Roger Dale Hatcher (born April 5, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was a punter in the National Football League (NFL).
Hatcher was born and raised in Cheraw, South Carolina and played scholastically at Cheraw High School.[1] He played college football for the Clemson Tigers,[2] where, as a senior, he was honored by Gannett News Service as a first-team All-American.[3]
Hatcher was selected in the third round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams.[4] He had an outstanding rookie season, averaging 43.2 yards per punt and being selected to the Pro Bowl, as well as Associated Press first-team All-Pro.[5] He spent five more seasons with the Rams, and finished his career with the Miami Dolphins in 1993.[5]
Hatcher's blocked punt decided the first overtime regular-season NFL game to be decided by a safety. On November 5, 1989, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Hatcher helped end the game as he tried to punt, only to have it blocked by Minnesota Vikings linebacker Mike Merriweather to give the Vikings a 23–21 win over the Rams. Teammate Jim Everett threw for the only three touchdowns of the game for the Rams as the Vikings' only other points were Rich Karlis' record-tying seven field goals.
After his professional football career ended, Hatcher took a job working at Freightliner Custom Chassis in Gaffney, South Carolina.
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Punting | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Punts | Yds | Net Yds | Lng | Avg | Net Avg | Blk | Ins20 | TB | ||
| 1985 | RAM | 16 | 87 | 3,761 | 3,344 | 67 | 43.2 | 38.0 | 1 | 31 | 6 |
| 1986 | RAM | 16 | 97 | 3,740 | 3,224 | 57 | 38.6 | 32.9 | 1 | 26 | 5 |
| 1987 | RAM | 15 | 76 | 3,140 | 2,743 | 62 | 41.3 | 35.6 | 1 | 20 | 4 |
| 1988 | RAM | 7 | 36 | 1,424 | 1,202 | 54 | 39.6 | 33.4 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| 1989 | RAM | 16 | 73 | 2,834 | 2,379 | 54 | 38.8 | 32.1 | 1 | 15 | 7 |
| 1991 | RAM | 13 | 63 | 2,403 | 2,072 | 52 | 38.1 | 32.9 | 0 | 16 | 5 |
| 1993 | MIA | 16 | 58 | 2,304 | 1,865 | 56 | 39.7 | 32.2 | 0 | 13 | 4 |
| Career | 99 | 490 | 19,606 | 16,829 | 67 | 40.0 | 34.1 | 4 | 134 | 32 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | Punting | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Punts | Yds | Net Yds | Lng | Avg | Net Avg | Blk | Ins20 | TB | ||
| 1985 | RAM | 2 | 18 | 716 | 665 | 55 | 39.8 | 36.9 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 1986 | RAM | 1 | 3 | 115 | 107 | 42 | 38.3 | 35.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | RAM | 1 | 5 | 241 | 226 | 63 | 48.2 | 45.2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1989 | RAM | 3 | 18 | 600 | 553 | 47 | 33.3 | 30.7 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| Career | 7 | 44 | 1,672 | 1,551 | 63 | 38.0 | 35.3 | 0 | 14 | 2 | |
References
- ^ "Dale Hatcher Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ "Dale Hatcher Stats". NFL.com. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ Joel S. Buchsbaum (December 2, 1984). "Flutie, Byars lead Gannett All-Americans". The Journal-News (White Plains, NY). p. D11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1985 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
- ^ a b "Dale Hatcher Stats". Pro Football Archives. Archived from the original on October 11, 2023. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
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