The Longest Field Goal in Arena Football League History

Originally published on Jul. 3, 2019

By Zane Miller

On Saturday, May 18th, 1996, San Jose SaberCats kicker Aaron Mills kicked a 63-yard field goal against the Florida Bobcats at the West Palm Beach Auditorium (now West Palm Beach Christian Convention Center) in West Palm Beach, Florida to set the Arena Football League record for the longest successful field goal.

As halftime quickly approached in the contest, the SaberCats held a 23-6 lead, as well as possession of the football, and looked to add to their lead going into halftime. However, the problem was that they were backed up all the way to roughly their own 3-yard line.

SaberCats head coach Todd Shell sent Mills on for the long field goal attempt, a bit of a risky move as the Bobcats could theoretically return a missed or blocked field goal for a touchdown, against the unlikelihood of the kick going through from that distance.

While the announcer (who I believe to be current Columbus Blue Jackets play-by-play announcer Jeff Rimer, who also announced Florida Panthers games at the time) stated that the field goal was a 56-yard attempt, they likely didn’t figure in the yardage added by the holder backing up to receive the snap.

Nevertheless, with the ensuing snap and hold true, Mills boomed the kick, which barely cleared the crossbar to add another three points to the SaberCats’ lead as the clock expired. As the teams headed to the locker rooms, the SaberCats held a 26-6 advantage, and would go on to win the game 43-26. The win moved San Jose to a 2-2 overall record, while Florida was pushed back to 1-3 with the loss.

The 63-yard field goal by Mills still stands today as an AFL record, while also tying the National Football League record for longest field goal until December 8th, 2013, when then-Denver Broncos (and current Detroit Lions) kicker Matt Prater took sole possession of the record with a 64-yard kick against the Tennessee Titans.

Despite making the record-setting kick, Mills disappeared from the AFL as well as professional football as a whole after the 1996 season, wrapping up the season going 10 for 18 on field goal attempts.

The SaberCats finished the year with a 6-8 record, while the Bobcats also finished with a 6-8 record, as neither team ended up making the playoffs that season.

Sources: http://kickology.m-herman.com/sports/records/football-records/afl-arena-football-regular-season-records

http://www.arenafan.com/statistics/?page=boxscore&gameid=455