Joe Namath Career NFL Stats 1965-1977 |
||||||||||||
G |
GS |
REC |
COMP |
ATT |
COMP % |
YARDS |
TD |
INT |
RATT |
RYDS |
YPR |
RTD |
140 |
129 |
62-63-1 |
1,886 |
3,762 |
50.1 |
27,663 |
173 |
220 |
71 |
140 |
2.0 |
7 |
Joseph William Namath was born on May 31, 1943 in Beaver Falls, PA. He is the son of Rose and John Namath. Joe’s parents divorced when he was young. However the hard upbringing didn’t deter the kid as he flourished in sports. In fact, it proved to be his way out of the steel town outside of Pittsburgh.
Namath attended Beaver Falls High School. He played baseball, basketball and football in high school, and was a star in each sport. Namath led his high school football team to an undefeated season and state title in 1960. A highly sought athlete, Namath accepted a scholarship offer to play football for the University of Alabama.
Joe Namath College Career Stats and Notes
Namath played for Alabama from 1962-64. He threw for 2,713 yards, 24 TDs and 20 INTs and completed 203 of 374 passes (54.3%) during his college career. He led the Crimson Tide to bowl games all three years. In 1964, Namath led Alabama to a national championship.
Awards and Achievements |
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MVP
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All-Pro
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2nd Team: 1972 |
Pro Bowl Selections |
1972
|
Passing Yards Title: |
1972
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Achievements
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Joe Namath NFL Career Stats and Notes
Namath was selected 1st overall in the 1965 AFL Draft by the New York Jets. He spent twelve of his 13 years in the NFL with the Jets. During his time in New York he was given the nickname Broadway Joe due to his fame in the Big Apple. In 1977, the veteran headed to the west coast and joined the Los Angeles Rams. He played there for one season and retired after the season. Joe Willie Namath was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.
Joe Namath And The Super Bowl III Guarantee
The guarantee, which was the proclamation of victory by Broadway Joe prior to the Jets Super Bowl III match against the Baltimore Colts, was one of the most iconic moments in NFL history. At the time the AFL needed to make a statement that they could compete with the NFL. The Super Bowl matched the two leagues’ championship teams on a neutral field. However in the first two Super Bowls, the NFL’s Green Bay Packers smashed the AFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders by a combined score of 68-24. So when Namath said the Jets would win, the bold statement made headlines.
True to his word, Broadway Joe led the underdog Jets to an improbable 16-7 upset in Super Bowl III. With 206 yards passing, Namath was the Super Bowl MVP. The victory was big, but the bigger takeaway from the game was that the AFL can compete with the NFL. A year later when another AFL team (Chiefs) defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV, it became clear that AFL teams were good enough which in part sparked the merger in 1970.