Sunday, August 16, 1998

Cunningham worked hard to get where he is

By JEFF WALKER

Staff Writer

WICHITA FALLS -- Dallas Cowboys' place-kicker Richie Cunningham has heard all the Happy Days jokes. He knew growing up that he would be forever linked to the freckled-faced red-head played by Ron Howard.

What Cunningham didn't know is that he would be playing professional football in the National Football League.

"I love baseball, I was a baseball player growing up," Cunningham said. "I never thought that I would be doing what I'm doing now. What happened was it just became an opportunity.

"When I was in high school I played quarterback and I did a little kicking. I never grew much after that so I saw an opportunity (with kicking) to get a scholarship."

Cunningham attended Terrebonne, La., High School and Southwestern Louisiana University, where he walked as a freshmen as a kicker.

"He's not your typical kicker," SWLU head coach Nelson Stokley said. "He's pretty tough mentally. He came in as a walk-on and showed up ready to kick. He got better every year and accomplished what he wanted to achieve because he worked so hard."

Cunningham was limited to kick-off duties his first two years at SWLU. After moving to full-time kicking duties his junior year, he converted 5 of 11 field goals, including a 50-yarder in a 13-12 win over Northern Illinois.

His senior season saw vast improvement. He led the Ragin' Cajuns with 39 points on 8 of 10 field goal attempts and 15 of 15 PAT's. His 49-yard field goal provided the winning margin in a 17-14 win over Western Kentucky, and he hit a career-high three field goals against Tulsa.

When asked what he thinks about when lining up for a game-winning field goal, Cunningham, said it's not what people might think.

"I'm not thinking it's a game-winner," he said. "You go out there and you approach it with confidence. The only thing that's going through my mind is that this thing is going through the up-rights."

Despite having a successful college career, Cunningham still wasn't sure if football was what he wanted to do, though the idea began to gain momentum as the pre-season camps began.

"After college I thought 'Maybe I can do this." Cunningham said. "I never went out and said I'm going to be a professional field goal kicker. It was something that I was very fortunately and blessed to be able to do."

After trying out with Dallas in 1994 and Green Bay in '96 and not making the team, Cunningham refused to give up. After the '96 season, then-Cowboy kicker Chris Boniol -- who beat out Cunningham in '94 -- left for Philadelphia via free agency.

Cunningham went to camp in '97 and made the team as the Cowboys' place-kicker. He knew with so few jobs at his position, he was lucky, along with being good.

"Really, it's a matter of timing and finding the right team," he said. "There are 30 teams out there and there are only 30 spots. It's not like a quarterback where you can make third string and work your way up. The whole thing with kicking is sort of matter-of-fact, you either make it or you miss it and that's the bottom line. I can't go out there and miss and say 'oh, but I hit the ball well.' I say that sometimes but the bottom line is either you made them or you didn't."

Cunningham made more than a few in '97. He finished as the second most accurate kicker in the NFL with a 91.9 percent accuracy rating (34 of 37). He kicked off the season with a new career-long 53-yard field goal against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He converted all 24 extra-point attempts that year, and picked up All-Pro honors from the Associated Press and The Sporting News, as well as being named NFC Kicker of the Year by the NFL Players Association and Special Teams Rookie of the Year by Sports Illustrated.

After that kind of a rookie season, Cunningham has finally realized he would like this to be a career for him. He won't, however, rest on the success of one season.

"I'm too young for that right now," he said. "Each time I get there it's a challenge to improve. You can't sit there and say last year was a great year because it's this year now. My challenge this year is to play football for a long time and to do that, you've got to make sure that you treat the present day like it's your last one."

His collegiate coach thinks that won't be a problem for the second-year pro.

"It certainly looks like it," Stokley said when asked if he thought Cunningham could make football his career.

"He understands how he got there and he's mentally tough. He has a good understanding of what he wants and has the dedication and determination to go get it."

And as for Happy Days? Richie Cunningham is now turning the jokes into good fortune. He and his wife, Kristen, are currently involved with the development of The Happy Days Foundation, which benefits underprivileged children in need of healthcare.

Jeff Walker can be reached at 676-6711 or at sports@abinews.com