Talk:Frank Steketee

A fact from Frank Steketee appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 19 December 2007, and was viewed approximately 5,512 times (disclaimer) (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that, though records from the era are sketchy, press accounts reported that All-American football player Frank Steketee once kicked a 100-yard punt?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2007/December.

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100-yard punt[edit]

With all due respect, "I remember" accounts such as this are almost always the product of someone's hazy memory:

There are press accounts of Steketee once having kicked a record 100-yard punt. According to one account: “I remember the Saturday Evening Post doing a writeup on U. of M. It told how Frank Steketee stood behind his own goal posts and made a punt which was picked up by the opposing team behind their goal posts.”

I don't doubt that he made a long punt, but it's very unlikely that it was 100 yards. Even if the particulars of this account are true, the measurement of a punt starts from the line of scrimmage, which could have been as far up as the 10-yard line to still have him punting from the end zone. It would be nice to see some corroborating primary account. Xuehxolotl (talk) 16:50, 19 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I agree that the account is not fully supported, and believe the language of the article accounts for the possibility that it is legend rather than fact. Nevertheless, it is a part of the Frank Steketee story and legend and is appropriately included, subject to cautionary language. If someone has the means to track down the referenced Saturday Evening Post article, that would be great.Cbl62 (talk) 16:54, 19 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I came here with the same reservations. I think if an opponent picks the ball up in the end zone, that yardage would be included as well. But we are applying modern scoring standards to early-era football (also compromised by unofficial measurements and contemporary accounts) that make this anecdotal and would never be supported. As long as it's stated as it is ("reportedly") then it should be marginally acceptable.—Twigboy (talk) 17:59, 19 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]