Stabler, Ken M.
Football
b. Dec. 25, 1945, Foley, AL
After graduating from the University of Alabama, Stabler was chosen in the third round of the 1968 AFL-NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders. He spent a season on the team's taxi squad, then left football for a year.
He returned to the Raiders in 1970 and was a backup for three seasons before he finally become a starter in 1973, at the age of twenty-seven. He led the league with a 62.7 completion percentage that year.
The left-handed Stabler, nicknamed "Snake" because of his ability to elude rushers, won the Bert Bell Trophy as the NFL's most valuable player in 1974, when he was also named player of the year by Associated Press and The Sporting News. He completed 178 of 310 passes for 2,469 yards and a league-leading 26 touchdowns. The Raiders went to the AFC championship game but lost 24-13 to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Stabler was again named The Sporting News player of the year in 1976, when he completed 207 of 343 attempts for 3,104 yards and 24 touchdowns. This time the Raiders beat the Steelers 24-7 in the AFC championship game and Stabler threw 12 completions in 19 attempts for 180 yards and a touchdown as Oakland beat the Minnesota Vikings 32-14 in Super Bowl XI.
Stabler spent three more seasons with Oakland, was with the Houston Oilers in 1980 and 1981, and finished his career with the New Orleans Saints from 1982 through 1984. In his 15 seasons, he had 2,270 completions in 3.793 attempts for 27,938 yards and 194 touchdowns.