Joe Namath
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Joseph William Namath (born May 31 1943, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania), also known as Broadway Joe, is a former American football quarterback. He played for the University of Alabama under legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and in the American Football League and National Football League during the 1960s and 1970s. Namath played for the New York Jets for most of his professional career, but finished his career with the Los Angeles Rams. He was later elected to the Hall of Fame.
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[edit] Background
Namath retired after playing in 77 wins, 108 losses and 3 ties. In his career he threw 173 touchdowns and 220 interceptions. During his thirteen years in the AFL and NFL he played for three division champions (the 1968 and 1969 AFL East Champion Jets and the 1977 NFC West Champion Rams), earned one league championship (1968 AFL Championship), and one world championship (Super Bowl III).
In 1999, he was ranked number 96 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. He was the only player on the list to have spent a majority of his career with the Jets.
He is known for brashly telling the media that he guaranteed that his team would upset Don Shula's NFL Baltimore Colts in the third NFL-AFL Championship Game in 1969, and then delivering on his promise.
[edit] Football Cards
| Card | Set | No. | Team | No. Printed | Est. Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 Topps | 122 | New York Jets | ??? | $500 - $1,500 |
| 1966 Topps | 96 | New York Jets | ??? | $100 - $600 |
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| 1967 Topps | 98 | New York Jets | ??? | $50 - $600 |
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| 1968 Topps | 65 | New York Jets | ??? | $10 - $120 |
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| 1969 Topps | 100 | New York Jets | ??? | $10 - $210 |
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| 1969 Topps 4-in-1 | 15 | New York Jets | ??? | |
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| 1970 Topps | 150 | New York Jets | ??? | $10 - $30 |
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| 1970 Topps Super Glossy | 29 | New York Jets | ??? | $10 - $50 |
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| 1971 Topps | 250 | New York Jets | ??? | $1 - $180 |
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| 1971 Topps Game | 3 | New York Jets | ??? | $1 - $60 |
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| 1972 Topps | 100 | New York Jets | ??? | $5 - $40 |
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| 1972 Topps | 343 | New York Jets | ??? | $50 - $350 |
| 1973 Topps | 400 | New York Jets | ??? | $5 - $60 |
[edit] Pro Football Career
Despite suffering a serious knee injury in his senior year at Alabama, Namath was drafted by both the National Football League and the upstart American Football League. The two competing leagues held their respective drafts on the same day -- November 28], 1964.
The NFL's St. Louis Cardinals selected Namath 12th overall in their draft, while the Jets selected him with the AFL's first overall pick. He elected to sign with the Jets, who were under the direction of Hall of Fame owner Sonny Werblin, for a salary of more than $400,000 (a pro football record at the time) and never put on a Cardinals uniform.
Namath was the American Football League Rookie of the year in 1965 and became the first professional quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards in a season (1967), a feat which remained a record for the 14-game seasons that were played during that time. [1] He was a four-time American Football League All-Star, in 1965, 1967, 1968, and 1969, although he was plagued with knee injuries through much of his career and underwent four pioneering knee operations by Dr. James A. Nicholas. On some occasions, Namath had to have his knee drained at halftime so that he could finish a game. Later in life, long after he left football, he had to have knee replacement surgery on both legs.
In the 1968 AFL title game, Namath threw three touchdown passes to lead New York to a 27-23 win over the defending American Football League Champion Oakland Raiders. His performance in the 1968 season earned him the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year. He was an AFC-NFC Pro Bowler in 1972. Besides having the Hall of Fame distinction, he is a member of the Jets' all-time team and the American Football League All-Time Team.
[edit] Super Bowl III
The apex of his career was his performance in the Jets' January 1969 win over the Baltimore Colts in the AFL-NFL World Championship Game, now referred to as the Super Bowl. This win would make him the only QB to ever start and win a national championship in college and start and win the Super Bowl. The Colts were touted as "the greatest football team in history". Former NFL star and coach Norm Van Brocklin ridiculed the AFL before the game, saying "This will be Namath's first professional football game." Writers from NFL cities insisted it would take the AFL several more years to be truly competitive with the NFL. Much of the hype surrounding the game was related to how it would either prove or disprove the proposition that the AFL teams were truly worthy of being allowed to merge with the NFL; the first two such games had resulted in blowout victories for the NFL champion in the two previous years, the Green Bay Packers, and the Colts were even more favored by media figures and handicappers than the Packers had been.
Three days before the game, Namath responded to a heckler with the now-famous line: "We'll win the game. I guarantee you." His words eventually made headlines across the country, but were dismissed as mere bravado by most observers.
In the game, however, Namath backed up his boast and showed that his success against tough American Football League competition had more than prepared him to take on the NFL. The Colts' vaunted defense was unable to contain the Jets' running or passing game, while their ineffective offense gave up four interceptions to the Jets. Namath was the game's MVP, completing eight passes to George Sauer alone, for 133 yards. Namath acquired legendary status for American Football League fans as the symbol of their league's legitimacy.
[edit] Los Angeles Rams
In the twilight of his career, Namath was waived by the Jets to facilitate his move to the Los Angeles Rams when a trade couldn't be worked out. He was signed by the Rams on May 12, 1977. Namath hoped to revitalize his flagging career, but by this point his effectiveness as a quarterback was greatly reduced by his knee injuries, a bad hamstring and the general ravages of a long period of time playing professional football, as well as his "hard and fast" lifestyle. After a 2-1 start, Namath took a beating on a cold, windy and rainy Monday night game in a one point loss at the Chicago Bears and was through for the regular season.
He did not play again, but redemption and a Hollywood ending was there for the taking. After a disastrous three quarters of turnovers and only trailing by seven points in the opening round of the play-offs, head coach Chuck Knox seemed ready to pull Pat Haden and insert Namath. Rams assistant coach Kay Stephenson said Joe looked great warming-up in the third quarter and advised Knox to put him in. The television audience was on the edge of their seats as it appeared Namath would replace Pat Haden and save the Rams' season. But Knox hesitated. Haden's problems continued and the Rams lost to the Vikings by a score of 14-7 in a sea of mud at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Namath retired from the Rams after a single season.
[edit] Hall of Fame legacy
Joe Namath is in the Professional Football Hall of Fame. While his career statistics are not exceptional, Namath was the first great modern era quarterback and he was the game's first true media superstar. Namath was the first NFL quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards during the 14 game 1967 season. This feat was not to be achieved again until Dan Fouts topped 4,000 yards during the 1979 season in a 16 game season. Namath threw for 4,000 yards under old rules that gave much less protection to both the quarterback and receivers. Namath's play on the field in the years before his knees seriously limited his mobility helped evolve the quarterback position and the NFL style of play from a run oriented ball control game to today's more open passing style. Perhaps the accolades of experts say it best. Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh stated that Namath was "the most beautiful, accurate, stylish passer with the quickest release I've ever seen." Hall of Fame coach Don Shula stated that Namath was "one of the 3 smartest quarterbacks of all time"
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Edited by Randall Liu, p. 439, Workman Publishing, 2001, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2
