Joseph William "Joe" Namath (ˈneɪmɨθ; born May 31, 1943), nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
quarterbackQuarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
. He played
college footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the
University of AlabamaThe University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
under coach
Paul "Bear" BryantPaul William "Bear" Bryant was an American college football player and coach. He was best known as the longtime head coach of the University of Alabama football team. During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach, he amassed six national championships and thirteen conference championships...
and his assistant,
Howard SchnellenbergerHoward Schnellenberger is an American football coach at both the professional and college level. He is currently in his final season as head coach of Florida Atlantic University, having announced his retirement on August 11, 2011, effective at the end of the 2011 season...
, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the
American Football LeagueThe American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
(AFL) and
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) during the 1960s and 1970s. Namath was an American Football League icon and played for that league's
New York JetsThe New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
for most of his professional career but finished his career with the NFL's
Los Angeles RamsThe St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
. He was elected to the
Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 1985.
Namath retired after playing in 140 games: 62 wins, 63 losses and 4 ties. In his career he threw 173 touchdowns, 220 interceptions, and completed 1,886 passes for 27,663 yards. 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 IIISuper Bowl III was the third AFL-NFL Championship Game in professional American football, but the first to officially bear the name "Super Bowl". This game is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history...
).
In 1999, he was ranked number 96 on
The Sporting NewsSporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
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 perhaps best known for boldly guaranteeing a Jets' victory over
Don ShulaDonald Francis "Don" Shula is a former American football cornerback and coach.He is best known as coach of the Miami Dolphins, the team he led to two Super Bowl victories, and to the National Football League's only perfect season. Shula was named 1993 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated....
's NFL
Baltimore ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
in Super Bowl III (1969) and then making good on his boast.
Early life and family
Namath's
HungarianHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
-born grandfather, known as A.J. to his family and friends, came to
Ellis IslandEllis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
and worked in the coal and steel industries of the
Pittsburgh Metro AreaThe Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is renowned for its industries including steel, glass and oil; moreover, its economy also thrives on healthcare, education, technology, robotics, financial services and more recently film...
. While growing up, Joe was close to both of his parents, who were divorced. Following his parents' split, Joe lived with his mother, Rose.
He was born in
Beaver FallsBeaver Falls is a city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,987 at the 2010 census. It is located 31 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, and on the Beaver River, six miles from its confluence with the Ohio River...
in
Beaver County-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 181,412 people, 72,576 households, and 50,512 families residing in the county. The population density was 418 people per square mile . There were 77,765 housing units at an average density of 179 per square mile...
,
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, thirty miles from
PittsburghPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, growing up in the city's Lower End neighborhood. He was a standout in football,
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
. In an age where
dunksA slam dunk is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air and manually powers the ball downward through the basket with one or both hands over the rim. This is considered a normal field goal attempt; if successful it is worth two points. The term "slam dunk" was...
were still uncommon in
high schoolHigh school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
basketball, Namath regularly dunked in games.
Coached by Larry Bruno at Beaver Falls, Namath's football team won the WPIAL Class AA championship with a 10-0 record in 1960. Coach Bruno would later be his presenter in Canton to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Upon graduation, he received offers from several
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
teams, including the
YankeesThe New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
,
MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
,
IndiansThe Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
, Reds,
PiratesThe Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
and
PhilliesThe Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
, but football prevailed. Namath has told interviewers that he wanted to sign with the Pirates and play baseball like his idol,
Roberto ClementeRoberto Clemente Walker was a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball right fielder. He was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the youngest of seven children. Clemente played his entire 18-year baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates . He was awarded the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in...
, but elected to play football because his mother wanted him to get a college education. Ironically, Namath would not graduate until 2006 when he returned to college in an online program.
Namath had many offers from Division I
college footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
programs, including Penn State, Ohio State,
AlabamaThe University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
, and
Notre DameThe University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
, but initially decided upon the University of Maryland after being heavily recruited by Maryland Assistant Roland Arrigoni. He was rejected by Maryland because his
college-board scoreThe SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
s were just below the school's requirements. After ample recruiting by the University of Alabama's head football coach, Bear Bryant, Namath accepted a full
scholarshipA scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
there. Bryant stated his decision to recruit Namath was "the best coaching decision I ever made."
College football career
Between 1962–64, Namath played for the Alabama Crimson Tide football program under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. A year after being suspended for the final two games of the season, he led the Crimson Tide to a
National ChampionshipA college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
in 1964. During his time at Alabama, Namath led the team to a 29–4 record over 3 seasons.
Bryant would one day call Namath "the greatest athlete I ever coached." While some speculated on what was anticipated to be a stormy relationship between a freedom-loving player and an iron-fisted coach, Namath returned Bryant's praise, often referring to him as "not only the smartest coach I ever knew, but the man who taught me the meaning of integrity." When Namath was inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 1985, he broke down during his induction speech upon mentioning Bryant, who died from a
heart attackMyocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in 1983. Namath wouldn't receive his college degree until 2007, having left early to pursue his professional career.
Namath's time at Alabama would be a culture shock for him. With Beaver Falls' Lower End neighborhood having been (and still is as of 2010) predominantly
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, Namath would attend Alabama at the height of the Civil Rights movement in the
Southern United StatesThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
(especially the
Deep SouthThe Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
) and often got into fights with his white teammates and other white Southerners when defending African-Americans.
Statistics
| Season | |Passing | |Rushing |
| Comp | Att | Yards | Comp% | TD | INT | Carries | Yards |
| 1962 During the 20th Century, the NCAA had no playoff for the college football teams that would later be described as "Division I-A". The NCAA did recognize a national champion based upon the final results of "wire service" polls. The extent of that recognition came in the form of acknowledgment in...
|
76 |
146 |
1192 |
52.1 |
13 |
8 |
70 |
321 |
| 1963 During the 20th Century, the NCAA had no playoff for the college football teams that would later be described as "Division I-A". The NCAA Football Guide, however, did note an "unofficial national champion" based on the top ranked teams in the "wire service" polls...
|
63 |
128 |
765 |
49.2 |
7 |
7 |
76 |
201 |
| 1964 |
64 |
100 |
756 |
64.0 |
5 |
4 |
44 |
133 |
| Career Total |
203 |
374 |
2713 |
54.3 |
25 |
19 |
190 |
655 |
Professional 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 CardinalsThe Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
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 WerblinDavid Abraham "Sonny" Werblin was a prominent entertainment industry executive and sports impresario who was an owner of the New York Jets, Chairman of Madison Square Gardens, and who built and managed the Meadowlands Sports Complex.A graduate of Rutgers University, Werblin went to work for Music...
, for a salary of $427,000 (a pro football record at the time) and never put on a Cardinals uniform.
Namath was the
American Football League Rookie of the yearIn each year of its ten-year existence , numerous sports-news services named their choice for the American Football League's best first-year player...
in 1965 and became the first professional quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards in a season (1967) when he threw for 4,007 yards. This was a feat that remained a record for the 14-game seasons that were played during that time. He was a four-time
American Football League All-Star-All-League Teams:The Sporting News published American Football League All-League Teams for each season played by the American Football League, 1960 through 1969...
, 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. NicholasDr. James A. Nicholas was an American physician and a pioneer in the treatment of athletic injuries who was best known for performing four knee operations that saved the career of Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath. Dr...
. 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
touchdownA touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
passes to lead New York to a 27-23 win over the defending American Football League Champion
Oakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. His performance in the 1968 season earned him the
Hickok BeltThe S. Rae Hickok Professional Athlete of the Year award, known as the Hickok Belt, was a trophy awarded for 27 years to the top professional athlete of the year in the United States...
as top professional athlete of the year. He was an
AFC-NFC Pro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
er 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 TeamThe American Football League All- Time Team was selected on January 14, 1970. The first and second teams would be determined by a panel of members of the AFL's Hall of Fame Board of Selectors: Since the First team included two halfbacks, rather than a halfback and a fullback, Cookie Gilchrist, a...
.
Third AFL-NFL World Championship Game (Super Bowl III)
The apex of his career was his performance in the Jets' January 1969 16-7 win over the
Baltimore ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....
in the third World Championship Game after the AFL-NFL merger. Namath was named MVP of Super Bowl III. This win would make him the first and only quarterback to ever start and win a national championship game in college, and to start and win a major professional league championship and a World Championship. (Joe Montana started and won a national college championship and a Super Bowl that was then the NFL championship.) The Colts were touted as "the greatest football team in history". Former NFL star and coach
Norm Van BrocklinNorman Mack "Norm" Van Brocklin , nicknamed "The Dutchman", was an American football player and coach. He was also a first rate punter in college and in the NFL...
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 NFLThe AFL–NFL merger of 1970 was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League and the American Football League...
; the first two such games had resulted in blowout victories for the NFL champion in the two previous years, the
Green Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
, 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're gonna win the game. I guarantee it." His words eventually made headlines across the country, but were dismissed by most observers as mere bravado.
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
MVPThe Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, or Super Bowl MVP, is an award presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's championship game. The winner is chosen by a fan vote during the game and by a panel of 16 American football writers and...
, completing eight passes to
George SauerGeorge Sauer, Jr. is a former professional American football wide receiver who played six seasons for the American Football League's New York Jets. He led the AFL in receptions in the 1967 season. In 1968, he started for the Jets in the third AFL-NFL World Championship Game, helping defeat the...
alone, for 133 yards. Namath acquired legendary status for American Football League fans as the symbol of their league's legitimacy. When he was asked by reporters after the game whether the Colts' defense was the "toughest he had ever faced", Namath responded "That would be the
Buffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
' defense." The American Football League's Bills had intercepted Namath five times, three for touchdowns, in the Bills' only win that 1968 AFL season.
Bachelors III
After the season, Namath opened a popular
Upper East SideThe Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
barA bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
called "Bachelors III", with plans to open branches in Florida and Boston. To protect the league's reputation, the NFL Commissioner,
Pete RozelleAlvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle was the commissioner of the National Football League from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. Rozelle is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world....
, ordered Namath to divest himself of his interest in the bar. Namath reacted defiantly, retiring from football during a teary news conference. Down at the NFL offices panic ensued. His presence on Sunday afternoons meant millions of dollars in television ad revenue. Working through intermediaries, a meeting between Namath and Rozelle was arranged. It lasted well into the night, and in the end the antagonists reached a compromise. Namath would sell his share of the New York Bachelors III only. He would retain his shares of the Boston and Fort Lauderdale locations, as well as any that might open in the future (Tuscaloosa, Alabama). After missing most of training camp, Namath came out of retirement and reported to the Jets.
Monday Night Footballs inaugural game
The head of
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's televised sports,
Roone ArledgeRoone Pickney Arledge, Jr. was an American sports broadcasting pioneer who was chairman of ABC News from 1977 until several years before his death, and a key part of the company's rise to competition with the two other main television networks, NBC and CBS, in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s.-Early...
, made sure that
Monday Night FootballMonday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
s inaugural game (September 21, 1970) would feature Namath and the New York Jets in a game against the
Cleveland BrownsThe Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in Cleveland Municipal Stadium. A record crowd of 85,703 and a huge television audience (but not shown in Cleveland, due to unconditional blackout rules at the time) watched the Jets set a team record for penalties and lose on a late Namath interception.
Injuries
After not missing a single game because of injury in his first five years in the league, Namath played in just 28 of a 58 possible games because of various injuries between 1970 and 1973 as the Jets struggled with records of 4–10, 6–8, 7–7, and 4–10. His most memorable moment in those four seasons came on September 24, 1972 in Baltimore, when he and boyhood idol
Johnny UnitasJohn Constantine Unitas , known as Johnny Unitas or "Johnny U", and nicknamed "The Golden Arm", was a professional American football player in the 1950s through the 1970s, spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts. He was a record-setting quarterback, and the National Football...
combined for 872 passing yards. Namath bombed the Colts for 496 yards and six touchdowns in a 44-34 victory, New York's first victory over Baltimore since Super Bowl III. In that same game, Unitas threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns. This game is considered by many NFL experts to be the finest display of passing in a single game in league history.
Improving the Jets' level of play
When he played, Namath always managed to improve the Jets' level of play. In a 1974 game against city rival
New York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(played at the
Yale BowlThe Yale Bowl is a football stadium in New Haven, Connecticut on the border of West Haven, about 1½ miles west of Yale's main campus. Completed in 1914, the stadium seats 61,446, reduced by renovations from the original capacity of 70,869...
in New Haven,
ConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
as Yankee Stadium was closed for a massive renovation and
Giants StadiumGiants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...
was under construction), Namath scored a game-tying touchdown on a five-yard
bootlegIn American football, a bootleg play is a play in which the quarterback runs with the ball in the direction of either sideline behind the line of scrimmage...
, and then hit
Emerson BoozerEmerson Boozer is a former running back in the American Football League and in the NFL. In the last year of separate drafts by the AFL and the NFL, Boozer signed with the AFL's New York Jets, rather than with an NFL team. He played his entire professional career with the Jets...
with a touchdown pass in overtime to lift the Jets to a 26-20 victory (the first regular season game in NFL history to be decided in overtime), launching New York on a six-game winning streak to end the 1974 season at 7-7.
The
Chicago WindsThe Chicago Winds was the World Football League's ill-fated 1975 successor to the Chicago Fire. The team was named the Winds because Chicago was nicknamed "The Windy City." The Winds played at Soldier Field and was assigned to the WFL's Western Division for 1975 .-Pursuit of Joe...
of the
World Football LeagueThe World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...
famously made a large overture to Namath prior to the start of the 1975 season in an effort to get Namath to sign with the team. The Winds designed their uniforms identically to that of the Jets and offered Namath $600,000 a year for three year, $100,000 for the next seventeen, a $500,000 signing bonus, and the eventual arrangement for Namath to revive the WFL's
New York franchiseThe Charlotte Hornets were an American football team in the short-lived World Football League. They were relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina, from New York City in the middle of the 1974 season.-History:...
as the new team's owner. The WFL's television provider,
TVS Television NetworkThe TVS Television Network, or TVS for short, was a syndicator of American sports programming. It was one of several "occasional" national television networks that sprang up in the early 1960s to take advantage of the establishment of independent television stations and relaxation of the AT&T...
, insisted on the Winds succeeding in signing Namath in order for the network to continue television broadcasts; Namath, in turn, requested a cut of the league's television revenue. The league refused, and Namath instead returned to the Jets. The Winds, as a result of having bet their entire existence on signing Namath, folded five weeks into the 1975 WFL season.
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 could not 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
hamstringIn human anatomy, the hamstring refers to any one of the three posterior thigh muscles, or to the tendons that make up the borders of the space behind the knee. In modern anatomical contexts, however, they usually refer to the posterior thigh muscles, or the tendons of the semitendinosus, the...
and the general ravages of a long period of time playing professional football, as well as his "hard and fast" lifestyle. After playing well in 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 BearsThe Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
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 KnoxCharles Robert "Chuck" Knox is a former American football coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. He is best remembered as head coach of three National Football League teams, the Seattle Seahawks, the Buffalo Bills, and the Los Angeles Rams, serving two separate stints with...
seemed ready to pull
Pat HadenPatrick Capper "Pat" Haden is the athletic director at the University of Southern California. He played quarterback for the USC Trojans before playing professionally in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams from 1976 to 1981...
and insert Namath. Rams assistant coach
Kay StephensonGeorge Kay Stephenson is a former American college and professional football player and current coach, whose latter career has seen him work in four different professional leagues. Stephenson played quarterback for the American Football League's San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills...
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 ColiseumThe Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...
. Namath retired from the Rams after a single season.
Hall of Fame legacy
Joe Namath is in the Professional Football Hall of Fame. While his career statistics are not exceptional (Ex: Career passing percentage 50.1, QB rating 65.5, 50 more interceptions than TD's), Namath was the game's first true media superstar and Namath was the first quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards during the 14 game 1967 season. This feat was not to be achieved again until
Dan FoutsDaniel Francis Fouts is a retired Hall of Fame American football quarterback in the National Football League. Fouts played his entire professional career with the San Diego Chargers from 1973 through 1987...
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. 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."
Movie and television career
Namath went on to a minor career as an actor in several movies, including
C.C. and CompanyC.C. and Company is a movie that was released in 1970. It starred Joe Namath as biker C.C. Ryder, Ann-Margret as fashion journalist Ann and William Smith as Moon, the leader of the fictitious outlaw biker gang the "Heads".- Plot summary :...
with
Ann-MargretAnn-Margret Olsson is a Swedish-American actress, singer and dancer whose professional name is Ann-Margret. She became famous for her starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, The Cincinnati Kid, Carnal Knowledge, and Tommy...
and
William SmithWilliam Smith is an American actor who has appeared in almost 300 feature films and television productions.Smith began his acting career at the age of 8 in 1942...
in 1970, and he starred in a brief 1978 television series,
The Waverly WondersThe Waverly Wonders was a short-lived TV sitcom, starring retired pro football star Joe Namath, that lasted less than a month on NBC in 1978....
. He guest-starred on many television shows, including
Married... with ChildrenMarried... with Children is an American surrealistic sitcom that aired for 11 seasons that featured a dysfunctional family living in Chicago, Illinois. The show, notable for being the first prime time television series to air on Fox, ran from April 5, 1987, to June 9, 1997. The series was created...
,
Here's LucyHere's Lucy is Lucille Ball's third network television sitcom. It ran on CBS from 1968 to 1974.-Background:Though The Lucy Show was still hugely popular during the previous season, finishing in the top five of the Nielsen Ratings , Ball opted to end that series at the end of that season and create...
,
The Brady BunchThe Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
,
The Flip Wilson ShowThe Flip Wilson Show is a variety show that aired in the U.S. on NBC from September 17, 1970 to June 27, 1974. The show starred American comedian Flip Wilson; the program was one of the first American television programs starring a black person in the title role to become highly successful with a...
, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In,
The Dean Martin ShowThe Dean Martin Show is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by crooner Dean Martin...
,
The Simpsons"Bart Star" is the sixth episode of the ninth season of the animated television series The Simpsons, which originally aired November 9, 1997. The title of this episode is a play on Bart Starr...
,
The A-TeamThe A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...
,
ALFALF is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1986 to 1990, created by Paul Fusco. The title character was Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF , who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family.The series starred Max...
and
The John Larroquette ShowThe John Larroquette Show is a situation comedy that ran on the NBC network from 1993 to 1996. The show, created by Don Reo, was a vehicle for John Larroquette following his run as Dan Fielding on Night Court. The series took place in a seedy bus terminal in St. Louis, Missouri and focused on the...
. He was guest host on
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
several times, as well as hosting his own show, the 1969 cult classic The Joe Namath Show (co-hosted by
Dick SchaapRichard Jay Schaap was an American sportswriter, broadcaster, and author.-Early life and education:...
) with its eclectic guest pairings and open-bar attitude. He appeared as T.J. on
The A-TeamThe A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...
. OnThe A-Team, his character T.J. Bryant was punched by
Mr. TMr. T is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewelry,...
and verbally threatened by former football star
Jim BrownJames Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...
in one episode (Quarterback Sneak) during season 5 of the series.
He also served as a
color commentatorA color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
on broadcasts of NFL games for a while, including the 1985 season of Monday Night Football, but never seemed to be particularly comfortable in this role and was accused of being over-critical of then current players.
Namath also auditioned to host the 1988 revival of the classic game show
Family FeudFamily Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
for
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, but that role went to
Ray CombsRaymond Neil "Ray" Combs, Jr. was an American comedian, actor, and host of the game show Family Feud on CBS and in syndication from 1988 to 1994.-Early life and career:...
.
Known as "Broadway Joe", he made his only appearance on Broadway as a cast replacement in a revival of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. He has also appeared in summerstock productions of
Damn YankeesDamn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League...
and
Fiddler on the RoofFiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
.
Later and current life
In November, 2006 the biography Namath by Mark Kriegel was published by Rugged Land Books. Shortly thereafter the book was on the New York Times extended Bestseller List (#23). In conjunction with the release of the book Namath was interviewed for the November 19, 2006 edition of
60 Minutes60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
on
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television.
In 2006, Namath enrolled in the University of Alabama's External Degree program (he was 15 credits shy of graduating when he left Alabama in 1965). He earned his
B.A.A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in interdisciplinary studies on December 15, 2007 from the University of Alabama at the age of 64, fulfilling a promise he had made to his daughter, who also graduated from his alma mater.
A recent documentary about Namath's hometown of
Beaver Falls, PennsylvaniaBeaver Falls is a city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,987 at the 2010 census. It is located 31 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, and on the Beaver River, six miles from its confluence with the Ohio River...
, includes a segment on Namath and why the city has celebrated its ties to him. In 2009, he would present the
Vince Lombardi TrophyThe Vince Lombardi Trophy is the trophy awarded each year to the winning team of the National Football League's championship game, the Super Bowl.-History:...
to the winning team of
Super Bowl XLIIISuper Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
forty years after winning Super Bowl III. Coincidentally, the team he would present the trophy to was his hometown
Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, with
NBC SportsNBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
(which had the broadcasting rights to Super Bowl XLIII) introducing him as "Hall of Fame quarterback and Pennsylvania native Joe Namath."
Namath currently lives in the village of
Tequesta, FloridaTequesta is an incorporated village in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,273 at the 2000 census. It is the northernmost municipality in the South Florida metropolitan area, which in 2007 had an estimated population of 5,413. According to the U.S...
. He continues to serve as an unofficial spokesman and goodwill ambassador for the Jets.
In summer/fall of 2011, Namath was representing
ToppsThe Topps Company, Inc., manufactures chewing gum, candy and collectibles. Based in New York, New York, Topps is best known as a leading producer of baseball cards, football cards, basketball cards, hockey cards and other sports and non-sports themed trading cards.-Company history:Topps itself was...
and promoting a "Super Bowl Legends" contest, appearing on its behalf on The David Letterman Show.
Icon and advertisements
Namath's nickname "Broadway Joe" was given to him by
Sherman PlunkettSherman Eugene Plunkett was an American football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League from and in the American Football League from , for the San Diego Chargers and the New York Jets. He was an American Football League All-Star in 1964 and 1966...
, a Jets teammate. The "Joe Willie Namath" moniker, Namath's full given name, was popularized by sportscaster
Howard CosellHoward William Cosell was an American sports journalist who was widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality. Cosell said of himself, "Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. I have been called all of these...
. He originated the fad of wearing a full-length fur coat on the sidelines, a habit which was adopted by many players after him. The NFL has since banned this, requiring all team personnel (players, coaches, athletic trainers, etc.) to wear league-approved team apparel. Namath stood out from other AFL and NFL players by wearing low-cut white shoes rather than traditional black high-tops (thus the nickname "Joe Willie Whiteshoes").
Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
defensive end
L. C. GreenwoodL.C. Henderson Greenwood is a former American football defensive end for the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers.-College career:...
paid tribute to Namath when wearing gold shoes in the seventies. Today, the NFL often fines players for not wearing shoes that match those of their teammates.
Namath also appeared in television advertisements both during and after his playing career, most notably for
NoxzemaNoxzema is a skin cleanser marketed by Alberto-Culver. Alberto-Culver bought the rights to the brand in 2008 from Procter & Gamble and now owns and operates the line of skin-care products...
shaving cream (in which he was shaved by a then-unknown
Farrah FawcettFarrah Fawcett was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels, in 1976...
(video clip)) and pantyhose; both commercials contributed to his becoming something of a pop-culture icon. He has appeared in advertising as recently as 2003.
Namath also opened several bars under the name Broadway Joe's in both New York City and in
Tuscaloosa, AlabamaTuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
(location of the University of Alabama). These continue today with moderate success.
Namath spent many years appearing as a booster for golf tournaments and other good causes, such as youth camps, including football camps, and lately for arthritis. He has served as a
March of DimesThe March of Dimes Foundation is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies.-Organization:...
volunteer for over 40 years. Most recently he was the March of Dimes' WalkAmerica Honorary Chair from 1998–2007. He also holds a celebrity golf outing annually on Long Island, New York to benefit the March of Dimes.
Namath made many notable remarks during the NFL Films presentation of NFL 75 Seasons. Recounting his 1969 Super Bowl performance, he said "It was such a feeling of elation, joy, tickling explosions inside, the teammates we did it, we were #1." "The same three words keep coming back: 'We did it. WE DID IT.'" Namath's infectious and genuine joy at recounting this made it natural for NFL Films to feature this quote in advertisements for its series.
Talking about the Raiders he said, "You were always playing a tough football team, and some of the guys cheated. Some of the guys kicked and bit and hit ya in the back, some of that kind of stuff, hit ya in the back of the head, and it's on film."
Talking about "The Guarantee," Namath said, "[I]t was not planned, it wasn't premeditated; it was just anger and frustration, and I really believed we were gonna win the game."
Speaking about teamwork, Namath said: "Life isn't always easy, and football isn't always easy. Football convinced me that life is a team game."
See also
External links
Video highlights