100 Years of Football – Paul Hickert's 1986 Record Field Goal

As Murray State Athletics celebrates its 100th season in 2024, the Racer Report Podcast and the Runnin' with the Racers Podcast are revisiting some of the great moments in the previous 99 seasons.

In the Racers' run to the Ohio Valley Conference championship in 1986, there were more than a few moments that stand out as surprising or unplanned that helped Coach Frank Beamer to the league title in his fourth season.

One of those unplanned moments happened at MSU's Roy Stewart Stadium when the Racers hosted the Eastern Kentucky Colonels on Oct. 11, 1986.

That's the thing about long field goal attempts, they are rarely attempted and usually come at the end of the game. However, in 1986 it was some late first half magic that led to Paul Hickert getting the chance to attempt a 62-yard field goal.

But first let's back up to the start of the second quarter.

The Racers' were struggling to move the ball and were down 9-0.

With 2:12 before half, the Colonels picked off a Michael Proctor pass and looked to run out the first half clock at worst. However, the Racers stopped the Colonels on a 4^th-and-12 play and after an EKU punt, MSU took over at their own 34-yard line with 31 seconds left before half. With only one time out left, the Racers had to work quick. Proctor hit Stanley Howard and Bill Bird twice on short and safe passes. Bird was tackled in bounds at the EKU 45 with :11 remaining and the Racers called their final timeout of the half.

The call rang out on the MSU sideline to send in the field goal team.

Ready or not, Hickert trotted onto the field and was presented with the biggest kick of his career, from 62-yards.

Before Hickert to take a swing, teammates Charlie Wiles and David Morris had to perform their part in Racer history with the snap and the hold.

"The first thing about a long field goal is that the hold has to get on the ground quick," Hickert stated. "So, it's got to be a perfect snap because your trajectory is going to be lower. A guy can get his hand up in the air and block it."

The history book shows that this trio worked their craft to perfection on a sunny day in October.

"The ball should be where the kicker wants it, because they can be a little cantankerous sometimes," David Morris remembered. "Paul wanted the ball placed in a certain way and that's what I tried to do. It was a perfect snap and I got the ball down quick. It just sounded like a gun going off when he hit it. I looked up and I said, 'you know, this thing's got a chance.' It was an incredible kick and an incredible moment for Murray State that I'll never forget."

"One thing for sure is that the snapper never gets mentioned unless you screw it up," Wiles joked. "Paul Hickert was a talent, he had so much ability and a strong leg. Back then, we had to beat both Eastern Kentucky and Middle Tennessee to win the OVC, you knew at the start, you had to do that. We had to have that kick to win the championship and Paul punched it through there from 62 yards."

Imagine what suspense hanging in the air as Hickert's kick sailed toward the north goal post at Stewart Stadium.

"I hit it good," Hickert remembered. "But the ball was actually outside of the right post, and it kept going back and forth.. At the last second it curved in everybody just went bananas. The thing that was so great about that, was the energy that happened on the field, we took to the locker room and brought it when we came out for the second half. But for some reason in that moment, I didn't care anything about the distance of the field goal. We were down 9-0 and getting it handed to us by EKU. I had a chance to kick a long field goal, but we needed three points badly."

MSU's Sports Information Director, Craig Bohnert, played his part in Hickert's big kick.

"The paint on the turf was pretty faded back then, and we weren't really sure about the placement because the ball had to be in contact with the hash mark," Bohnert stated about the determination of officially calling it a 62-yard attempt. "I called it a 62-yarder. Going back to the game film later, it was close enough to count in my mind. I called ESPN, thinking we might make it on air. However, I think the same day there were like two other 62-yarders nationally and that kind of blew me away because I thought, man, we've got a great line for SportsCenter."

Hickert's kick was one dominoe that fell the right way as Frank Beamer's Racers went on to win the OVC title. The Racers (7-4-1 overall) won the OVC with wins over EKU, Tennessee Tech, Morehead State, Youngstown State. Middle Tennessee and Austin Peay. MSU was 6-1 in league play with their only loss coming at Akron.

Paul Hickert's 62-yard kick is the Murray State and Ohio Valley Conference record as it bested the 58-yard field goal by MSU's Stan Watts against Western Kentucky in 1958.

Hickert's kick had a share of the FCS record for a year. The record went to 63 yards in 1987 by Scott Roper of Arkansas State in a game against North Texas and Tim Foley of Georgia Southern against James Madison. The 63-yard field goal club gained its third member in 2000 when South Florida's Bill Gramatica booted one against Austin Peay.

In all of college football, the record is still held by Sweede Ove Johansson when he booted a 69-yard field goal for East Texas State against Abilene Christian on the NAIA level in 1976.

Visit Racers Podcast Central to find both podcasts and the Racer Report LIVE Podcast that begins the week of the Racers' 100^th season opener at Missouri (Aug. 29) which is the first game for Murray State head coach Jody Wright. Racers Podcast Central can be found wherever you find podcasts, but especially GoRacers.com, iTunes and Spotify.

Follow the Racers on Twitter (@MSURacers), Instagram (@RacersAthletics) and Facebook to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Murray State Athletics. Follow Murray State Football on Twitter and Instagram (@RacersFootball).

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100 Years of Football – Paul Hickert's 1986 Record Field Goal

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