Namath, "Joe" (Joseph W.)
Football
b. May 31, 1943, Beaver Falls, PA
As quarterback for the University of Alabama, Namath was edged out as consensus All-American in 1964 by John Huarte of Notre Dame, who won the Heisman Trophy that year. The New York Jets of the American Football League drafted both of them.
Huarte was with the Jets for only one season. Namath led the team to headlines, respectability, and the AFL's first victory ever in the Super Bowl.
The headlines began when he signed with the Jets for a reported $400,000. They continued to come throughout his career, sometimes for his play and sometimes for his off-the-field exploits, which earned him the nickname "Broadway Joe."
He was named the AFL's rookie of the year in 1965 after passing for 2,220 yards and 18 touchdowns. Namath led the league in passing yardage with 3,379 in 1966 and a professional record of 4,007 yards in 1967.
The Jets won the Eastern Division title in 1968, when Namath was named player of the year. In the AFL championship game, he completed only 19 of 49 passes, but three of them went for touchdowns as the Jets won 27-23 over the Oakland Raiders.
The NFL's Green Bay Packers had won the first two Super Bowls with relative ease, and the Baltimore Colts were favored by 18 points over the Jets in Super Bowl III. In a talk three days before the game, Namath brashly "guaranteed" a victory. Then he produced it.
Abandoning the Jets' usual long passing attack for a ball-control offense that featured short passes and off-tackle runs by fullback Matt Snell, Namath kept the Colts off balance throughout the game. He completed 17 of 28 passes for 206 yards in a 16-7 win and was named the game's most valuable player.
The AFL merged into the NFL and became the American Football Conference in 1970. Knee problems limited Namath's playing time in his first two NFL seasons, but he led the league with 2,816 passing yards and 19 touchdown passes in 1972. He underwent his fifth knee operation midway through the 1976 season, his last with the Jets, and he retired after playing for the Los Angeles Rams in 1977.
Namath was the quarterback on the All-AFL team in 1968 and on the All-AFC team in 1972. During his 13 professional seasons, he completed 1,886 of 3,776 passes for 27,663 yards and 173 touchdowns. He also rushed for 7 touchdowns and scored 1 on a fumble recovery.