Know Your Elders: Joe Namath

It's time for another installment of Know Your Elders. With the sports blogosphere being a relatively new phenomenon, I feel that a great percentage of sports history's off-field antics have gone virtually ignored. I want to right that wrong and let you know that no, players in the '20s, '60s, or '80s weren't necessarily altar boys.

The first installment in this series featured the hard-partying Bobby Layne. Next up is someone I believe you're a little more familiar with: Joe Willie Namath.

WHO HE PLAYED FOR:

Beaver Falls HS:

Namath grew up in an area of Beaver Falls (a steel town eight miles outside outside of Pittsburgh) known as the Lower End, a predominantly African-American neighborhood. He would later get into arguments with his Alabama teammates while defending African-Americans.

He was a three-sport star, playing football, baseball, and basketball. Upon graduation from Beaver Falls, Namath received offers from six Major League Baseball teams, with the Cubs reportedly offering a $50,000 signing bonus.

Namath had offers from numerous Division I college football programs, including Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama, and Notre Dame, but initially decided upon the University of Maryland. However, he was rejected by Maryland because his college-board scores (730) were just below the school's required 750. Alabama, here we come!

University of Alabama, 1962-64.

As a sophomore, he led a senior-laden squad to a 10-1 record, throwing for 1192 yards and 12 TDs. In his junior season, he broke curfew late in the year and was dropped from the team for the final regular season game and the Sugar Bowl by coach Bear Bryant.

His first knee injury occured against North Carolina State in his senior year when it collapsed on an abrupt stop. Two weeks later, it collapsed again, and while practicing for the Orange Bowl, it collapsed again.

While he was not expected to play in the Orange Bowl, he came off the bench and played well enough to be named the MVP. But that was not enough, as the previously-undefeated #1 Crimson Tide lost, 21-17, to Texas.

New York Jets, 1965-76. Namath was chosen 3rd overall in the AFL draft (and was also drafted 12th overall by the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals). He signed for $427,000, a record at the time, and his contract also included a Lincoln Continental. He actually signed the day after the Sugar Bowl.

Under coach Weeb Ewbank, he became the Jets' starting QB midway through his rookie season. By 1967, he became the first NFL quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards.

In 1968, he was the Jets' QB for the infamous "Heidi Game" on NBC, a 43-32 loss to the Oakland Raiders. They would meet the Raiders again in the AFL Championship, this time winning 27-23 behind three Namath TD passes on a windy and cold day.

That win meant the Jets would be the AFL representative in Super Bowl III, the third AFL-NFL Championship game and the first to be called "The Super Bowl". Despite the AFL being seen as an inferior league, a confident Namath answered a heckler at the Miami Touchdown Club three days before the game, proclaiming, "We're gonna win the game. I guarantee it."

And win they did, beating the Indianapolis Colts, 16-7. Namath completed 17 out of 28 passes for 206 yards and was named MVP, despite not throwing a TD pass. Consider this an early example of "walking the walk".

After the 1969 season, Namath opened a Manhattan bar (Bachelors III), which was frequented by "social undesirables" (translation: gamblers). He was ordered by Commissioner Pete Rozelle to divest himself of his interest in the bar, but defiantly resisted, instead retiring from football at a teary press conference. An all-night meeting with Rozelle resulted in a compromise: Namath would be allowed to return and to retain his interests in Boston and Miami Bachelors III locations, as well as future locations that might open.

Namath's 1970 and '71 seasons were mostly lost to injury, as he started just eight of a possible 28 games over that time.

On September 24, 1972 in Baltimore, Namath (496/6) and boyhood idol Johnny Unitas (376/3) combined for 872 passing yards and nine touchdowns in a 44-34 Jets victory, New York's first victory over Baltimore since Super Bowl III.

1975 and 1976 were rough seasons for "Broadway Joe", as the Jets compiled back-to-back 3-11 seasons. '76 was notable for the fact that current ESPN talking head Lou Holtz was the Jets' head coach. That experiment didn't last too long.

Los Angeles Rams, 1977. Released by the Jets, Namath tried to jump-start his career. However, numerous lingering injuries combined with a party animal lifestyle meant that Namath was at the end of the road.

He appeared and started in just four games, throwing for 606 yards, 3 TD and 5 INT. In the first round of the playoffs, with QB Pat Haden struggggling, Rams Coach Chuck Knox decided to leave Haden in the game rather than dramatically bring Namath off the bench. The Rams ended up losing to the Vikings, 14-7, and Namath would never play again.

NAMATH'S CAREER STATS/HIGHLIGHTS:
--Hall of Fame, 1985
--Super Bowl Champion
--5-time Pro Bowl
--5-time All-Pro
--Passing stats: 1866-3762 (50.1%), 27,663 yards, 173 TD, 220 INT, 65.5 QB Rating

OTHER INTERESTING STUFF:

--Appeared in the first-ever Monday Night Football game (Jets vs. Browns), played at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium, on September 21, 1970. In front of a record crowd of 85,703 and a huge television audience, the Jets set a team record for penalties and ultimately lost on a late Namath interception.

--Father Frank Namath was a steelworker.

--Has osteoarthritis since 1965 and works with the Arthritis Foundation.

--Alabama coach Bear Bryant called Namath "the greatest athlete I ever coached".

--Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh: Namath was "the most beautiful, accurate, stylish passer with the quickest release I've ever seen."

--Hall of Fame coach Don Shula: Namath was "one of the 3 smartest quarterbacks of all time"

--Ranked #96 on The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Football Players list in 1999.

--Despite his celebrity, there is no mention of Namath around the town of Beaver Falls. Check out this little documentary about why.

Joe's 1970s Pantyhose commercial:


MOST EXPENSIVE EBAY ITEM:

A signed piece of art (limited edition of 69), priced at $7,500.

THE JUICY STUFF:



--"I Wanna Kiss You": Shortly after the Jets' celebration of their All-Time Team at a December, 2003 game, Namath was asked about Jets QB Chad Pennington by ESPN's Suzy Kolber. His infamous response: "I want to kiss you. I couldn't care less about the team struggggling."

--Entered an alcohol treatment program on January 12, 2004, the 35th anniversary of Super Bowl III.

--Shaved his mustache off in a TV commercial for Remington razors for $10,000.

--Starred in the 1978 television series The Waverly Wonders.

--Daughter Jessica was accused of homewrecking in 2006.

--Guest-starred on The Brady Bunch, The Flip Wilson Show, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, The Dean Martin Show, The Simpsons, The A-Team, and The John Larroquette Show.

--Was offered to host "Family Feud" when the show was revived in 1988. However, the producers had second thoughts about him, and ultimately hired Ray Combs, instead.

--Did several commercials including Ovaltine, Noxema Shaving Cream, popcorn machines and pantyhose.

--In 1999, he filed for divorce from wife of 15 years Deborah Mays (born 1962), who called herself "Tatiana".

--He was guest host on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson several times.

--Appears on the Master list of Nixon political opponents.

--Color commentator on Monday Night Football in 1985.

--Will be portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal in an upcoming film of his life, possibly the worst casting in the history of movies.

--Had a reckless driving charge in Miami dropped.

--Dated Marilyn Monroe lookalike Mamie Van Doren.

FAMOUS QUOTES:

"I like my Johnnie Walker Red and my women blonde"

"I don't know whether I prefer Astroturf to grass. I never smoked Astroturf. "

"Till I was 13, I thought my name was "Shut Up."

"When we won the league championship, all the married guys on the club had to thank their wives for putting up with all the stress and strain all season. I had to thank all the single broads in New York. "

"When you win, nothing hurts."

So there you have it. I could've gone on and on about Joe Namath. In fact, he's the inspiration for this entire series. People are making a fuss about Matt Leinart? Please. Matt Leinart is amateur hour. If Namath played today, he might blow up the entire internet with his antics. A freaking fur coat on the sidelines? If that were Terrell Owens, Skip Bayless' head might explode in anger.

To recap the cultural signficance of Namath: he brought together two football leagues, he became the first football star to crossover into pop culture, he made the most famous guarantee of all time, he was booted from the league in his prime, and decades after he left the game, he pulls the Kolber stunt. He won over New York and the nation, and he's from our backyard. You'll always be the man, Mr. Namath.

Know your elders!

Required reading:

Joe Namath [Wikipedia]

Joe Namath [IMDB]

Joe Namath [Sports Placement]

Joe Namath statistics [Pro Football Reference]

Kissing Suzy Kolber

Know Your Elders: Bobby Layne [Mondesishouse.com]

Know Your Elders: Bobby Layne

It's time for another new regular feature from Mondesi's House: Know Your Elders. With the sports blogosphere being a relatively new phenomenon, I feel that a great percentage of sports history's off-field antics have gone virtually ignored. I want to right that wrong and let you know that no, players in the '20s, '60s, or '80s weren't necessarily altar boys.

First up:

QB Bobby Layne

WHO HE PLAYED FOR:

Highland Park HS in Dallas, where he was a teammate of future Hall of Famer Doak Walker.

The Texas Longhorns. He was a College HOFer and 4-time All-Southwest Conference QB, scoring every point in Texas' 40-27 win in the 1946 Cotton Bowl. He married his UT sweetie, Carol Ann Krueger, and left with school records for completions, attempts, and yards. By all accounts, Layne was your prototype, corn-fed stud QB.

Chicago Bears, 1948. He was chosen 3rd overall in the '48 NFL draft by the Steelers, surely higher than Mel Kiper, Sr. had projected him. He was also chosen 2nd overall in the '48 AAFC draft by the Baltimore Colts. But the Steelers dealt his rights to Chicago, where he was sweet-talked into signing with the Bears by George Halas. Layne turned down $77K worth of Colt Cash in the process.

New York Bulldogs, 1949. After one year as a Bear, he was traded by Halas to New York in a salary dump. Thanks a lot for the loyalty, Papa Bear.

Detroit Lions, 1950-58. Once again, Layne was traded after one year with a team. He was immensely talented, yet kept getting passed around the league. Think of him as Alfonso Soriano 60 years ahead of his time.

In Detroit, Layne was reunited with Doak Walker and led the Lions to three titles during his time there. He also racked up four Pro Bowl appearances and four All-Pro honors. Again, this was all during his time as a LION. Contrary to what you've heard, the Lions did have success before the Matt Millens, Scott Mitchells, and Wayne Fontes of the world came along.

Pittsburgh Steelers, 1958-62. Ahh, now you see where I was going with this. He was a Steeler! Layne was traded to the Stillers in '58 and immediately said that "the Lions would not win for 50 years". So I guess we can all bet on one more year of Lion losing before Jon Kitna hoists the Lombardi Trophy in '09.

During his time in the Steel City, Layne reached two Pro Bowls, in '58 and '59, also getting All-Pro honors again during those years. His Steeler teams declined each year, with records of 7-4-1, 6-5-1, 5-6-1, and 6-8 from 1958-1961, but ended on a high note with a 9-5 mark in '62. Unfortunately, in 1962 the only way to advance to the championship game was to win your conference, and their 9-5 record was three games behind the 12-2 New York Giants.

Layne then retired, saying that the biggest disappointment in his NFL career was not winning a championship for the Steelers and for Art Rooney. Unfortunately, no quarterback pulled off that feat until Terry Bradshaw in 1974. In fact, the first playoff game the Steelers ever won was the Immaculate Reception game in the 1972 playoffs, losing the next week to the 17-0, champagne-sipping Miami Dolphins, 21-17. Yes, only five more points could've shut up Mercury Morris 26 years ago.

LAYNE'S CAREER STATS/HIGHLIGHTS:

--Hall of Fame, 1967

--6-time Pro Bowler

--6-time All-Pro

--1814 completions-3700 attempts (49% completion); 196 TD, 243 INT; 63.4 QB Rating

--Also the primary kicker for his team in '56, '57, '59,'60: 34-50 on field goals (68%) and 120-124 (96%) on PATs

OTHER INTERESTING STUFF:

--As you can see, Layne was the cover boy for Time Magazine, 11/29/54. It'll run you about $25.

--Named "The Toughest Quarterback Who Ever Lived" by Sports Illustrated in 1995

--#52 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players in 1999

--Coached the Steelers' QBs from 1962-1965

--Credited with creating the two-minute offense

MOST EXPENSIVE EBAY ITEM:

1952 Bowman football card graded "SGC 96 Mint", a cool $5,000:

THE JUICY STUFF:

--An unapologetic party animal who died shortly before his 60th birthday, probably as a result of his heavy drinking.

--Famous quote: "If I'd known I was gonna live this long, I'd have taken a lot better care of myself", later used by his Dallas neighbor and fellow alcohol abuser, Mickey Mantle.

--Said he wanted to die by running out of cash and air at the same time.

--Once picked up by his linemen and dunked in a barrel of water in order to wake him up for a game

--Celebrated beating a drunk-driving ticket by throwing a party

--His "curse" inspired a very interesting website, Curseofbobbylane.com

--Prone to blowups with his coach? Sounds like it to me...(from Curse of Bobby Layne):

In his first year with the Lions, a feud erupted between Layne and the late Bo McMillin. McMillin wanted to call the plays from the bench all the time and Bobby refused to work that way. Although this protest threatened his career, Bobby stood strong and said he would quit before playing another season under him. The Detroit management bought out McMillins contract and hired Buddy Parker to coach the Lions. Parker felt that if a quarterback was properly prepared during the week before the game, it should be up to him to use the proper plays. Parker would send in a play only when someone upstairs detected a weakness in a particular defense.

So there you have it. Now you can wow your fellow Steeler friends with knowledge of the other hard-partying Steeler quarterback. This guy would've been a gold mine had I blogged the 1960 Steelers.

Know your elders!

Required reading:

Curseofbobbylayne.com

Bobby Layne [Wikipedia]