No. 12
Alabama
"His accomplishments through the Super Bowl notwithstanding, Joe Namath can't do everything. What he can't do is own a restaurant and play professional football. Such was the edict handed down by Commissioner Pete Rozelle back in June, and it was presumed even then that all parties would be able to work things out before the start of the 1969 training season.
But Joe can do everything else, and he proved it last season when he directed the Jets to the AFL championship and then pulled off the biggest upset in pro football history by beating the Baltimore Colts in the Super Bowl - just the way he had boasted he would do. But he backed up his boasts with deeds.
Joe finished third in the league in passing with 187 completions out of 380 attempts for 3,147 yards, a 49.2 percentage, and 15 touchdowns. He wasn't up to his 1967 performance when he accounted for a record 4,007 yards passing, but he was an infinitely better quarterback. In one six-game stretch he didn't throw a single touchdown pass, but the Jets won five of those games.
At season's end, Joe won virtually every honor, from All-League, to the AFL's Most Valuable Player award, to Sport Magazine's sports car awarded as hero of the Super Bowl."
-Jack Zanger, Pro Football 1969
FOOTBALL'S NEW GOLDEN BOY
"Life, whether it be the manicured greensward of a football field, the broken sidewalks of Second and Third Avenue in New York or the tailored causeways of Miami Beach, has been a series of automatics for Joe Namath.
The rebellious, non-conformist from Beaver Falls, Pa., a steel town some 26 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, has been battling the rigged defenses- real or imagined- most of his adult 26 years and it was culminated last January when the New York Jets upset the Baltimore Colts, 16-7, in the Super Bowl for the World Championship.
That was it for Joe Willie ... the Establishment had been met and it was his. This, too, was it for the nine-year-old American Football League- termed the Mickey Mouse League by the purists- reached maturity by tumbling the 49-year-old National Football League and a new star, Joe Willie Namath, joined Johnny Unitas and Bart Starr in the galaxy.
Namath, of course, by press-agent standards reached stardom years ago- in fact, five years ago- when Jets' co-owner Sonny Werblin signed him out of Alabama for a bonus of $387,000 and a Lincoln convertible. The publicity conscious Werblin got Namath ink, triggered an internecine War of the Raises for talent and ultimately brought the two leagues together for next season.
Most of the established stars court fame and fortune by running for daylight but Joe Willie ran for the lights- the fashionable clubs of the East Side. Namath was certainly a cut above a journeyman quarterback but it was his off-the-field exploits that constantly made the papers, and last year was no exception.
The cool, calculating Namath piloted the Jets to the Eastern Division title and then held them together in a come-from-behind triumph over the Oakland Raiders for his personal moment of truth with the Colts and NFL.
Figuring that the best defense was the best offense, Joe Willie started throwing verbal passes at the Colts even before the Jets started prepping in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for the date in the Super Bowl. The Colts were generally conceded to be one of the best defensive teams in the history of the NFL- limiting the opposition to 144 points in 14 games. Still, Namath refused to believe the figures and, although he was in a minority, he spoke his peace- a prophetic piece.
'When the Colts lost to the Browns in mid-season they didn't get beat by any powerhouse,' Namath pointed out. 'I'm not going to take what I read about their defense ... I'm going to go with what the one-eyed monster shows me. The one-eyed monster (a projector that flashed films of an opponent's games) doesn't lie. He shows it like it is.'
Having reduced the vaunted Colt's defense to papier-mache, Joe Willie had a word for a rival quarterback, Earl Morrall, the NFL Player of the Year.
'When we won the title,' Namath added, 'I said that Daryle Lamonica of the Raiders was a better quarterback than Earl Morrall, and now that's supposed to fire up the Colts. I said it and I meant it. Lamonica is better. If the Colts use newspaper clippings to get up for a game ... they're in trouble. And if they're football players they know Lamonica can throw better than Morrall. I watch quarterbacks. I watch what they can do.
'You put Babe Parilli (Namath's back-up man) with Baltimore and Baltimore might have been better. Babe throws better than Morrall. There are more teams in the NFL, they should have more good teams, but you put their good teams and our good teams together, or their bad teams and our bad teams together, and it's 50-50. Flip a coin. And we've got better quarterbacks in our league ... John Hadl, Lamonica, Bob Griese and myself.'
Throwing another verbal dart- this one a down-and-in pattern- Namath added: 'I read where some NFL people joked about Lamonica and me throwing 100 passes. We threw 97, but what's so terrible about that? How many NFL teams have a quarterback who could complete that many passes to their wide receivers? In our league, we throw much more to our wide receivers. I completed 49 percent of my passes this season, but I could have completed 80 percent if I dropped the ball off to my backs like they do in their league.'
Finally, leaving no Colt standing, Namath praised his receivers and downgraded Baltimore's in the same sentence.
'For wide receivers, the Jets have the best,' he continued. 'George Sauer has the best moves, nobody can cover him one on one, and Don Maynard (an NFL castoff) is the smartest.'
Ignoring Morrall and Unitas and such other standout passers as Don Meredith, John Brodie, Roman Gabriel and Fran Tarkenton, Namath declared: 'The best thrower in the NFL is Sonny Jurgensen of the Redskins. I've said that if Jurgensen had been with the Packers or Colts or Rams the last few years, he would have won the championship for any of them. But if you put any other pro quarterback on our team, only a few would not be on the third string.'
Most observers at the time thought Joe Willie was on an emotional tirade but it proved to be an overall incisive analysis.
'That's my opinion, and I don't care how they value my opinion,' Namath concluded. 'But I value it very highly, especially when I'm talking about football.'
The Colts, to be sure, read Namath's remarks- particularly placekicker and reserve defense end Lou Michaels. The two met by chance in a restaurant but, unlike the paths of glory that lead but to a grave, their path was almost to a parking lot and a fight.
At the time of the incident, Michaels was the more vocal and explained the chance meeting as he and some fellow Colts ran into Namath and his teammate, safetyman Jim Hudson.
'I said hello,' Michaels declared, 'and his first remarks were that the Jets were going to kick the (censored) out of our team.'
Reconstructing the dialogue as best as he could recall, Michaels said one word just led to another.
Michaels: 'Haven't you ever heard of the word modesty, Joseph?'
Namath: 'We're going to beat you and pick you apart.'
Michaels: 'If you (the Jets) do, Joseph, I believe you are the man to do it. It's kind of hard, though, throwing out of a well and finding receivers.'
Namath: 'Don't worry about that. My blockers will give me time.'
Michaels: 'I never heard of John Unitas or Bobby Layne talking that way. I guess I hold him that Ordell Braase, Fred Miller, Billy Ray Smith and Bubba Smith (the Colts' Front Four) would be out to get your ribs, but I've told them not to touch your teeth. I want to get them.'
A cooler head prevailed as Colts' guard Dan Sullivan calmed down Michaels, who had invited Joe Willie outside to the parking lot 'to knock his head off.'
Michaels admitted he cooled off after thinking of his wife, two sons, his mother and his brother Walt, a Jets' defensive coach.
'I know I didn't want to cause any trouble,' Michaels said. 'I told myself this is football and it's not life itself.
'I knew that Walt would be mad if I knocked the head off the only guy who had any chance at all of beating us.
After a few rounds, Michaels and Joe Willie were buddy-buddy and Namath threw a bomb- a $100 bill- and picked up the tab.
'I don't know what he tips ... I didn't see that,' Michaels said. 'But I know he's a gentleman and not the kind of guy you figure him to be. When all was said and done, I was ready to take back the things I had said when we first met. If you meet Namath, it's better to hear him out first. He strikes you as being cocky but I went away thinking he's a gentleman. Underneath this guy, there's a lot of good.'
When asked about the incident, Namath just grinned and said: 'It was all in fun ... good fun.'
The time for fun and games was over and Coach Ewbank really honed Namath and the Jets for the confrontation with the Colts. The Jets were an 18-point underdog but Namath played down the spread and repeatedly said: 'We'll win. We'll win.'
Few, if any, with the exception of his teammates believed him. Namath was confident but not cocky along with Ewbank who led these same Colts to back-to-back World Championships in 1958-59.
The Colts, however, broke like quarterhorses- hitting for first downs on the first two plays from scrimmage. John Mackey was bowling over would-be tacklers, Morrall was on target and Tom Matte was twisting and grinding out the yardage as the Colts rolled for 42 yards in five plays.
Suddenly, the Jets' forward wall starting getting to the ball carriers and the drive stalled and Michaels missed a field goal.
Now it was the Jets' turn and Namath was quick to establish his running game. Matt Snell was the bellwether, hitting inside and out and finally going over for the lone touchdown in the second period.
Meanwhile, Namath continued to pick the Colts apart- hitting for a Super Bowl record of 17 completions on 29 passes. He showed restraint, disdaining the pass and setting Jim Turner for three field goals.
Coach Don Shula of the Colts knew of the Jets' passing game but voiced surprise at their running.
'They have good running,' Shula declared woefully. 'Snell is a real good back. They ran better against us than any other team the entire season.'
Asked if Namath measured up to expectations, Shula added: 'He moved the club. He has a strong, quick arm. He beat our blitz more often than we beat him. He beat it about three or four times ... we beat him only once. He did everything. He knows what's happening and mixes his plays and running very well. He does everything.'
Namath stood out like a chunk of coal on a snow-covered Pennsylvania hill but he had a pro cast, too. Like Snell handling the running game, Sauer, Pete Lammons and Maynard running endless pass patterns, defensive end Gerry Philbin, linebackers Al Atkinson and Larry Grantham and the ball-hawking secondary of Johnny Sample, Randy Beverly and Hudson.
Proud in victory, Namath summed it up for his teammates and said: 'Congratulations to the American Football League.'
Then, in an aside, to some newspaper critics in some NFL cities- New York included- Namath laughingly added: 'I hope they eat their pencils and pads.'
Ewbank, the roly-poly mentor who became the first coach to win AFL and NFL championships said: 'This is the start of a new era.'
Actually, it could be the Joe Namath Era. Right now, Joe Willie is the toast of the town .. any town because he's a winner.
Also, he's called Broadway Joe- a tribute to his after-hour activities. His on the field efforts, however, earned him AFL Player of the Year and Pro Athlete honors last season ... a season of peaks and dark-deep valleys.
In his fourth year, Joe Willie exhibited the poise of a Unitas in the season's opener, too. The Jets were clinging to a one-point lead against the Chiefs at Kansas City but Namath preserved it with six minutes of brilliant ball control.
Joe Willie had arrived for sure, everyone chorused, but he suddenly did an about face- throwing five interceptions against [both] the Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills. The cheers turned to jeers ... it was a trip from Broadway to the Bowery but, in a moment of humble self-effacement, he realized his shortcomings.
'After those games with the five interceptions,' he points out, 'I disciplined myself as to throwing the ball. I was overcautious at times but I remembered an old rule: The only way to win is to keep from losing.'
Well, Joe Willie was intercepted but seven times the rest of the season but his critics, and there are many, quickly pointed out he hadn't thrown a touchdown pass in six straight games.
'What the hell difference does it make if I don't throw a touchdown pass,' he angrily told reporters. 'We're winning aren't we?'
The Jets continued to win and annexed the Eastern title to set up a replay of the famed 'Heidi Game' with the Raiders, who tallied two touchdowns within nine seconds to pull it out as most of the nation watched that Swiss moppet, secure that the Jets had won. NBC preempted the last half-minute for the classic and it turned out to be the classical error of the year.
The Jets-Raiders rematch was a bona fide vendetta, Joe Namath & Company against Ben Davidson and Ike Lassiter, the crushing rushmen. The Raiders had the championship within their grasp via a Namath interception but Joe Willie took the Jets 68 yards in 55 seconds for the winning touchdown.
'After that interception,' Namath told a jam-packed dressing room full of reporters, 'I just told myself 'you got eight minutes and you got to score.' That's all.'
The long, interminable season was over ... the Jets were the Super Bowl champs. Still, Namath continued to get his share of headlines sometimes, perhaps, to the embarrassment of the organization.
Namath, what with his long sideburns and Fu Manche mustache is controversial- you either idolize him or loathe him off the field. But on field, despite two badly battered knees, Joe Willie is all business and he does it automatically.
That's a star with box office appeal- and Joe Namath has the talent to be the Jets' automatic pilot for years and years and years."
-Joe O'Day, Sports Desk, The New York Daily News (Sports Quarterly Presents The Pros Football 1969)
AS WE GO TO PRESS, NAMATH QUITS?
"The trials and tribulations of Joe Namath are bound to come to an end. He simply has too much talent to waste it all throwing footballs in the movies. And it's difficult to imagine him staying out those football togs any length of time, whatever the reason. He has the best wishes of football fans everywhere, all plugging for him to overcome the obstacles which block his way to becoming one of the truly great football players of all time. If and when he should actually quit the football field, it would have to be for a damn good reason ... one much better than his cocktail lounge."
Herber M. Furlow, Editor, Sports Quarterly Presents The Pros Football 1969
"Pulling off one of the greatest upsets in professional football, Joe methodically picked apart the Baltimore Colts defense to give the AFL their first Super Bowl championship team.
He was MVP of the AFL All-Star game in both 1965 and 1968. In 1967, Joe set a passing mark for yards gained (4,007) in a single season."
-1969 Topps No. 100
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