Jim Bakken

Bakken was born on November 2, 1940, in Madison, Wisconsin. He was All-State in baseball and basketball as well at Madison West. == College football ==

He went on to play three seasons of varsity football at the University of Wisconsin (1959–61). He played football under coach Milt Bruhn. As a sophomore, Bakken shared the quarterback position with Dale Hackbart, and was also the team's kicker and punter. In 1960, he became the first punter in school history to average more than 40 yards per punt (41.9); and was seventh in the nation in punting average. In 1961, he was team co-captain. He led the Big Ten in punting average in 1960 and 1961. ==Professional career==

Bakken was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the seventh round of the 1962 NFL draft. He did not make the team and was instead picked up by the St. Louis Cardinals, where he played his entire NFL career. Only Larry Fitzgerald has played more games for the Cardinals. In the first fifty seasons of the NFL (1920-1969), for all field goal kickers with 200 field goal attempts, Bakken ranked 1st at 61.5, having made 134 of his 218 attempts. At the time he retired, his 1,380 points were second-most in AFL/NFL history (behind only George Blanda). When he retired, his 282 field goals were third most in NFL history (behind only George Blanda and Jim Turner). He cracked the 100-point threshold in a season three times (1964, 1967, and 1973), making him one of fifteen players with three 100-point seasons at the time. He was selected to kick in the Pro Bowl four times, which at the time made him one of three primary kickers to make the Pro Bowl four times. He led the NFL in made field goals in 1964 and 1967, as well as in scoring in 1967 (117 points). Bakken is the AFL/NFL's 39th leading scorer (as of 2025). He was selected first-team All-Conference in 1975 and 1976, and first-team All-Pro by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), Pro Football Writers, and Pro Football Weekly both of those years. In 1976, he was selected as the Cardinals' MVP. That single-game field goal record was broken by Rob Bironas with eight in a game in 2007. His nickname with the Cardinals was "Bags". == Honors ==

Bakken was named by the voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame to the Professional Football 1960s All Decade Team, which included both NFL and American Football League players. The voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame also selected Bakken to the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team, second-team, one vote behind Garo Yepremian. == Personal life ==

In 1985 Baaken was appointed athletic director at St. Louis University and was employed there for several years. In 1990, Bakken was hired as director of external relations at the University of Wisconsin's athletic department. Bakken was the Wisconsin State Masters Handball Doubles Champion seven times (1991-1997). ==Career regular season statistics==

Career high/best bolded ==See also==