"[33] Three days before the game, Namath was tired of addressing the issue in the press, and he responded to a heckler at a sports banquet in Miami with the line: "We're going to win the game. After winning division championships in 1968 and 1969, the Jets struggled to records of 4–10, 6–8, 7–7, and 4–10. Then they offered Namath a contract worth $600,000 a year for three years; a $2 million annuity ($100,000 per year for 20 years); a $500,000 signing bonus; and terms for Namath's eventual ownership of a WFL franchise in New York (which apparently involved moving the Charlotte Hornets franchise back to the Big Apple, perhaps playing in the refurbished Yankee Stadium). He subsequently parlayed his notoriety into success with endorsement deals and as a nightclub owner, talk show host, pioneering advertising spokesman, theater, motion picture, and television actor, and sports broadcaster. However, the Jets set a team record for penalties and lost on a late Namath interception. Namath was the Super Bowl MVP, completing eight passes to George Sauer alone for 133 yards. His performance in the 1968 season earned him the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year. [26] The day after the Orange Bowl, Namath elected to sign with the Jets, which were under the direction of owner Sonny Werblin, for a salary of US$427,000 over three years (a pro football record at the time). Asked by Wiki User. The magazine stated that Namath did not want to attend training camp because of the risk of injury, but could not afford to retire permanently because of poor investments. Top Answer. [51], On June 6, 2018, Namath threw out the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs baseball game at Wrigley Field. During live ESPN coverage of the team's game, Namath was asked about then-Jets quarterback Chad Pennington and his thoughts on the difficulties of that year's team. He retired after playing 143 games over 13 years in the AFL and NFL, including playoffs. I guarantee it."[34]. In September 2012, Namath was honored by the Ride of Fame and a double-decker tour bus was dedicated to him in New York City. Building on his brief success as a host on 1969's The Joe Namath Show, Namath transitioned into an acting career. The win made him the first quarterback to start and win a national championship game in college, a major professional league championship, and a Super Bowl. [31] Although Namath was plagued with knee injuries through much of his career and underwent four pioneering knee operations by Dr. James A. Nicholas, he was an AFL All-Star in 1965, 1967, 1968, and 1969. [citation needed]. and Company with Ann-Margret and William Smith in 1970, on stage in "Picnic" with Donna Mills in 1971 and in a brief 1978 television series, The Waverly Wonders, he guest-starred on numerous television shows, often as himself, including The Love Boat, Married... with Children, Here's Lucy, The Brady Bunch, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, The Flip Wilson Show, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, The Dean Martin Show, The Simpsons, The A-Team, ALF, Kate & Allie, and The John Larroquette Show. In the 1968 AFL title game, Namath threw three touchdown passes to lead New York to a 27–23 win over the defending AFL champion Oakland Raiders. Bryant stated his decision to recruit Namath was "the best coaching decision I ever made.”[14], Between 1962 and 1964, Namath quarterbacked the Alabama Crimson Tide program under Bryant and his offensive coordinator, Howard Schnellenberger. Appearing on stage, starring in several movies, including C.C. (He was the only white starter on his high school basketball team. [12][13], 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. Asked by Wiki User. By 1987, Namath was able to stop his drinking, though he would relapse after his divorce in 2000. He was the youngest of four sons, with an older adopted sister. Namath has long trumpeted how invaluable his offensive line was to him, before, during and after Super Bowl III. In an age when dunks were uncommon in high school basketball, Namath regularly dunked in games. Namath is known for boldly guaranteeing a Jets' victory over Don Shula's NFL Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III (1969), then making good on his prediction with a 16–7 upset (the win remains the Jets' only Super Bowl appearance). The Winds folded five weeks into the 1975 WFL season. Namath was an AFL icon and played for that league's New York Jets for most of his professional football career. Joe Namath was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. His Hungarian-born grandfather, András "Andrew" Németh, known as "A.J." The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. [17], Namath's time at Alabama was a culture shock for him, as he had grown up in a neighborhood in Pennsylvania that was predominantly black. The win made him the first quarterback to start and win a national championship game in college, a major professional league championship, and a Super Bowl. On some occasions, Namath had to have his knee drained at halftime so he could finish a game. The Jets met the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland Municipal Stadium in front of both a record crowd of 85,703 and a huge television audience. The white shoes had started when Namath was at Alabama, where he kept having his worn-out cleats taped up as a superstition, especially when he had his first major knee injury in a game where he had forgotten to have them taped. The pitch was caught by then-Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who idolized Namath as a child. The Jets' win gave the AFL instant legitimacy even to skeptics. Broadway Joe Namath and I had two things in common: We were both at the Super Bowl on Jan. 12, 1969, in Miami. In conjunction with its release, Namath was interviewed for the November 19, 2006, edition of CBS' 60 Minutes. [58], On June 2, 2013, Namath was the guest speaker at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, unveiling the Canton, Ohio, museum's $27 million expansion and renovation plan. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. This was Namath's first time at Wrigley Field. He was a first-round draft selection by both the NFL and the upstart AFL. [8] Coach Bruno later presented Namath to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. Joe Namath won one Super Bowl championship. [30] He became the first professional quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards in a season when he threw for 4,007 yards during a 14-game season in 1967, a record broken by Dan Fouts in a 16-game season in 1979 (4,082). The Jets' win gave the AFL instant legitimacy even to … [5] His parents were of Hungarian descent. 50 years later, the NFL-AFL draft wars that birthed a league", "Jets' president makes Joe a '$400,000 quarterback, "Drew Brees Passes Dan Marino: Saints QB Joins Marino, Joe Namath, Dan Fouts In Holding NFL Record", "Joe Namath Relives His Super Bowl Guarantee", "Pregame Talk Is Cheap, but This Vow Resonates", "Pro football was changed by the first Monday Night Football game, and so was the life of the Browns' hero that night", "Long after retiring from Bears, Predators coach's love of Chicago remains strong", "Namath to Make Debut On Broadway in 'Caine, "Ride of Fame - Ride of Fame at Pier 78- CitySightseeing", "Joe Namath's teenaged daughter gives birth", "Namath: Drinking kicked my butt for long time", "Namath: Drinking kicked my butt for a long time", "NFL legend Joe Namath aids search for boys, 14, missing off Florida", "U.S. Coast Guard to suspend search for missing Florida teens who vanished during fishing trip", "Cubs' Joe Maddon smitten by visit from childhood idol Joe Namath", "Joe Namath visited Wrigley Field for the first time and threw a pitch to Joe Maddon", "The Third Annual Permanent Retirement of Joe Namath", "Wednesday's Post: Can you imagine Joe Namath wearing pantyhose? He originated the fad of wearing a full-length fur coat on the sidelines (since banned by the NFL, which requires all players, coaches, athletic trainers, et al., to wear league-approved team apparel).[58]. © 2020 NFL Enterprises LLC. All of these commercials contributed to his becoming a pop-culture icon. Namath threw for 496 yards and six touchdowns and Unitas 376 yards and three in a 44–34 New York victory over the Colts, its first against Baltimore since Super Bowl III. Namath was the Super Bowl MVP, completing eight passes to George Sauer alone for 133 yards. ", https://nypost.com/2014/02/04/the-story-behind-joe-namaths-super-bowl-coat/, "PRO FOOTBALL; Jets Turn a Gathering Into a Testaverde Rally", "Joe Namath to Attend Pro Footballs Hall of Fame Opening", "Medicare Coverage Helpline TV Commercial, 'Make Sure' Featuring Joe Namath", "Medicare Coverage Helpline TV Commercial, 'Staying Home: New Benefits' Featuring Joe Namath", Joe Namath article, Encyclopedia of Alabama, American Football League Rookie of the Year, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Namath&oldid=981909137, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Episode: "Rent a Romeo" / "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" / "Y' Gotta Have Heart", Episode: "Maid for Each Other" / "Lost and Found" / "Then There Were Two", Episode: "Basin Street" / "The Devil's Triangle", 3× Second-team All-AFL (1966, 1967, 1969), Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 5 October 2020, at 03:07.