High School:  Sacramento

College:  University of California

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* NFL Career:  14 Years (Oakland, Cincinnati)

​* 517 of 539 Extra Points 95.9%​
* 243 of 340 Field Goals 71.4%​
* 1,246 Total Points Scored

* Cal Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee (1999)

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Jim Breech was born in Sacramento and at young age had an immediate love for sports.  Jim spent his days at East Portal Park playing flag football, basketball and baseball.  At that age, kids always have their dreams of becoming an athlete. For some, they are just dreams and for others they become a reality. For Jim  it was both.

 

Jim was a three-sport star at Sacramento High School. In baseball, he played third base and shortstop. He was one of the top RBI leaders in the city. In football, he was one of the top quarterbacks, leading Sac High to the City Championship in 1972.  But there was one other aspect to Jim’s talents.  He was also a kicker.  He used his skills to win the Punt Pass and Kick contest at eight years old.  Years later, he made a 47-yard field goal in practice. Next thing you know, he was an All-City quarterback and kicker. 

 

Jim took his talents to University of California where he played baseball and football. He thought he may get drafted in baseball but after playing one year on the diamond, he decided to concentrate on football, specifically kicking.  Jim was Cal’s punter and place kicker. As a freshman he won the starting job in the sixth game of the season by kicking the winning field over Oregon State.     

 

In his junior and senior seasons, Jim was named to the All-Pac 8 Team and First-Team All-West Coast. He was an Honorable Mention All-American and in 1977 he led the conference in scoring. While at Cal, Jim broke the Cal and Pac 8 record of 45 field goals made. He ended up making 50 to set the record while being only the third kicker ever at that time to accomplish that feat.  Years later, he was nominated as part of the Pac-12’s All-Century team. He was one of only three kickers to be recognized for that honor.

 

In 1978, The NFL came calling. The Detroit Lions drafted Jim, but he was soon cut. Not sure if the NFL was going to be an option, Al Davis and John Madden showed interest, and the Raiders were willing to take a chance on the Northern California kid. Jim spent one season with the Raiders and then was released. 13 weeks later, things would change for the better.

 

The Cincinnati Bengals called and needed a reliable kicker. Jim was their man. So much so, he spent the next 14 years wearing tiger stripes. He scored 1,151 points with Cincinnati and set the franchise record to become the Bengals all-time leading scorer.  Not only was Jim a scoring machine but he was accurate and clutch. He set an NFL record for making field goals in overtime going a perfect 9 for 9.

 

Jim just didn’t have individual records and accolades. His Bengals team was very good. Jim played in nine playoff games including two  Super Bowls.  Unfortunately for Jim and the Bengals they lost both Super Bowls to the same team, the San Francisco 49ers. In Super Bowl XXIII in 1989, Jim was a major factor and was perfect, kicking three field goals and scored 10 of the Bengals 16 points. In the fourth quarter, Jim made a 40-yarder that gave Cincinnati a 16-13 lead with 3:10 to go. Not only did it look like the Bengals would win the game, but Jim was on his way to being the first kicker in Super Bowl history to be named Most Valuable Player.  However, Joe Montana led the 49ers on a game winning drive to win  20-16 erasing any hopes of Jim being the MVP but he never missed a field goal or an extra point in his two Super Bowl appearances. 

 

In his amazing career, Jim made 243 field goals and connected on 71 percent of his kicks. He hit 96 percent of his extra points and ended up scoring 1,246 points. He scored in 186 consecutive games which is 2nd in NFL history.  Jim will always be known for being the best kicker ever to come from Sacramento, but he was also a tremendous all-around athlete. Jim was inducted into Cal Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999 and now he is enshrined into his hometown, Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame.