By Budd Bailey, Buffalo Sports Page Columnist
Pete Gogolak, Bills
Taken in Round 12 in 1964
Other pick in that round: The name of a Hall of Famer pops up at the start of the round: free safety Paul Krause. The problem is that Denver drafted him there but didn’t sign him. Krause went on to a fabulous career with the Redskins.
The details: You can’t write the history of pro football without mentioning Gogolak, an unlikely candidate for immortality since he came to this country from Hungary and knew nothing about the sport. Gogolak took up kicking after arrival, and kicked the football just like a soccer ball – from the side. He was the first to do that, and started a revolution among kickers. In 20 years, almost everyone from the pros was a soccer-style kicker. Gogolak lasted two years in Buffalo (both were championship seasons) before jumping to the NFL’s New York Giants after his first contract expired. New York’s action started an all-out war between the NFL and the AFL, which ended with a merger that summer.
Other 92s: Trent Edwards was something of a sleeper as a third-round choice in 2007. He stayed for more than two seasons as a Bill, but was cut right after starting for Buffalo the previous Sunday. Trent was signed by five different teams after that but never received much playing time. Borgen was a 2015 draft choice by the Sabres who stayed in college (St. Cloud State) for three years before turning pro. He still has a chance to make an impact here.
(Follow Budd on Twitter @WDX2BB)
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