A LOOK BACK AT THE CAREER OF MIKE VANDERJAGT

 

Back in August we ran an article picking out Mike Vanderjagt as one of the best Canadian born NFL player of all-time. Including him in that list was a no-brainer. Truth be known, he’s deserving of more than a couple of paragraphs. That’s why we’re going to have a more in depth look at his career here.

The early years of Mike Vanderjagt

Vanderjagt was born in Ontario’s largest town, Oakville, in March 1970 where he remained for his entire childhood with sport playing a huge role in his upbringing. Despite starring in four different sports – basketball, soccer, track and, of course, football – whilst attending White Oaks secondary school it was clear the one where he truly excelled was the latter.

At 18, Michigan State reached out with the offer of a scholarship. Vanderjagt duly accepted but frustrations at failing to nail down a regular spot as quarterback saw him step back from the top tier of college football.

The beneficiaries were Allan Hancock College who played under the rule of SCFA. Vanderjagt was their QB as well as the punter. His performances were earning him rave reviews too and by 1991 he was back in Division 1 with West Virginia University but only as a punter and placekicker.

A stuttering start to life as a pro

Vanderjagt had already experienced one knock down in his career with his failure at Michigan. He showed he had the mental strength to overcome that and heading into life as a professional would see him met with further challenges. His first year after graduation was spent in the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. A couple of years out of the game followed but his return just saw more rejection with unsuccessful spells with Tampa Bay Storm and the Minnesota Fighting Pike.

Vanderjagt wasn’t going to give up on his dream though. After leaving the Fighting Pike he joined up with the Toronto Argonauts where a two year spell propelled him from a no-hoper to a real prospect. He was central to their back to back Grey Cup wins with his display in the 1996 game enough to earn him the Outstanding Canadian award. Vanderjagt had finally proven himself and his big moment was here.

Belonging in the NFL

A whole decade had passed since Vanderjagt turned up at Michigan State. Now he put pen to paper on a deal with the Indianapolis Colts. What a move it proved too with Vanderjagt putting his name into the history books over the next eight years. His inaugural season, which was 1998, saw him record a perfect year and – although he didn’t win – he was in contention for Rookie of the Year.

His precise kicking was becoming a consistent theme for the Colts and he led the NFL with a points haul of 145 in 1999.

If the 1998 achievement was impressive then what Vanderjagt did in 2003 was even better. The Colts made it through to the post-season and the several time CFL reject didn’t miss a single kick in the campaign, regular season or post. That saw him become the first ever person to achieve such a feat whilst that run also saw him convert 42 attempts in a row – the longest ever streak in NFL history.

A disappointing end to a great career

Although Vanderjagt had a fantastic time in Indianapolis, he saw his time with the Colts come to an end in 2006 with things coming to a disappointing close. They were facing off with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the play-offs and the man with the reliable foot had the chance to take things to overtime. For a change, he missed.

He reacted badly on field and further questions were raised at a later date after an appearance on TV seemed to make light of the miss. Given he was 36 years old as well you’d be forgiven for thinking that most would be kissing goodbye to their NFL futures from such a position. Just like a horse racing its last Kentucky Derby, Vanderjagt was ready for a final round.

He earned another stay in the NFL despite his advancing years with the Dallas Cowboys making him their first big earning point kicker but he failed to recover from early injuries and poor form. Despite remaining with the Cowboys throughout the 2006 season he didn’t pull up any trees and headed back to Toronto to end his career with the Argonauts.

Regardless of the way he finished his career, one thing is for sure. Mike Vanderjagt is a Canadian football legend