Rhodes Athletic Hall of Fame
When Mike Truscott was growing up in Uruguay playing soccer, rugby and tennis, he had no idea he would be a groundbreaking American football player kicking extra points and field goals for the Southwestern football team.
In the late 1950s, Mike was one of the first soccer-style placekickers at the high school, college or professional levels of American football. After watching a Southwestern football game and not quite understanding what he had just witnessed at Fargason Field that afternoon, a sports reporter for the Commercial Appeal described Mike’s kicking technique as a “highly unusual style.” Well, that “highly unusual” kicking style was key in the Lynx 1959 win over Millsaps, 7-6, and Mike ended his career by kicking the winning extra point in Southwestern’s 7-6 win over Austin College to conclude the 1961 season.
Just as Mike was a trendsetter in football as a soccer-style placekicker, his combination of performing on the gridiron in the fall, then on the tennis court in the spring, was even more unique. Mike becomes the first member of the Athletic Hall of Fame to participate in football and tennis. Mike played No. 1 for four years on the tennis team, where under the tutelage of legendary Coach Derrick Barton, he led the Lynx to two Tennessee Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tennis titles.
Off the field and court, Mike has served as the Dana Distinguished Professor of Economics at the University of Tampa, specializing in global finance and economics. In 1992, he was awarded the College of Business Teaching Excellence Award.
Mike helped revolutionize the art of kicking a football and opened the door for many great soccerstyle placekickers. For his accomplishments on the tennis court and the football field, Rhodes is honored to induct Michael Hugh Truscott into the Rhodes Athletic Hall of Fame this 19th day of October, 2012
