[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Thursday, November 20, 1997

A star, but Richie still an unknown

By MIKE BALDWIN / The Daily Oklahoman

IRVING, Texas -- Hours after he had kicked the most important field goal of his NFL career, Richie Cunningham and his wife ate sushi at a Dallas restaurant.

Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin or Emmitt Smith would have been flooded with autograph requests. Cunningham ate his meal in peace.

"I don't have the features of a 6-4, 6-5, 240-pound guy," Cunning ham said. "That's usually the first thing people notice."

Going unnoticed could change after what transpired Sunday at Texas Stadium. The scene was spellbinding.

Cunningham said he felt as if time stood still as he watched the 42-yard attempt head toward the goal post. For one brief moment it appeared the ball might clang off the left upright, but it sailed inches inside the metal bar to seal a dramatic 17-14 win over Washington.

"That was too close," Cunningham said. "It made me a little nervous. I'd rather just put it straight down the middle."

Many analysts believed the Cowboys would regret not re-signing Chris Boniol, who was offered a lucrative deal in Philadelphia. Ironically, Cunningham leads the NFL in scoring, having converted 30 of 32 field-goal attempts.

Boniol has missed eight tries and is only 14-of-22.

The single-season record for field goals is 37, established last year by Carolina's John Kasay. Cunningham already has 30. He's on pace for 43.

"Of course you think about it, but you can't control that," Cunningham said.

"If it's going to happen, it's going to happen. If I have to go out there and kick five field goals for us to get into the playoffs and it ends up only being 35, then that's fine. It's just a matter of winning."

Kicking coach Steve Hoffman once again has discovered another unproven kicker and groomed him into one of the NFL's scoring leaders. Oddly enough, Cunningham was in danger of being cut after training camp. Three months later he's the leading candidate to represent the NFC in the Pro Bowl.

"Oh, geez, I don't even want to think about that right now," Cunningham said. "It's some thing you dream of. First it was a dream to make it here. Now that you're here, it's the Super Bowl and then you have individual accomplishments. The main thing, a Super Bowl, would supersede all of that."

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)