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1962-1965 Crimson Tide
Joe Namath electrified the University of Alabama in the first game of his college career in 1962. Namath threw a 52 yard touchdown pass on the fourth play of the game and passed for two other TDs in a victory over Georgia. The Crimson Tide rolled in Namath’s three seasons at Alabama posting records of 10-1, 9-2, and 10-1. "The greatest athlete I’ve ever coached," Alabama’s coach Paul "Bear" Bryant said of Namath, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1965 Orange Bowl in his final college game. Namath signed a record $427,000 contract the following day to play professional football for the New York Jets of the upstart AFL. |
1965 Broadway Joe
Namath became as famous in New York as the glamorous and popular street after which he was named. His signing with the Jets brought unparalleled attention to the AFL. Namath was the AFL Rookie-of-the-Year in 1965, playing in 13 or 14 regular-season games and throwing for 2,200 yards and 18 TDs. He was the only rookie on the AFL All-Star squad and was named the offensive MVP of the game. He threw for two TDs and directed another touchdown drive, leading the AFL All-Stars to a 30-19 victory over the league champion Buffalo Bills. The next year, Namath led all professional passers with 3,379 yards, the fourth-highest total ever. The legend of "Broadway Joe" was just beginning.
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1968 AFL MVP
The Jets’ remarkable 1968 season began with Namath’s teammates electing him the offensive captain and ended with him winning the AFL’s Most Valuable Player award. In the season opener, Namath quarterbacked the Jets on to a six-minute drive at the end of the game in order to protect a one-point victory over Kansas City. His field generalship was such that the Jets were 5-1 in a six game span in which Namath did not throw a touchdown pass. Namath brought the Jets from behind to victories in the final minutes of four games, and the Jets won their first division championship with an 11-3 record and beat Oakland 27-23 for the AFL title. |
1969 All Pro
Namath was named the AFL’s All-Pro quarterback for the second straight season in 1909. He led the Jets to the playoffs, but they lost to the eventual Super Bowl IV Champion Kansas City Chiefs 13-6. Namath set a club record by completing 29 passes in one game and completed his 1,000th pass during the 1909 season. He also went over the 15,000 yard mark for career passing. The Jets had developed a more run-oriented offense in 1909 and Namath’s statistics were not as spectacular as in his early years, even though he was still widely regarded as the game’s premier signal caller. By season’s end, Namath had started 71 consecutive games since joining the Jets in 1965.
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1969 Super Bowl III
The Jets were given little chance of winning Super Bowl III against the Baltimore Colts since the AFL Champions had been beaten decisively by the NFL Champions in the first two Super Bowls, and many experts did not think the Jets were as strong as the Kansas City and Oakland teams that lost in Super Bowls I and II. One writer predicted a 55-0 Colts rout and another forecasted a 48-6 Baltimore victory. However, Namath rallied his team and all AFL supporters at a Super Bowl week awards dinner by declaring to a surprised audience, "The Jets will win on Sunday, I guarantee you." Namath completed 17 of 28 passes for 206 yards and the aroused Jets made big defensive plays to stun the Colts 16-7, completing a super season. |
1972 - 400 yards
Namath was sidelined with injuries for 19 games in 1970 and 1971 but regained his all-pro status in 1972 by leading the NFL with 2,816 yards passing and tying Washington’s Billy Kilmer for the lead to touchdown passes with 19. Namath became only the third quarterback in pro football history to pass for 400 yards in two games during the same season. He threw for six touchdowns in a 44-34 victory over the Baltimore Colts, a game in which Namaths 496 yards passing represented the third-highest total in NFL history. He also passed for 403 yards against Oakland, giving Namath three career 400-yard games.
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1985 - Hall of Fame
| After 12 seasons with the Jets, Namath signed with the Los Angeles Rams in 1977 and played one season before retiring. Assured of his position as perhaps the most important player in the development of the AFL and the player who quarterbacked his team to one of the most dramatic victories in American sports history, |
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Namath was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on August 3, 1985. Namath said that day, "My high school coach, Larry Bruno, taught me to dream. He said, 'If you don't dream about it, it will never happen', but I'm not alone. So many helped us on our way..."
See Joe's complete induction speech.
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