Pete Gogolak Peter Kornel Gogolak ( in Hungarian : Gogolák Péter Kornél , born April 18 , 1942 in Budapest , Hungary ) is a retired American football placekicker in the American Football League ( AFL ) for the Buffalo Bills and in the National Football League ( NFL ) for the New York Giants . He is widely considered the chief figure behind the game ' s adoption of soccer style placekicking . In 1966 , after initially playing two professional seasons for the AFL ' s Bills , he joined the NFL ' s Giants while still under contract with his former team , sparking the " war between the leagues " and the subsequent AFL – NFL merger . In 2010 the New York Giants announced that he would be included in the team ' s new Ring of Honor to be displayed at all home games in their new stadium . Innovation in placekicking . Gogolak attended and played college football at Cornell University where he was elected to the Sphinx Head Society and was a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity . Gogolak ' s 41 - yard field goal during Cornell ' s 1961 season , the first by a soccer - style kicker , became a significant moment in the development of college football , and stood as an example of the changes Gogolak would later bring to the professional game . Prior to Gogolak , placekickers approached the ball straight on , with the toe making first contact with the ball . Gogolak , reflecting his roots in European soccer , instead approached the ball at an angle and kicked it with his instep . Upon graduation in 1964 , he was signed by the American Football League ' s Buffalo Bills , bringing yet another innovation to the upstart league that had become known for its experimentation : the unorthodox style that had made Gogolak notable while in college now made him professional football ' s first " soccer style " ( as opposed to " conventional " ) kicker . In 1965 , he scored 115 points and was selected by his peers as a Sporting News AFL All - League player . Importance in AFL - NFL Merger . Gogolak was also a prime factor in the " war between the leagues " and the subsequent merger of the National Football League with the American Football League . Bills owner Ralph C . Wilson , Jr . paid Gogolak $ 10 , 000 in 1964 and offered him $ 13 , 500 for 1965 , exceptional pay , in those days , for a kicker . Choosing instead to take a reduction in pay to $ 9 , 900 , Gogolak , like a later restricted free agent , was able to " play out his option , " thereby forcing the Bills to match any other team ' s subsequent offer . Fortunately for Gogolak , a wealthy suitor was at hand . The NFL ' s New York Giants , playing in the NFL ' s largest market , found itself saddled with struggling rookie kicker Bob Timberlake . The Giants , having witnessed Timberlake miss his thirteenth consecutive kick , ignored the owners ' " gentleman ' s agreement " against signing another league ' s players , an arrangement that had previously depressed player wages and prevented inter - league competition over otherwise valued athletes . The desperate Giants , then playing in a Yankee Stadium whose mid - winter winds sometimes rivaled those faced by Gogolak in Buffalo , signed the Bills star ; Gogolak would go on to become the Giants all - time leading scorer . As NFL owners had feared , the signing led to a marked increase in similar " poachings " by AFL Commissioner Al Davis , bringing other NFL stars to the newer league . Ultimately , this increasingly expensive competition for key players was a significant contributory factor to the two leagues ' owners reaching accord in the AFL - NFL Merger . Family . He was not the only placekicker in his family ; his younger brother Charlie played college football at Princeton and followed him into pro football , playing with the Washington Redskins and New England Patriots in a six - year career . In January 2008 , Gogolak ' s 36 - year - old son David , a restaurateur , was killed in an avalanche while skiing near Whitefish Mountain Resort , Montana .