 24 most scoring points made by kicking, 1983 UCLA vs. Michigan (3 PAT, 1 FG), 1984 UCLA vs. Illinois (6 PAT, 1 FG) and 1986 UCLA vs. Iowa (6 PAT, 1 FG). The 15 total PAT points in three games also is a record and the 6 PAT-points in each of the two games ranks second in Rose Bowl history.

Professional career

St. Louis Cardinals

Lee was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the second round (32nd overall) of the 1986 NFL draft, making him one of the highest placekickers ever drafted and the first East Asia native to play in the NFL. On July 27 Lee agreed to a four-year $900,000 contract, making him the highest paid player at his position in the league. The contract for a player observers expected to be a "sure-fire" star included a $250,000 signing bonus.

Although Lee made his first six kicks in preseason, he unexpectedly suffered through a slump and began missing field goals. Coach Gene Stallings was understanding of Lee's field goal slump, but was less understanding of the short distances of his kickoffs. Lee never had to kick off in college, with its larger rosters, but found it difficult to adjust to kicking off without a kicking tee (at the time, the NFL did not allow the use of tees on kickoffs). He was unable to get adequate distance on his kickoffs, which angered Stallings; as Stallings later put it, "my gosh, his leg." His kickoffs were too short that they cost the Cardinals valuable field position. The combination of short kickoffs, missed field goals and criticism by Stallings cost Lee his confidence. Lee made eight of 13 field goals as a rookie, before undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and missing the last five regular season games. Lee was waived on September 8, 1987.

Los Angeles Raiders

In 1988, Lee was signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Raiders to compete with incumbent kicker Chris Bahr, who struggled in 1987. He was waived on August 22, after missing 2 out of 3 field goals in preseason.

Personal life

After leaving the NFL after one season, Lee helped run his family's real estate business in Guam, including retail business, gas stations, and restaurants.

References

1. 박병기 ; 장윤호 (September 27, 2006), "NFL 한국계 스타, 하인스 워드만 있는게 아냐", JoongAng Ilbo, archived from the original on July 9, 2012, retrieved September 28, 2011{{citation}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
2. Doods, Tracy (September 2, 1985). "For the Bruins' John Lee, the Numbers Tell the Story: In Three Seasons at UCLA, He's 96 of 97 and 63 of 75". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
3. "UCLA To Induct New Hall of Fame Class". CSTV. October 10, 2001. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2007.
4. Rose Bowl Historical Media Guide, Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, December 2009
5. "1986 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
6. Ostler, Scott (July 28, 1986). "UCLA Placekicker John Lee Agrees to Sign Four-Year Cardinal Contract for $900,000". Los Angeles Times.
7. ^ Bonk, Thomas (October 1, 1987). "NO LEEWAY : When John Lee Suddenly Became Less Than Automatic, the Cardinals Gave Him the Boot". Los Angeles Times.
8. Landman, Brian (August 21, 1986). "John Lee Is Off on the Right Foot : Ex-Bruin Place Kicker Goes 6 for 6 in First 3 Pro Games". Los Angeles Times.
9. "Cardinals Cut Ex-UCLA Kicker Lee". Los Angeles Times. September 9, 1987.
10. Heisler, Mark (August 23, 1988). "Lee Is Cut by Raiders, but He Takes It in Stride". Los Angeles Times.
11. Noble, Brett (May 12, 2008). "Asian alumni, proud Bruins". Daily Bruin. Retrieved August 7, 2020.

• 1964 births
• Living people
• All-American college football players
• American football placekickers
• Sportspeople from Seoul
• South Korean emigrants to the United States
• South Korean players of American football
• St. Louis Cardinals (football) players
• UCLA Bruins football players
• Sportspeople from Downey, California
• Asian American players of American football