Tom Wittum
Encyclopedia
Tom Wittum was an American football
player. He had a 5-year career in the National Football League
from 1973 to 1977 as a punter
. He played in two Pro Bowls as a member of the San Francisco 49ers
.
A native of Berwyn, Wittum grew up in Round Lake. A fifth-round pick of the Chicago White Sox in 1968, Wittum instead chose to attend Northern Illinois University
. He was a three-year letter-winner in football for the Huskies from 1969–71, and lettered four years (1969–72) as a third baseman for the NIU baseball team. He was inducted as an individual into the NIU Hall of Fame in 1987 and was a member of the Huskies' 1972 NCAA baseball team enshrined in 2008.
Wittum left Northern Illinois with 10 kicking records, including the school's career, single-season and single-game records for punts, punting yards and punting average. For his career, he averaged 40.39 yards on 228 punts for 9,210 total yards, numbers which as of January 2010 rank third, fourth and third, respectively, in the Huskie record book. As of January 2010 he still holds the top three single season totals for punts and punting yards with 78 for 3,129.
Wittum ranks eighth all-time at NIU in points by a kicker with 113 on 21 field goals and 50 PATs, all NIU records at the time. His career field-goal totals of 21 made on 37 attempts, also school records at the time, are the eighth and seventh-most in school history. He made 50 of 55 extra-point attempts from 1969–71 and is eighth in the Huskie record book in those categories.
He shares the Pro Bowl record for longest punt with Darren Bennett (64 yards). He also currently holds the #2 spot for most punts in a Pro Bowl game, with 9.
He retired from the NFL after a serious car accident left him with several broken bones in 1978. After he retired, Wittum taught driver's education classes at Grayslake Central High School
in Grayslake, Illinois
. He died of cancer on January 22, 2010.
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...
player. He had a 5-year career in the National Football League
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...
from 1973 to 1977 as a punter
Punter (football position)
A punter in American or Canadian football is a special teams player who receives the snapped ball directly from the line of scrimmage and then punts the football to the opposing team so as to limit any field position advantage. This generally happens on a fourth down in American football and a...
. He played in two Pro Bowls as a member of the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
.
A native of Berwyn, Wittum grew up in Round Lake. A fifth-round pick of the Chicago White Sox in 1968, Wittum instead chose to attend Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...
. He was a three-year letter-winner in football for the Huskies from 1969–71, and lettered four years (1969–72) as a third baseman for the NIU baseball team. He was inducted as an individual into the NIU Hall of Fame in 1987 and was a member of the Huskies' 1972 NCAA baseball team enshrined in 2008.
Wittum left Northern Illinois with 10 kicking records, including the school's career, single-season and single-game records for punts, punting yards and punting average. For his career, he averaged 40.39 yards on 228 punts for 9,210 total yards, numbers which as of January 2010 rank third, fourth and third, respectively, in the Huskie record book. As of January 2010 he still holds the top three single season totals for punts and punting yards with 78 for 3,129.
Wittum ranks eighth all-time at NIU in points by a kicker with 113 on 21 field goals and 50 PATs, all NIU records at the time. His career field-goal totals of 21 made on 37 attempts, also school records at the time, are the eighth and seventh-most in school history. He made 50 of 55 extra-point attempts from 1969–71 and is eighth in the Huskie record book in those categories.
He shares the Pro Bowl record for longest punt with Darren Bennett (64 yards). He also currently holds the #2 spot for most punts in a Pro Bowl game, with 9.
He retired from the NFL after a serious car accident left him with several broken bones in 1978. After he retired, Wittum taught driver's education classes at Grayslake Central High School
Grayslake Central High School
Grayslake Central High School is a high school located in Grayslake, Illinois and is part of Grayslake Community High School District 127.- History :...
in Grayslake, Illinois
Grayslake, Illinois
Grayslake is a village in Lake County in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area, about north of Chicago’s downtown, west of Lake Michigan, and south of the Wisconsin border....
. He died of cancer on January 22, 2010.