#5 - Bjorn Nittmo

1998: Signed by the Storm on May 5 to replace Rich Fall...Ended the year with single-season franchise records for extra points (84) and total points by a kicker (123)...In his Week Two debut against Nashville (5/9), he made seven of seven PATs and one of two field goals, but only hit the net twice on eight full kickoffs...Against Houston (5/16), he connected on eight of eight extra points and hit the net on seven of nine kickoffs...Set a franchise record at Florida (5/23) by hitting three field goals, from 18, 42 and 37 yards...Made all five extra point attempts...Reached the net on five of eight kickoffs against the Bobcats...At New Jersey (5/30), he tied his own franchise record by connecting on three field goals, from 40, 27 and 36 yards...Set a club record for points by a kicker with 19...The 19 points were also the second highest for a kicker in league history, bettered only by Kenny Stucker's 21 points for Milwaukee at Cleveland in 1994... Posted another team single-game mark by hitting ten extra points...Against New York (6/6), Nittmo saw his string of 30 straight made PATs end as the lefty hooked it off the right rebound net...He recovered to make six of eight extra points and one of two field goals, hitting from 20 yards and missing from an impossible 60 yards...Suffered a groin injury while making a tackle on the game's first kickoff...Perhaps because of the injury, he struggled throughout the next game at Orlando (6/12), making one of three field goal attempts, three of five extra points and only hitting the net on two of seven kickoffs...Against Albany (6/20), he hit six of eight extra points and connected on a 40-yard field goal with 55 seconds left in the game...Had a solid outing in the return match with the Predators (6/27), hitting five of six extra points and one of two field goals...His field goal of 38 yards came on the last play of the first half, giving the Storm a 22-17 lead heading into the dressing room...Fully rebounded from a month-long slump at Houston (7/2), hitting all of his extra points for the first time since the Week Five win at New Jersey...Missed his only field goal attempt, but that miss came from an impossible 64-yard distance...Had an excellent afternoon against Florida (7/12), converting all eight extra points, making a 22-yard field goal and hitting the net on all but two of his kickoffs...At Nashville, he hit the net on all of his kickoffs but one...Made all five extra points he attempted...Went 0-for-4 on field goals, but two of the attempts were beyond 50 yards and none were closer than 35...Broke the Storm's single-season record for points by a kicker against Iowa (7/25); the old mark was 111 by Jorge Cimadevilla in 1996...Hit nine of ten extra points...Hit the rebound or soft netting on all but one kickoff...In the season finale at Grand Rapids (8/1), he connected on four of five extra points and hit a 28-yard field goal...Hit the net on eight of nine kickoffs...Against San Jose (8/8), he hit a 44-yard field goal to close the first half...Also connected on six of eight extra point attempts ...Was perfect on seven extra points against New Jersey (8/14)...Made two of two extra points and one of two field goal attempts, a 44-yarder, in ArenaBowl XII (8/23)...Waived by the Storm on April 8, 1999.

Other Pro Experience: Spent the 1989 season with the New York Giants and the 1990 offseason with the Kansas City Chiefs...Kicked for the World League's Montreal Machine in 1991, and for the Shreveport Pirates of the Canadian Football League in 1995... In Shreveport, he proved to be a natural Bjorn kicker, connecting on 76 of 96 field goal attempts and scoring a franchise-record total of 312 points in two seasons.

Personal: Probably best remembered nationally for occasionally appearing on Late Night With David Letterman during his time with the Giants...After the 1998 season, he got another taste of show business, being selected for a speaking role in Oliver Stone's film tribute to professional football, On Any Given Sunday.

AFL Statistics

KICKING
                 4-PT  4-PT  3-PT  3-PT  2-PT  2-PT  1-PT  1-PT
Year  Team        FGM   FGA   FGM   FGA   XPM   XPA   XPM   XPA    PTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1993  Cleveland     0     0    18    63     0     0    29    33     83
1998  Tampa Bay     0     0    13    30     0     0    84    93    123
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CAREER TOTALS       0     0    31    93     0     0   113   126    206

Year-by-Year:

AFL Statistics