Tim Mazzetti
Encyclopedia
Timothy Alan Mazzetti is a former National Football League
placekicker
from 1978
-1980
) for the Atlanta Falcons
. He later played with the Boston/New Orleans/Portland Breakers
of the United States Football League
.
Tim Mazzetti was at first glance an unlikely candidate to be a professional football player. His upbringing was a learned one in São Paulo, Brazil. Mazzetti moved to São Paulo when he was 2 years old and lived there until he was 17 before leaving for the University of Pennsylvania
, when he was accepted to the prestigious Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia, PA. While in Brazil, Mazzetti played soccer. During the summer before his sophomore year at Penn, a fellow ATO fraternity brother introduced him to the football
team. Mazzetti ended up sharing the kicking duties his sophomore year and then taking on the duties for the Penn Quakers fulltime in his junior year. During his junior and senior years, Mazzetti set several school records, including for longest FG (54 yards, twice), as well as kicking several game-winning FGs. Mazzetti also was an All-Ivy League
player for Penn's soccer team, but decided to leave the team in his senior year to concentrate full-time on kicking footballs.
As a result of his achievements on the gridiron at Penn, Mazzetti received an invitation to try-out for the New England Patriots
in training camp in the summer of 1977 after his senior year, but after failing the physical as a result of a hernia, he lost the opportunity to play during the 1977 NFL season.
After the successful hernia operation in November 1977, Mazzetti got back in shape by returning to São Paulo, Brazil and working out with a semi-professional soccer team in the winter of 1977-78 and returned to Philadelphia in time to attend the open tryouts for the Philadelphia Eagles
and the New York Jets
. He was invited to go to training camps for both teams, and decided on the Eagles. Mazzetti made it through the entire training camp that summer of 1978, but was released in the last cut when head coach Dick Vermeil
decided to go with his veteran, Nick Mike-Mayer
. Mazzetti then was invited to single-day tryouts once the 1978 season began for the Dallas Cowboys
and the New Orleans Saints
. Still unsigned, Mazzetti settled for a $50 a night job as a bartender at Smokey Joe's near the University of Pennsylvania campus. Six games into the season, Mazzetti signed with the Atlanta Falcons
. Mazzetti had a cinderella season that first year with Atlanta, making 13 of 16 FGs, including a team record 11 in a row, as well as kicking 4 game-winning FGs. In a memorable Monday-night game against the division leading Los Angeles Rams on October 30, 1978, Tim Mazzetti went 5-for-5 and the Falcons won 15 - 7. During the game, Howard Cosell exclaimed, "This Philadelphia bartender won't need to mix scotch-and-waters any longer." As a result of Mazzetti's heroics, the Falcons made it into the playoffs for the first time ever in the franchise's history as a wild-card, and in their first-ever post-season game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Mazzetti's former employer, he provided the point differential in a 14-13 game. Mazzetti remained with the Falcons through the 1980 season, but was cut by the team near the end of its 1981 training camp.
When Mazzetti decided not to play for the Cleveland Brown
s after they picked him up off the waiver wire in 1981, he joined the ABC
television affiliate WSB-TV in Atlanta as the sports reporter through 1982, when he decided to come out of "retirement" and signed on as a free agent with the Boston Breakers
in 1983. Mazzetti played all three seasons with the Breakers, where he was selected to the All-USFL team his first year and also became the subject of a pro football trivia question in the process - the first player to score a point in the USFL, on a 30-yard field goal in the Breakers inaugural game against the Tampa Bay Bandits
. Mazzetti moved along with the Breakers to New Orleans, then to Portland, wrapping up his football days there in 1985.
Learning the business during off-seasons beginning in 1984, Mazzetti's interests eventually evolved into commercial real estate finance, joining Midland Loan Services in Kansas City, MO in 1994 and eventually becoming its Executive Vice President. There Mazzetti was instrumental in growing Midland into a major player in the industry. Then in September, 2006 Mazzetti joined Cohen Financial as a partner and Executive Vice President. Cohen Financial is a leading capital services provider to the commercial real estate finance industry based in Chicago
.
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
placekicker
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
from 1978
1978 NFL season
The 1978 NFL season was the 59th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season from a 14-game schedule to 16. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference...
-1980
1980 NFL season
The 1980 NFL season was the 61st regular season of the National Football League.After the league declined to approve the proposed move by the Raiders from Oakland, California to Los Angeles, the team along with the Los Angeles Coliseum sued the NFL for violating antitrust laws...
) for the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He later played with the Boston/New Orleans/Portland Breakers
Portland Breakers
The Portland Breakers were a professional American Football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid 1980s. Before moving to Portland, Oregon, the franchise was previously in Boston, Massachusetts as the Boston Breakers and New Orleans, Louisiana as the New Orleans...
of the United States Football League
United States Football League
The United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...
.
Tim Mazzetti was at first glance an unlikely candidate to be a professional football player. His upbringing was a learned one in São Paulo, Brazil. Mazzetti moved to São Paulo when he was 2 years old and lived there until he was 17 before leaving for the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, when he was accepted to the prestigious Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia, PA. While in Brazil, Mazzetti played soccer. During the summer before his sophomore year at Penn, a fellow ATO fraternity brother introduced him to the football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team. Mazzetti ended up sharing the kicking duties his sophomore year and then taking on the duties for the Penn Quakers fulltime in his junior year. During his junior and senior years, Mazzetti set several school records, including for longest FG (54 yards, twice), as well as kicking several game-winning FGs. Mazzetti also was an All-Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
player for Penn's soccer team, but decided to leave the team in his senior year to concentrate full-time on kicking footballs.
As a result of his achievements on the gridiron at Penn, Mazzetti received an invitation to try-out for the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
in training camp in the summer of 1977 after his senior year, but after failing the physical as a result of a hernia, he lost the opportunity to play during the 1977 NFL season.
After the successful hernia operation in November 1977, Mazzetti got back in shape by returning to São Paulo, Brazil and working out with a semi-professional soccer team in the winter of 1977-78 and returned to Philadelphia in time to attend the open tryouts for the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He was invited to go to training camps for both teams, and decided on the Eagles. Mazzetti made it through the entire training camp that summer of 1978, but was released in the last cut when head coach Dick Vermeil
Dick Vermeil
Richard Albert "Dick" Vermeil is a former American head coach for the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles , St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs...
decided to go with his veteran, Nick Mike-Mayer
Nick Mike-Mayer
Nicholas "Nick" Mike-Mayer is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League from 1973-1982 for the Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Buffalo Bills. Nick made the Pro Bowl in his rookie year. He later played with the San Antonio Gunslingers of the United States...
. Mazzetti then was invited to single-day tryouts once the 1978 season began for the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
and the New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
. Still unsigned, Mazzetti settled for a $50 a night job as a bartender at Smokey Joe's near the University of Pennsylvania campus. Six games into the season, Mazzetti signed with the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Mazzetti had a cinderella season that first year with Atlanta, making 13 of 16 FGs, including a team record 11 in a row, as well as kicking 4 game-winning FGs. In a memorable Monday-night game against the division leading Los Angeles Rams on October 30, 1978, Tim Mazzetti went 5-for-5 and the Falcons won 15 - 7. During the game, Howard Cosell exclaimed, "This Philadelphia bartender won't need to mix scotch-and-waters any longer." As a result of Mazzetti's heroics, the Falcons made it into the playoffs for the first time ever in the franchise's history as a wild-card, and in their first-ever post-season game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Mazzetti's former employer, he provided the point differential in a 14-13 game. Mazzetti remained with the Falcons through the 1980 season, but was cut by the team near the end of its 1981 training camp.
When Mazzetti decided not to play for the Cleveland Brown
Cleveland Brown
Cleveland Orenthal Brown is a character from the animated television series Family Guy, and its spin-off series The Cleveland Show. He is voiced by Mike Henry. In the first seven seasons of Family Guy, Brown is a frequently recurring character. As one of Peter Griffin's neighbors and friends,...
s after they picked him up off the waiver wire in 1981, he joined the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television affiliate WSB-TV in Atlanta as the sports reporter through 1982, when he decided to come out of "retirement" and signed on as a free agent with the Boston Breakers
Portland Breakers
The Portland Breakers were a professional American Football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid 1980s. Before moving to Portland, Oregon, the franchise was previously in Boston, Massachusetts as the Boston Breakers and New Orleans, Louisiana as the New Orleans...
in 1983. Mazzetti played all three seasons with the Breakers, where he was selected to the All-USFL team his first year and also became the subject of a pro football trivia question in the process - the first player to score a point in the USFL, on a 30-yard field goal in the Breakers inaugural game against the Tampa Bay Bandits
Tampa Bay Bandits
The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. They were members of the United States Football League . They were a charter member of the USFL and folded along with the league after the 1985 season....
. Mazzetti moved along with the Breakers to New Orleans, then to Portland, wrapping up his football days there in 1985.
Learning the business during off-seasons beginning in 1984, Mazzetti's interests eventually evolved into commercial real estate finance, joining Midland Loan Services in Kansas City, MO in 1994 and eventually becoming its Executive Vice President. There Mazzetti was instrumental in growing Midland into a major player in the industry. Then in September, 2006 Mazzetti joined Cohen Financial as a partner and Executive Vice President. Cohen Financial is a leading capital services provider to the commercial real estate finance industry based in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.