- Hank Ilesic
Henry "Hank" Ilesic (born
September 7 ,1959 inEdmonton ,Alberta ) is a former all-star punter in theCanadian Football League . He also handled place kicking and kickoffs. He played one season in theNational Football League .Ilesic, at 6 feet 1 inch and 210 pounds, went straight from St. Joseph's High School to the CFL, starring with his hometown
Edmonton Eskimos at age 17 in 1977. His punting was an essential part of the Eskimos' record-setting fiveGrey Cup dynasty. He kicked for Edmonton until joining theToronto Argonauts in 1983, where he won another Grey Cup. He remained there until 1993, then played for theHamilton Tiger-Cats until 1995. Ilesic came out of retirement to punt for theB.C. Lions in 1998, playing only three games. Ilesic signed with the Eskimos again in 2001 and to theOttawa Renegades practice squad in 2005, but did not play in any games.Ilesic also punted in 1989 for the
San Diego Chargers , punting 76 times in 14 games for 3049 yards, averaging 40.1. He signed with theLos Angeles Rams in 1990 but did not play.Ilesic is the CFL's third all-time leading punter in yardage with 91,753 yards. His 8,004 yards in 1986 is the second most for a season in league history. He was on seven Grey Cup winning teams and is eighth all-time in CFL history for regular season games played with 259. His 19 seasons played ranks his tied for fourth all-time. His is also fifth all-time for scoring single points in the regular season with 185, many coming on his exceptionally long kick-offs.
Unlike most modern-day placekickers, Ilesic kicked with the front of his toe and not the side.
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