John Lee (placekicker)


John Lee is a Korean former American football placekicker. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, where he was a two-time All-American. Lee was selected in the second round of the 1986 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals with the 32nd overall pick. 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.

NCAA records held or tied

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, 1984 UCLA vs. Illinois and 1986 UCLA vs. Iowa. 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 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. He was unable to get adequate distance on his kickoffs, which angered Stallings; as Stallings later put it, "my gosh, his leg." 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.