Joe Namath

One of the most interesting characters in all of football lore, Joe Namath, and his epic Hall of Fame career are the subject of this episode.

There are very few people in the world that can be a hometown hero in Pittsburgh, bring the crowds to their feet with applause in Alabama, and attract the respect and admiration of the folks in New York City, but Joseph William Namath did all three. His gridiron nicknames reflect how much the player was admired; The Hungarian Howitzer, Joe Willie, and the Broadway Joe were all monikers that teammates, the press and fans alike knew the young talented athlete. 

Joe was the son of a hard-working steel worker in Western PA. The tough labor and hardnosed football seem to go hand in hand in the area. He grew up and eventually attended Beaver Falls High School, where he played baseball, basketball,  and of course football. On the hardcourts, he was an exciting player to watch, and on occasion, the uber athlete would dunk, as this was long before it was a popular thing during a game, especially at the high school level.
Namath excelled on the diamond of hardball too. A strong enough prospect that he was once offered a $50,000 bonus by the Chicago Cubs to sign on into their farm system. The Cubs and five other teams were recruiting him relentlessly. He always had the dream of playing alongside his childhood idol, Roberto Clemente, on the Pirates. He strongly considered pursuing that too by inking a deal with the Pittsburgh baseball club until a higher power stepped in, his mother. She insisted that her son get a college education.

But hey this is a football website so let’s talk about Joe Namath as a gridiron star. As a senior, he led Beaver Falls to a 9-0 record and a state championship. When he thought that baseball scouts were hard after him he thought differently when the college football recruiters started honing in on him. At first, Namath thought he would like to play at Notre Dame. He quickly changed his mind when he found out it was not a co-ed school. The South Bend school would not change that policy until 1972.

Joe was also interested in the University of Maryland, but his scores on the college board exams were a little bit under what they were looking for. The recruitment connection paid off though as Maryland’s coach, Tom Nugent, knew Paul “Bear” Bryant at Alabama and put in a good word for Namath. Coach Bryant was extremely interested in the prospect and sent his top man, Assistant Coach Howard Schnellenberger, to visit the Namath household.

When the time came for Schnellenberger’s to leave, Mama Namath’s mother was on board and convinced Alabama was the place to play. Namath arrived in Alabama in 1961 not quite sure what to expect.  Bryant was hard on the young Freshmen teaching the ropes of winning football and in 1961 there were also challenges of racial tensions that were evident all around him.

As a sophomore, Namath became the starting quarterback for ‘Bama and led the team to a 10-1 record and a shutout over Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. The 1962 season would actually be Namath’s best statistically.  He passed for 1,192 yards, 13 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.  The Hungarian Howitzer also rushed the ball 70 times for 229 yards and four scores. Bear Bryant used the arm and legs of his signal-caller to help guide the Tide to win the National Championship in 1963. 

They went 9-2 and that season, he passed for 765 yards, seven touchdowns, and seven picks to go along with 201 rushing yards and five more scores.

Namath would still be the guy that would go out and raise a little cain, even under the strict Bryant as late in the ‘63 season, he was caught breaking curfew. That led Bryant to suspend Namath for the regular-season finale against Miami as well as the Sugar Bowl against Ole Miss.

Namath returned to action for his senior year in 1964.  He would throw for 756 yards, four touchdowns, and five picks. Joe also added 133 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

Later in the season, while preparing for the Orange Bowl against Texas, Joe injured his bad knee for the third time. It was no easy decision but Coach Bryant thought it best to keep his QB sidelined for the bowl game. Dire consequences call for extraordinary measures, however,  and by the second quarter, the Tide was down 14-0 and Bear Bryant went to the bullpen and put Namath in the game. It did not take long to see the fruitful results of that decision as Namath soon found Wayne Trimble for a touchdown to cut the Longhorns’ lead.

Namath would be named the game’s MVP for his remarkable performance coming off of the bench,  however, despite his best efforts, Alabama would lose that game 21-17. The good news for Bama though was that at the time, the National Championship was awarded at the end of the college regular season. The Tide with their regular-season mark of 10-0 was given the College Football title before playing Texas.

Namath finished his ‘Bama career with 2,713 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, 20 interceptions, 563 rushing yards, and 15 rushing touchdowns as he posted a 29-4 record during his three years as a starter. Many years later, Bryant would call Namath, “the greatest athlete I ever coached.”

 
Joe as a Pro

Despite having a shakey right knee, teams from the NFL and the AFL were interested in signing this brash quarterback from Alabama. Joe went high in both professional football league drafts as he was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals of the NFL and the New York Jets of the AFL.

Namath was easily swayed by the bright light of New York City as well as the three-year, $427,000 contract the Jets offered him, a record amount at the time. The contract amount was scoffed at by many of the NFL’s older experts such as Vince Lombardi. The Jets' position though was summed up by owner Sonny Werblin soon after the inking of the deal, “Namath has the presence of a star. You know how a real star lights up the room when he comes in. Joe has that quality.”

Namath’s arrival in New York was huge news and Namath appeared on the cover of the July 1965 issue, of Sports Illustrated with Broadway behind him and the heading “Football Goes Show Biz.” The same day the SI issue hit newsstands, Namath was at practice and took quite the ribbing by his new teammates, which gave birth to a nickname of Broadway Joe.

“We were in the locker room the day the magazine came out, and offensive tackle Sherman Plunkett looked at it, kind of shook his head a little, and said, ‘There goes Broadway Joe.’ And it stuck,” Namath said in 1969.

In his rookie year, Jets coach Weeb Ewbank took his time developing Namath, who would only start nine games for the 5-8-1 team. The early season clipboard holding did him some good too as when he did come in he helped deliver the five wins after an 0-6 start for the Jets as he passed for 2,220 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. Broadway Joe was voted to the first of four AFL All-Star teams after the year and was also named the AFL’s Rookie of the Year. In 1966, Namath was named the Jets starter that season, he threw for 3,379 yards (which led the AFL) and 19 touchdowns. However, the gunslinger style led to him leading the AFL in interceptions at 27 as the Jets were mediocre at 6-6-2 on the season

The Jets improved to 8-5-1 in 1967 while Namath torched opponents for a career-best 4,007 passing yards, and 26 touchdowns, but he still turned the ball over at an alarming rate with 28 picks.
It was the first time that a professional quarterback would pass for over 4,000 yards in a season in any organized pro football league. That record would stand all the way through the 1979 season when San Diego’s Dan Fouts passed for 4,082 yards in a 16-game season.

As his fame grew from football, “Broadway Joe” was living up to his reputation off the field as he loved the nightlife in the Big Apple and had a mutual admiration for the young ladies. He was an eligible bachelor and considered by many a flashy playboy.

1968 saw the progression of Namath and the Jets as a solid team and brought hope to the New York AFL faithful. Namath once again passed for over 3,000 yards along with 15 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. It was a slow start though as after the first five games of the ‘68 season, New York was barely above .500 with a 3-2 record. They got the hot hand as they figured things out and lost only once more that season after that. In the AFL Championship, the Jets outlasted the Oakland Raiders 27-23. With the victory, it was on to Super Bowl III in Miami to face the best NFL team that season, the Baltimore Colts.

During the days leading up to the title game, the media had utterly given the Colts the game and the title already. Baltimore was a machine in the more mature NFL. Surely Don Shula’s team would grind up the upstart AFL’s best much like Green Bay had in the two title games prior since the merged postseason event.

It was the Jets’ 11-3 record in a soft regarded AFL against the Colts’ 13-1 impressive NFL record.

A few days before the Super Bowl, one of the media floated a question to the Jets QB who was lounging by a pool at the Miami Touchdown Club surrounded by reporters. about the Jets’ chances against Baltimore.

Growing weary of the similar questions on the same topic in the days prior, Namath had enough and made one of the most famous quoted lines in Professional football history,

“We’re going to win Sunday. I guarantee you,” Namath declared to the media. It was considered almost a joke by the public. The confidence was not unwarranted though, as the Jets knew a secret in particular about the Colts' defense. They realized during film study that Baltimore stayed with their base defense no matter what during the ‘68 season. Coach Weeb Ewbank and Namath both did not believe that Baltimore’s secondary could keep up with the Jets’ receivers. They took advantage of this knowledge and by halftime of the Super Bowl, the score was 7-0 in favor of New York.

They padded the lead making it 16-0 shortly into the fourth quarter. The Jets' defense had some surprises of their own in thwarting the Colts' offense. After throwing three interceptions in the contest, Baltimore starting quarterback Earl Morrall was replaced by longtime Colt Johnny Unitas. The veteran QB took the helm and promptly marched his team downfield and scored a touchdown.  However, it was much too little, much too late. The Jets became the World Champs as they won the game 16-7 and Namath was swallowed up from view on the field as a hoard of media, teammates, and excited fans charged towards the QB to celebrate the monumental victory. It was a watershed moment as it gave the AFL some respect and gained more equal footing with the old guard teams of the NFL, ushering in the newly merged NFL composed of the AFC and NFC.

Joe finished the game passing with 206 yards and had an 83.3 quarterback rating as he was named the game’s MVP and he also had the distinction of being the first quarterback to win a college national championship and a Super Bowl.

This was the high watermark of the career of Joe Namath. He played for the Jets through the 1976 season and one final one as a member of the LA Rams roster, but because of injuries and personal issues, he never did regain the flamboyant form he had in 1968. Although he did lead the NFL in passing in 1972 with a shadow of his former yardage, at 2816 passing yards.

One of his issues was the battle with the NFL brass over who he hung around with. Namath resigned from football on June 6, 1969, after NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle tells Namath that he must sell his share in a stake of bar ownership. This occurred 5 months after Broadway Joe was awarded the Super Bowl III MVP trophy. Rozelle referenced media reports that the bar was frequented by "mafia associates" and was not in the best interest of the NFL. Namath quitting stunned everyone, including the Commish. Late June and early July meetings between NFL execs and Namath proved fruitful as eventually Namath sold his stake and played with the Jets once again in the 1969 season.

In his 13-year pro career, Joe Namath finished with a 62-63-4 record as a starter, 27663 career passing yards, and 173 TDs. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined him in the class of 1985.

The banner photo is a cropped version of Former NFL quarterbacks Joe Theismann of the Washington Redskins and Joe Namath of the New York Jets clown around on stage before the opening of the NFL Kickoff 2003 celebration Sept. 4 on the National Mall, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, taken by Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample.

A Very Special thanks to information obtained from the following brilliant internet sites mentioned above including :

• Wikipedia
• SaturdayDownSouth.com
• Newspapers.com
• Pro Football History.com
• ESPN.com
• Pro-Football-Feference.com
• ProFootballHOF.com
• AL.com Sports