Steve Christie

Steve Christie

No. 2, 8
Position:	Placekicker
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1967-11-13) November 13, 1967
Place of birth:	Hamilton, Ontario
Career information
College:	William & Mary
Undrafted:	1990
Career history
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1990–1991) Buffalo Bills (1992–2000) San Diego Chargers (2001–2003) Jacksonville Jaguars (2004)* New York Giants (2004) Toronto Argonauts (2007) *Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
All-Pro selection (1990) Buffalo Sports Hall Fame Oakville, Ontario Sports Hall of Fame Inductee to The College of William & Mary Sports Hall of Fame
Career NFL statistics
FG Att: 431 FGM: 336 Pct: 78.0 Points scored: 1,476 Player stats at NFL.com

Geoffrey Stephen Christie (born November 13, 1967) is a former Canadian American football placekicker in the National Football League, who, as a member of the Buffalo Bills, became known for his ability to kick clutch field goals, even in poor weather.

Professional career

Early career

Christie, who grew up in Oakville, Ontario, graduated from The College of William and Mary and made his NFL debut with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1990. He made all 27 extra point attempts and 23 of 27 field goal tries in his rookie season. He would end up playing two years in Tampa.

Buffalo Bills

From 1992 to 2000, Christie kicked for Buffalo. With the Bills, he would become one of the game's top kickers. He was a key contributor in the Bills comeback win against the Houston Oilers, which occurred after the Bills trailed 35-3 early in the third quarter in a playoff game after the 1992 season. Christie kicked a successful onside kick, which he recovered himself (becoming the first placekicker ever to do so in an NFL playoff game), and also kicked the game winning 32-yard field goal in overtime. His kicking shoe from that game is displayed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. He then went on to kick five field goals in the Bills 29-10 win over the Miami Dolphins in the AFC championship game, helping Buffalo get to their third consecutive Super Bowl.

In 1993, Christie set a Bills record by kicking a 59-yard field goal in a regular season game. It was only four yards short of the all-time NFL record.

In Super Bowl XXVIII, Christie set a Super Bowl record by kicking a 54-yard field goal. It is currently the longest field goal ever made in Super Bowl History.

In the 2000 season, Christie was an instrumental part of the Bills' eight victories. In week 1 vs. the Tennessee Titans, Christie went 3 for 4 on field goal attempts (41, 42, & 33 yards). The 33-yard field goal came with just :35 to play, giving the Bills a win over the Titans, who had knocked them out of the playoffs the year before. In week 7 vs. the San Diego Chargers, Christie kicked a 29-yard field goal with just :11 seconds to play, forcing the game into overtime. Christie then nailed a 46-yard field goal in overtime, giving the Bills their third victory of the season. In week 9 vs. the New York Jets, Christie went 3 for 4 on field goal attempts (20, 29, & 34 yards). The 34-yard field goal came with just :03 seconds to play, lifting the Bills to 4-4 on the season. In week 10 vs. the New England Patriots, Christie kicked a 48-yard field goal in rainy conditions with just seconds to play, forcing the game into overtime. Christie then nailed a 32-yard field goal in overtime, sending the Bills to 5-4 on the season.

Christie has nine field goals in overtime to his credit, an NFL record he shares with Jason Elam and former NFL placekicker Jim Breech.

Later career

From 2001 to 2003 he played for the San Diego Chargers, who, with the hire of former Bills GM John Butler, acquired several former Buffalo players.

When rookie Nate Kaeding was acquired, Christie's services were no longer needed and he was released.

In the 2004 offseason, Christie, was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars to put some pressure on struggling rookie Josh Scobee. Christie did not make the final roster.

Christie spent most of the 2004 NFL season with the New York Giants.

In his 15 NFL seasons, Christie converted 336 of 431 (77%) field goals and 468 of 473 (98%) extra points, giving him a total of 1,476 points.

On July 2, 2007, Christie joined the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League by signing a practice roster agreement with the team. On the signing, Christie pointed out that his reason for joining the team was "basically doing Michael (Clemons) a favour" as a former college teammate and that it was tentatively for one game. Christie was activated to play on July 7, 2007 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats where he went 2-4 on field goal attempts. Three days later, Christie was cut by the team.

On March 5, 2008 Christie retired from professional football. The Buffalo Bills officially signed Christie to a one-day contract, thus to retire as a Buffalo Bill. He currently resides in St. Petersburg, Florida, with his wife Kelly and daughters Clare and Lexy, and he also enjoys his home in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada several months a year.

Career regular season statistics

Career high/best bolded

Regular season statistics
Season	Team (record)	G	FGM	FGA	%	<20	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	LNG	BLK	XPM	XPA	%	PTS
1990	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6–10)	16	23	27	85.2	0–0	7–7	10–13	4–5	2–2	54	0	27	27	100.0	96
1991	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3–13)	16	15	20	75.0	1–1	4–4	7–11	3–4	0–0	49	1	22	22	100.0	67
1992	Buffalo Bills (11–5)	16	24	30	80.0	2–2	9–9	3–6	7–8	3–5	54	2	43	44	97.7	115
1993	Buffalo Bills (12–4)	16	23	32	71.9	0–0	4–5	12–12	6–9	1–6	59	0	36	37	97.3	105
1994	Buffalo Bills (7–9)	16	24	28	85.7	0–0	11–12	6–7	5–7	2–2	52	1	38	38	100.0	110
1995	Buffalo Bills (10–6)	16	31	40	77.5	0–0	13–14	13–15	3–6	2–5	51	1	33	35	94.3	126
1996	Buffalo Bills (10–6)	16	24	29	82.8	0–0	5–6	12–14	7–8	0–1	48	0	33	33	100.0	105
1997	Buffalo Bills (6–10)	16	24	30	80.0	0–0	6–6	9–12	8–10	1–2	55	1	21	21	100.0	93
1998	Buffalo Bills (10–6)	16	33	41	80.5	1–1	10–12	12–14	9–11	1–3	52	0	41	41	100.0	140
1999	Buffalo Bills (11–5)	16	25	34	73.5	2–2	10–10	7–10	3–9	3–3	52	0	33	33	100.0	108
2000	Buffalo Bills (8–8)	16	26	35	74.3	2–2	11–13	4–6	9–13	0–1	48	4	31	31	100.0	109
2001	San Diego Chargers (5–11)	5	9	11	81.8	0–0	4–4	3–5	2–2	0–0	41	0	6	6	100.0	33
2002	San Diego Chargers (8–8)	16	18	26	69.2	0–0	8–8	5–6	4–9	1–3	53	4	35	36	97.2	89
2003	San Diego Chargers (4–12)	16	15	20	75.0	1–1	6–6	3–3	3–7	2–3	51	2	36	36	100.0	81
2004	New York Giants (6–10)	16	22	28	78.6	1–1	8–8	6–8	4–7	3–4	53	2	33	33	100.0	99
Career (15 seasons)		229	336	431	78.0	10–10	116–124	112–142	77–115	21–40	59	18	468	473	98.9	1476

After football

Christie also served as an analyst for The Score Television Network. He also did color commentary for the University at Buffalo Bulls football team on WECK radio.

Christie is currently working as a certified CFL Agent. Christie is also currently President of Relative Goal Sports Management LLC working with Billy Conaty of Conaty Sports Management LLC, along with being a licensed real estate sales associate with Coldwell Banker St. Pete Beach.

Christie had a 4-inch (10 cm) cancerous tumor removed from his rectum in 2014.

External links

• Toronto Argonauts profile
• ESPN.com profile
• Q & A with Steve Christie