Wade Traynham
{{Short description|American football player (born 1942)}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Wade Traynham
| image =
| caption =
| image_size =
| number = 7
| position = Kicker
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1942|2|3}}
| birth_place = Hampton, Virginia, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 2
| weight_lbs = 218
| high_school = Hampton
| college = Frederick
| undraftedyear =
| pastteams =
- Atlanta Falcons ({{NFL Year|1966}}–{{NFL Year|1967}})
| pfr = T/TrayWa20
}}
Wade Lanier Traynham (born February 3, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was a kicker for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Frederick College,{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TrayWa20.htm|title=Wade Traynham NFL & AFL Football Statistics |publisher=pro-football-reference.com|accessdate=2015-09-29}} but was "dismissed from the student body at Frederick College for disciplinary reasons."{{cite web | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19640114&id=nXosAAAAIBAJ&sjid=U8wEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2771,1693797 | title=Herald-Journal - Google News Archive Search }}
NFL career
Wade Traynham was a kicker for the Atlanta Falcons in 1966 and 1967 after previously having kicked for the semi-pro Savannah Chiefs.{{Cite web |title=Packers' kicking woes: 1968 to 1971 |url=https://www.packers.com/news/packers-kicking-woes-1968-to-1971-20296521 |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=www.packers.com |language=en-US}} He appeared in only 2 games in 1966, but was the Falcons' regular kicker in 1967. Although he was 0 for 1 on field goal attempts in 1966, and only 7 for 18 in 1967, he made all 24 extra point attempts in his career (22 of them in 1967).
The Falcons traded Traynham to the Green Bay Packers on July 30, 1968 in exchange for offensive lineman Steve Duich, who the Packers had taken in the 5th round of the 1968 draft. But after going 1 for 4 on field goal attempts in three preseason games, the Packers cut Traynham on August 26, 1968.Christl, ibid.
The whiff that wasn't
Legend has it that Traynham was kicking off in the Falcons' very first pre-season game, and completely whiffed on the kick—a harbinger of tough days ahead for the Falcons. Traynham debunked the story in a 1999 interview. Traynham said the play in question was not in the Falcons' preseason debut, but in their second regular season game, against the Philadelphia Eagles. He said, "I never whiffed the ball, I just slipped planting my foot...But I got a little piece of the ball as I went down. It wound up being a perfect onside kick and we got it back."{{Cite web |date=1999-01-30 |title=EX-FALCON KICKER SETS RECORD STRAIGHT |url=https://www.dailypress.com/1999/01/30/ex-falcon-kicker-sets-record-straight/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Daily Press |language=en-US}} However, Traynham strained a thigh muscle on the play and did not kick the rest of the season.Matt Winkeljohn, Tales from the Atlanta Falcons Sideline: A Collection of the Greatest Falcons Stories Ever Told, chapter 5. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2012.
Post-NFL life
Traynham coached football from 1981-1984 for Phoebus High School in his home town of Hampton, Virginia.Four Seasons Football, "Phoebus". November 30, 2019. Available online: http://fourseasonsfootball.com/Website/Phoebus.htm Retrieved June 4, 2020. He was later softball coach at the school.Wood, ibid.
References
{{reflist}}
{{1966 Atlanta Falcons}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Traynham, Wade}}
Category:American football placekickers
Category:Atlanta Falcons players
Category:Frederick Lions athletes
Category:Players of American football from Hampton, Virginia