Joe Namath
Joseph William Namath (/ˈneɪməθ/; NAY-məth; born May 31, 1943), nicknamed "Broadway Joe", is an American former football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the New York Jets. Namath played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he won the national championship as a senior, and was selected by the Jets first overall in the 1965 AFL draft.
No. 12
May 31, 1943
Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, U.S.
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Beaver Falls
(Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania)
Alabama (1961–1964)
1965 / Round: 1 / Pick: 12
1965 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1
3,762
3,762
1,886
50.1%
173–220
27,663
65.5
During his five AFL seasons, Namath was a two-time MVP and twice led the league in passing yards, while winning one AFL championship and one Super Bowl. Both victories remain the Jets' only championships. Following the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, he joined the NFL with the Jets, where he was the league's passing yards and touchdowns leader during the 1972 season. He played in New York for seven more seasons and spent his final year as a member of the Los Angeles Rams.
Namath cemented his legacy in 1969 when he guaranteed his heavy underdog Jets would win Super Bowl III before defeating the NFL's Baltimore Colts in one of the greatest sports upsets of all time. The Super Bowl victory was the first for an AFL franchise, helping dismiss notions that its teams were inferior to the NFL's and demonstrating they would enter the merger as equals. Namath received Super Bowl MVP honors in the game, while also becoming the first quarterback to win both a college national championship and a major professional championship. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.
Early life[edit]
Namath was born and raised in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, 30 miles (50 km) northwest of Pittsburgh. He grew up in the Lower End neighborhood of Beaver Falls.[1] He is the son of Roman Catholic parents, Rose (née Juhász) and János "John Andrew" Namath, a steelworker, both of Hungarian descent.[2] His Hungarian-born grandfather, András "Andrew" Németh, known as "A.J." to his family and friends, came to Ellis Island on the steamer Pannonia in 1911,[3]: 1 and worked in the coal and steel industries of the Greater Pittsburgh area.
While growing up, Namath was close to both of his parents, who eventually divorced. Following his parents' divorce, he lived with his mother. He was the youngest of four sons, with an older adopted sister.[4]
Namath excelled in all sports at Beaver Falls High School and was a standout quarterback in football, guard in basketball, and outfielder in baseball. In an age when dunks were uncommon in high school basketball, Namath regularly dunked in games. Namath later clarified a story about being the only white player on his high school basketball team on The James Brown Show in 2018, where he was the guest. He stated that although he was one of several white players on the team, he was the only white starter.[5] Coached by Larry Bruno at Beaver Falls, Namath's football team won the WPIAL Class AA championship with a 9–0 record in 1960.[6] Coach Bruno later presented Namath to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.[7]
Upon graduation from high school in 1961, he received offers from several Major League Baseball teams, including the Yankees, Indians, Reds, Pirates, and Phillies,[8] but football prevailed. Namath told interviewers that he wanted to sign with the Pirates and play baseball like his idol, Roberto Clemente, but elected to play football because his mother wanted him to get a college education.[9] He enrolled at the University of Alabama, but left before graduating in order to pursue a career in professional football. However, a college degree was finally conferred on Namath at age 64, after he completed an external-program Bachelor of Arts degree in interdisciplinary studies at the University of Alabama in 2007.[10][11]
Namath had many offers from Division I college football programs, including Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama, and Notre Dame, but initially decided upon the University of Maryland after being heavily recruited by Maryland assistant coach Roland Arrigoni. He was rejected by Maryland because his college-board scores were just below the school's requirements. After ample recruiting by Coach Paul 'Bear' Bryant, Namath accepted a full scholarship to attend Alabama. Bryant stated his decision to recruit Namath was "the best coaching decision I ever made."[12]