Mick Luckhurst

Mick Luckhurst
Mick Luckhurst
Date of birth: March 31, 1958 (1958-03-31) (age 53)
Place of birth: Redbourn, England
Career information
Position(s): Placekicker
College: California
NFL Draft: 1981 / Round:
Organizations
 As player:
1981-1987 Atlanta Falcons
Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com

Michael Christopher Wilbert "Mick" Luckhurst (born March 31, 1958, in Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England) is a retired American football placekicker. He made his professional debut with the Atlanta Falcons in 1981, remaining with the team until the 1987 NFL season.[1] Mick was also the face of Channel Four's American Football coverage from 1988 through until 1992. In part he quit football in order to take the job with Channel 4. In his own words he "did not come cheap!". He also spent a lot of time speaking for the players during the 1987 players strike and felt that his time had come in the NFL despite the fact he probably had many NFL seasons left in him. He spent the first year of broadcasting working with fellow NFL Brit kicker John Smith who was working as the rovering reporter, who had worked in this role since 1984 with Nicky Horne and Frank Gifford. Smith left Channel 4 following the 1988 season and Luckhurst began working with Gary Imlach who was in the rovering reporters role until he finally took over the lead role for Channel 4 following Luckhurst's retirement after the 1992 season. In 1990, Mick was appointed Honorary President of the now defunct Blackpool Falcons, when they were twinned with the Atlanta Falcons, as part of the NFL Trust programme.

Luckhurst is perhaps best known for responding to the former New York Jets' defensive lineman Mark Gastineau's "sack dance" by tauntingly imitating Gastineau's actions after kicking a go-ahead field goal for the Falcons in a 1983 game against the Jets. Gastineau had done the "dance" earlier in the game after sacking Falcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski.

After living in Atlanta for many years and running a prize indemnity insurance company American Hole In One., Mick moved to Santa Barbara, California where he still runs the business in the comfort of his wife and three children.

References