Ray Wersching was a professional football player who played as a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He was born on August 21, 1951, in Berlin, Germany, and grew up in California. Wersching played college football at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a standout kicker.
Wersching began his NFL career in 1973 when he signed with the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent. He played for the Chargers for four seasons before being traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 1977. Wersching played for the 49ers for nine seasons and was a key member of the team that won Super Bowl XVI in 1982.
During his career, Wersching was known for his accuracy as a kicker. He made 190 of 268 field goal attempts, giving him a career field goal percentage of 70.9%. He also made 373 of 378 extra point attempts, giving him a career extra point percentage of 98.7%.
Wersching was named to the Pro Bowl in 1980 and was a two-time All-Pro selection in 1980 and 1982. He was also named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Year in 1983.
After leaving the 49ers in 1986, Wersching played one season for the Indianapolis Colts before retiring from the NFL in 1988. He finished his career with 1,123 points scored, which ranks him 78th on the NFL's all-time scoring list.
Wersching's career was not without controversy, however. In 1984, he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and was suspended for the first four games of the 1985 season. He was also involved in a lawsuit against the 49ers in 1987, in which he claimed that the team had breached his contract by not paying him a bonus that he was owed.
Despite these issues, Wersching is remembered as one of the most accurate kickers of his era. He was inducted into the San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame in 2009 and remains a beloved figure among 49ers fans.
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