Matt Stover
The clutch-footed kicker whose unwavering reliability powered the Baltimore Ravens' ferocious defense to a Super Bowl championship.
Born 1968 (age 58)·American football player·Birthday: January 27·Generation X
Biography
Matt Stover's career is a testament to consistency in the NFL's most psychologically fraught job. Drafted by the New York Giants, he found his lasting home when the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore, becoming a foundational piece of the new Ravens franchise. While the team was defined by its historically great defense, Stover provided the essential, steady points. His 2000 season was a masterpiece of precision, leading the league in scoring and earning All-Pro honors as he converted critical kick after critical kick. That reliability culminated in Super Bowl XXXV, where his field goals provided the only offense needed in a dominant win. Stover played until he was 42, retiring as one of the most accurate kickers in history and the last active player to have kicked in the old Cleveland Browns stadium.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Matt was born in 1968, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Matt Was Born
The biggest hits of 1968
#1 Movie
2001: A Space Odyssey
Best Picture
Oliver!
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Matt's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1968Born
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1973Started school
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1981Became a teenager
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Could drive
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1986Could vote
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1989Turned 21
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1998Turned 30
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 40
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 50
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 58 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won Super Bowl XXXV with the Baltimore Ravens after leading the NFL in scoring during the 2000 season.
- Selected as a First-Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl kicker in 2000.
- Retired as the Baltimore Ravens' all-time leading scorer and held the NFL record for most consecutive games scored in (189).
- Kicked the game-winning field goal in the 2009 AFC Championship Game for the Indianapolis Colts at age 41.
- Finished his career with a then-top-ten all-time field goal accuracy rate of 83.7%.
Did You Know?
He is a devout Christian and served as the NFLPA's representative for the Ravens for many years.
Stover is the only player in NFL history to score points for a team in four different decades (1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s).
He successfully executed an onside kick that he also recovered himself in a 2005 game.
Stover majored in accounting at Louisiana Tech University.
He was the last active NFL player to have played for the original Cleveland Browns franchise.
“My job is to be the calm in the storm. When everything is chaotic, I have to be the one who is steady.”
