The Story And Significance Of O.J. Simpson - First 2,000 Yard Rusher In NFL History

James Simpson is an American former football running back, actor, and broadcaster. He played in the National Football League for 11 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills, and is regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time. Once a popular figure with the American public, Simpson's professional success was overshadowed by his trial and controversial acquittal for the murders of his former wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman.

Simpson played college football at the University of Southern California, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a senior, and was selected first overall by the Bills in the 1969 NFL Draft. During his nine seasons with the Bills, Simpson received five consecutive Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro selections from 1972 to 1976. He also led the league in rushing yards four times, in rushing touchdowns twice, and in points scored in 1975. In 1973, he became the first NFL player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season, earning him NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP), and is the only NFL player to do so in a 14-game regular season. Simpson holds the record for the single-season yards-per-game average at 143.1. After retiring with the San Francisco 49ers in 1979, Simpson pursued an acting and broadcasting career. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.

The first selection 1969 AFL–NFL Common Draft was held by the AFL's Buffalo Bills, after finishing 1–12–1 in 1968. They took Simpson, but he demanded what was then the largest contract in professional sports history: $650,000 over five years. This led to a standoff with Bills' owner Ralph Wilson, as Simpson threatened to become an actor and skip professional football. Eventually, Wilson agreed to pay Simpson.

Simpson entered professional football with high expectations, but struggled in his first three years, averaging only 622 yards per season. Bills coach John Rauch, not wanting to build an offense around one running back, assigned Simpson to do blocking and receiving duties at the expense of running the ball. In 1971, Rauch resigned as head coach and the Bills brought in Harvey Johnson. Despite Johnson devising a new offense for Simpson, Simpson was still ineffective that year. After the 1971 season, the Bills fired Johnson and brought in Lou Saban as head coach. Unlike Rauch, Saban made Simpson the centerpiece of the Bills offense.

In 1972, Simpson rushed for over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career, gaining a league-leading total of 1,251 yards. In 1973, Simpson became the first player to break the highly coveted 2,000 yard rushing mark, with 2,003 total rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. Simpson broke the mark during the last game of the season against the New York Jets with a seven-yard rush. That same game also saw Simpson break Jim Brown's single-season rushing record of 1,863 yards. For his performance, Simpson won that year's NFL MVP Award and Bert Bell Award. While other players have broken the 2,000-yard mark since Simpson, his record was established in a time when the NFL had only 14 games per season, as opposed to the 16-game seasons that began in 1978. Simpson still holds the rushing record for 14 games.

Simpson gained more than 1,000 rushing yards for each of his next three seasons. He did not lead the league in rushing in 1974, but did cross the 1,000-yard barrier despite a knee injury. In game 11 of 1974, he passed Ken Willard as the rushing leader among active players, a position he maintained until his retirement more than five seasons later. Simpson also made his first and only playoff appearance during the 1974 season. In a divisional game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Simpson rushed for 49 yards on 15 attempts and caught a touchdown pass, but the Bills lost the game 32–14. Simpson won the rushing title again in 1975, rushing for 1,817 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also had a career-high 426 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns that season.

Simpson once again led the league in rushing in 1976, rushing for 1,503 yards and eight touchdowns. He had the best game of his career during that season's Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions on November 25. In that game, Simpson rushed for a then-record 273 yards on 29 attempts and scored two touchdowns. Despite Simpson's performance, the Bills would lose the game 27–14.

A low light that season came during a game against the Patriots a few weeks earlier when defensive end Mel Lunsford and several other Patriots defenders stuffed the superstar running back for no gain but as Simpson tried to continue driving forward Lunsford bodyslammed him to the ground. Simpson got up and punched Lunsford which prompted Lunsford to swing back. Bills offensive lineman Reggie McKenzie then jumped on Lunsford's back but Lunsford bent down and flung McKenzie over his head and went back to swinging at Simpson before a melee of the two teams stopped the fight and ended up in a pile on the field. Lunsford and Simpson were both ejected from the game as the Patriots solid defense persisted with New England going on to win 20–10 on their way to finishing the 1976 season 11–3. The Bills finished 2–12.

Simpson played in only seven games in 1977, as his season was cut short by injury.

Before the 1978 season, the Bills traded Simpson to his hometown San Francisco 49ers for a series of draft picks. Simpson played in San Francisco for two seasons, rushing for 1,053 yards and four touchdowns. His final NFL game was on December 16, 1979, a 31–21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium. His final play was a 10-yard run on 3rd and 10 for a first down.

Simpson gained 11,236 rushing yards, placing him 2nd on the NFL's all-time rushing list when he retired; he now stands at 21st. He was named NFL Player of the Year in 1973, and played in six Pro Bowls. He was the only player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a 14-game season and he is the only player to rush for over 200 yards in six different games in his career. From 1972 to 1976, Simpson averaged 1,540 rushing yards per (14 game) season, 5.1 yards per carry, and he won the NFL rushing title four times. Simpson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985, his first year of eligibility. In 2019, he was named to the National Football League 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. Simpson also occasionally returned kickoffs in his early career, finishing with 33 returns for 990 yards and a touchdown, an average of 30 yards per return.

Simpson played in only one playoff game during his 11-season Hall of Fame career: a 1974 Divisional Round game between the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Simpson was held to 49 rushing yards on fifteen carries to go with three receptions for 37 yards and a touchdown as the Bills lost 32–14.

Simpson acquired the nickname "Juice" as a play on "O.J.", a common abbreviation for orange juice. "Juice" is also a colloquial synonym for electricity or electrical power, and hence a metaphor for any powerful entity; the Bills' offensive line at Simpson's peak was nicknamed "The Electric Company".

Fastest player to gain 1,000 rushing yards in season: 1,025 in seven games in 1973 and 1,005 in seven games in 1975 (tied with Terrell Davis).

Fastest player to gain 2,000 rushing yards in season: 2,003 in 14 games in 1973.

Most rushing yards per game in a season: 143.1 per game in 1973.

Simpson began acting while at USC and appeared on Dragnet in an uncredited role as a potential recruit to the LAPD. He became a professional actor before playing professional football, appearing in the first episode of Medical Center while negotiating his contract with the Bills. While in the NFL Simpson appeared in productions such as the television miniseries Roots (1977), and the dramatic motion pictures The Klansman (1974), The Towering Inferno (1974), The Cassandra Crossing (1976), and Capricorn One (1978). In 1979, he started his own film production company, Orenthal Productions, which dealt mostly in made-for-TV fare such as the family-oriented Goldie and the Boxer films with Melissa Michaelsen (1979 and 1981).

Simpson said that he did not seriously consider an acting career until seeing Lee Marvin and Richard Burton, while filming The Klansman in Oroville, California, ordering chili from Chasen's via private jet. He said in 1980 that "The Oscar or the Emmy says you've reached a level of competence in this business, and I would love to have one". Simpson avoided starring in blaxploitation films, choosing third or fourth lead roles while studying experienced stars like Marvin and Burton. The Hertz commercials from 1975 benefited Simpson's acting career but he sometimes intentionally chose non-positive roles; "I've got to tear down that picture of O.J. Simpson, the clean-cut athlete, to get believability into whatever part I happen to be playing". Simpson also made a cameo in the comedic Back to the Beach (1987). He played Det. Norberg in all three entries of The Naked Gun film trilogy (1988, 1991, 1994) alongside Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley and George Kennedy. According to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Simpson was considered by director James Cameron to play the eponymous character in The Terminator (1984) when Schwarzenegger was cast as Kyle Reese, but Cameron ultimately cast Schwarzenegger as the Terminator while Simpson had no involvement in the film.

Besides his acting career, Simpson worked as a commentator for Monday Night Football and The NFL on NBC. He also appeared in the audience of Saturday Night Live during its second season and hosted an episode during its third season.

The Story And Significance Of Pete Rozelle - Oversaw The 1970 AFL-NFL Merger

Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle was an American businessman and executive. Rozelle served as the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) for nearly thirty years, from January 1960 until his retirement in November 1989. He became the youngest commissioner in NFL history at just the age of 33. He is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world.

During his tenure, Rozelle saw the NFL grow from 12 teams to 28, oversaw the creation of large television-rights deals and the creation of Monday Night Football in 1970, oversaw the 1970 AFL–NFL merger and the creation of the Super Bowl, and helped the NFL move from a twelve-game schedule to a sixteen-game schedule. By the time of his retirement, many people considered him the most powerful commissioner in sports. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.

Born in South Gate, California, Rozelle grew up in neighboring Lynwood during the Great Depression. He graduated from Compton High School in 1944, with Duke Snider, lettering in tennis and basketball. He was drafted into the U.S. Navy in 1944 and served 18 months in the Pacific on an oil tanker.

Rozelle entered Compton Community College in 1946. While there he worked as the student athletic news director and also worked part-time for the Los Angeles Rams as a public relations assistant. Pete Newell, head coach for the University of San Francisco Dons basketball team, came to Compton in 1948 for a recruiting visit. Impressed by Rozelle, Newell helped arrange for him to get a full scholarship to work in a similar capacity at USF.

Rozelle enrolled at USF that year and worked as a student publicist for the USF Dons athletic department. In addition to promoting the school's football team he was able to draw national attention to the Dons' 1949 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship basketball team. After graduating from USF in 1950 he was hired by the school as the full-time athletic news director.

In 1952, he re-joined the Rams as a PR specialist. Leaving after three years, he held a series of public relations jobs in southern California, including marketing the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia for a Los Angeles-based company. In 1957, he returned to the Rams, a disorganized, unprofitable team, lost in the growing L.A. market, as their general manager. In spite of continued struggles on the field, including a league-worst 2–10 record in 1959, he turned them into a business success in just three years.

After Bert Bell's death in October 1959, the 33-year-old Rozelle was the surprise choice for his replacement as NFL commissioner. According to Howard Cosell in his 1985 book I Never Played the Game, the owners took 23 ballots before settling on Rozelle as NFL Commissioner at a January 26, 1960, meeting.

When he took office following the 1959 season, there were twelve teams in the NFL playing a twelve-game schedule to frequently half-empty stadiums, and only a few teams had television contracts. The NFL in 1960 was following a business model that had evolved from the 1930s. One of Rozelle's early accomplishments was helping the league adopt profit-sharing of gate and television revenues. The revenue-sharing was a major factor in stabilizing the NFL and guaranteeing the success of its small-market teams. Another important contribution was Rozelle's success in negotiating large television contracts to broadcast every NFL game played each season. In doing so, he deftly played one television network against the other. In early 1962, Rozelle was re-elected to a five-year contract to remain as commissioner, with a salary continuing at $50,000 ($503,522 in 2023 dollars) per year. Less than five months later, he was granted a $10,000 bonus ($101,715 in 2023) (for 1961) and his annual salary was increased by $10,000 to $60,000 ($604,226 in 2023).

After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, Rozelle wrestled with the decision of whether to cancel that Sunday's games. Rozelle and White House press secretary Pierre Salinger had been classmates at the University of San Francisco, so Rozelle consulted with him. Salinger urged Rozelle to play the games, so he agreed for the schedule to proceed. Rozelle felt that way, saying: "It has been traditional in sports for athletes to perform in times of great personal tragedy. Football was Mr. Kennedy's game. He thrived on competition." After their win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia, players on the Washington Redskins asked Coach Bill McPeak to send the game ball to the White House, thanking Rozelle for allowing the games to be played that weekend, saying that they were "playing...for President Kennedy and in his memory." There were players and news outlets that disagreed with the decision, and Rozelle subsequently thought it might have been wiser to cancel those games. The American Football League (AFL) and most major colleges did not play games that weekend.

Citing his "aptitude for conciliation" with the league's owners, his work in expanding the NFL, and his crackdown on player gambling, Sports Illustrated named Rozelle their "Sportsman of the Year" for 1963.

By 1965, the rival American Football League obtained a new NBC-TV contract and had signed a new superstar in Joe Namath. As the leagues battled to sign top talent, bonuses and salaries grew dramatically, especially after a series of "raids" on each other's talent, both signed and unsigned. The leagues agreed to a merger in 1966. Among the conditions were a common draft and a championship game played between the two league champions first played in early 1967, the AFL-NFL World Championship Game, which would eventually become known as the Super Bowl. Rozelle led negotiations with AFL and NFL executives to merge the two leagues. In October 1966, he testified in front of Congress and convinced them to allow the merger. Rozelle played an important role in making the Super Bowl the most watched sporting event in the United States.

Due to television contracts, the AFL and NFL operated as separate leagues until 1970, with separate regular season schedules, but they met in the preseason and in the championship game. Although Rozelle nominally remained the NFL commissioner, he was given broad authority over both leagues after AFL Commissioner Al Davis was forced to resign and ultimately replaced by an AFL President subordinate to the NFL Commissioner. During this time, the NFL Commissioner's office came to resemble that of the Commissioner of Baseball and Rozelle unofficially became known as the Football Commissioner although that was never an official title. Meanwhile, the AFL expanded, adding the Miami Dolphins in 1966, and the Cincinnati Bengals in 1967. Also during this period, the NFL added the Atlanta Falcons in 1966, and the New Orleans Saints in 1967. In 1970, the AFL was absorbed into the NFL and the league reorganized with the ten AFL franchises along with the previous NFL teams Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers becoming part of the newly formed American Football Conference (AFC), with all of the remaining pre-merger NFL teams forming the National Football Conference (NFC). By 1970, the newly reconstituted NFL stood at 26 teams.

In 1970, Rozelle proposed his concept, Monday Night Football, to Roone Arledge, then the head of the ABC television network. After selling his idea to ABC, Monday Night Football premiered in September 1970 with the Cleveland Browns against the New York Jets; the Browns won the game, 31–21. The program is still broadcast today. Monday Night Football aired on ABC for 36 seasons (1970–2005). Except for the 1998 season in which games aired at 8:20 p.m. Eastern Time, games aired at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The first broadcast announcing team was Don Meredith, Howard Cosell, and Keith Jackson. In 2006, Monday Night Football was moved to ABC's sister network ESPN. The NFL expanded by two more teams in 1976, with the addition of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks; this brought the league to 28 teams, which would stand as such for the rest of Rozelle's tenure as commissioner.

In the 1980s, Al Davis, owner of the Oakland Raiders franchise, sued the NFL in order to relocate the team to Los Angeles. Rozelle represented the NFL, testifying in court to block the Raiders' move. Ultimately, the NFL lost its court case with Davis, and the Oakland franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1982. The tension between Rozelle and Davis, who had wanted to be NFL commissioner, was apparent throughout the case. In January 1981, just after the case was settled, the Oakland Raiders won Super Bowl XV and Rozelle as commissioner was tasked with handing the Super Bowl Trophy to Davis. The Raiders moved back to Oakland in 1995.

Under Rozelle the NFL thrived and became an American institution, despite two players' strikes and two different competing leagues. He retired as commissioner on November 5, 1989. By the time of his resignation, the number of teams in the league had grown to 28, and team owners presided over sizable revenues from U.S. broadcasting networks.

Rozelle's legacy of equalization has been felt not only in the NFL, but also in the Australian Football League, the major Australian-rules football competition. In 1986, The AFL Commission adopted a policy of equalization based on the method pioneered by Rozelle in the NFL. It is because of this decision that expansion clubs have been able to survive, as well as older clubs with smaller support bases. An example of this is the 1996 AFL Grand Final between North Melbourne and the Sydney Swans, two teams with small supporter bases.

Rozelle was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985 while still serving as its commissioner. The NFL's annual Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award was established in 1989 to recognize "longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football", and is awarded annually by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In 1990, the league instituted the Pete Rozelle Trophy to honor the Super Bowl MVP, first awarded in the 1990 season at Super Bowl XXV on January 27, 1991. A month after Rozelle's death in December 1996, the NFL honored his legacy with a decal on the back of the helmets of the teams competing in Super Bowl XXXI.

In 1990, Rozelle received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. He was honored with the "Lombardi Award of Excellence" from the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation in 1991.

For his contribution to sports in Los Angeles, Rozelle was honored by Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum commissioners with a "Court of Honor" plaque at the Coliseum.

Rozelle married Jane Coupe, an artist, in 1949. The couple had one child, Anne Marie, born in 1958. Rozelle was awarded full custody of Anne Marie after his 1972 divorce due to Coupe's alcoholism. Rozelle remarried in December 1973 to Carrie Cooke, a former daughter-in-law of Jack Kent Cooke, owner of the Washington Redskins.

On December 6, 1996, seven years after his retirement in 1989, Rozelle died of brain cancer at the age of 70 at Rancho Santa Fe, California, and was interred at El Camino Memorial Park in San Diego.

The Story And Significance Of Joe Namath - Super Bowl III Most Valuable Player

Joseph William Namath is an American former football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college football at the University of Alabama, where he won the national championship as a senior, and was selected by the Jets first overall in the 1965 AFL Draft. During his five AFL seasons, he was a two-time MVP and twice led the league in passing yards, while leading the Jets to win one AFL championship and one Super Bowl. Both victories remain the Jets' only championships. Following the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, Namath 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, with his final year spent 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.

Nicknamed "Broadway Joe", Namath became a media celebrity who attracted attention even outside of sports. Namath remains one of the league's most famous and popular figures. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.

In 1964, despite suffering a nagging knee injury in the fourth game of his senior year at Alabama, Namath limped through the undefeated regular season to the Orange Bowl. He was a first-round draft selection by both the NFL and the upstart AFL. The two competing leagues were at the height of their bidding war, and held their respective drafts on the same day: November 28, 1964. The cartilage damage to Namath's right knee later designated him class 4-F for the military draft, a deferment from service during the Vietnam War.

The St. Louis Cardinals selected Namath 12th overall in the NFL Draft, while the Jets selected him as the first overall pick in the AFL draft.

When meeting with executives of the Cardinals, Namath's salary request was $200,000 ($1,930,965 in 2023) and a new Lincoln Continental. While initially surprised at Namath's demands, the Cardinals told Namath they would agree to his terms only if he would sign before the Orange Bowl, which would have made Namath ineligible to play in the game. The day after the Orange Bowl, Namath elected to sign with the Jets, under the direction of Sonny Werblin, for a salary of US$427,000 ($4,122,610 in 2023) over three years (a pro football record at the time). Offensive tackle Sherman Plunkett came up with the nickname "Broadway Joe" in 1965, following Namath's appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated in July.

In Namath's rookie season the 1965 Jets were winless in their first six games with him splitting time with second-year quarterback Mike Taliaferro. With Namath starting full-time they won five of the last eight of a fourteen-game season and Namath was named the AFL Rookie of the year.

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). 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. On some occasions, Namath had to have his knee drained at halftime so he could finish a game. Later in life, long after he left football, he underwent knee replacement surgery on both legs.

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. His performance in the 1968 season earned him the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year. He was an AFC–NFC Pro Bowler in 1972, is a member of the Jets' and the American Football League's All-Time Team, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985.

The high point of Namath's career was his performance in the Jets' 16–7 win over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in January 1969, shortly before the AFL–NFL merger. The first two interleague championship games had resulted in blowout victories for the NFL's Green Bay Packers, and sports writers from NFL cities insisted the AFL would take several more years to be truly competitive. The 1968 Colts were touted as "the greatest football team in history", and former NFL star and Atlanta Falcons head coach Norm Van Brocklin ridiculed the AFL before the game, saying "I'll tell you what I think about Joe Namath on Sunday night—after he has played his first pro game." 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. I guarantee it."

Namath backed up his boast, which became legendary. The Colts' vaunted defense (highlighted by Bubba Smith) was unable to contain either the Jets' running or passing game, while the ineffective offense gave up four interceptions to the Jets. Namath was the Super Bowl MVP, completing eight passes to George Sauer Jr. alone for 133 yards. 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.

The Jets' win gave the AFL instant legitimacy even to skeptics. When he was asked by reporters after the game whether the Colts' defense was the "toughest he had ever faced", Namath responded, "That would be the Buffalo Bills' defense." The AFL-worst Bills had intercepted Namath five times, three for touchdowns, in their only win in 1968 in late September.

After not missing a single game because of injury in his first five years in the league, Namath played in just 28 of 58 possible games between 1970 and 1973 because of various injuries. After winning division championships in 1968 and 1969, the Jets struggled to records of 4–10, 6–8, 7–7, and 4–10. His most memorable moment in those four seasons came on September 24, 1972, when he and his boyhood idol Johnny Unitas combined for 872 passing yards in Baltimore. 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. The game is considered by many NFL experts to be the finest display of passing in a single game in league history.  Another notable moment was in 1970, when the head of ABC's televised sports, Roone Arledge, made sure that Monday Night Football's inaugural game on September 21, featured Namath. 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. However, the Jets set a team record for penalties and lost on a late Namath interception.

The Chicago Winds of the World Football League (WFL) made an overture to Namath prior to the start of its 1975 season. First, they designed their uniforms nearly identically to that of the Jets, dropping red and going with green and white, to allow Namath to continue marketing his number 12 jersey in Jets colors. 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. The WFL's television provider, TVS Television Network, insisted on the Winds signing Namath to continue broadcasts. Upon this development, Namath, in turn, requested the lofty sum of 15 percent of the entire league's television revenue, which was rejected by the league. Without a national television deal, the WFL instead opted to fold a month later.

After twelve years with the Jets, Namath was waived prior to the 1977 season to facilitate a move to the Los Angeles Rams when a trade could not be worked out. Signing on May 12, Namath hoped to revitalize his career, but knee injuries, a bad hamstring, and the general ravages of 13 years as a quarterback in professional football had taken their toll. After playing well in a 2–1 start, Namath took a beating in a one-point road loss on a cold, windy, and rainy Monday Night Football game against the Chicago Bears, throwing four interceptions and having a fifth nullified by a penalty. He was benched as a starter for the rest of the season (in favor of Pat Haden) and retired at its end.

Building on his brief success as a host on 1969's The Joe Namath Show, Namath transitioned into an acting career. Appearing on stage, starring in several movies, including C.C. 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. Namath was a candidate to host the 1988 revival of the American game show Family Feud, before the job went to comedian Ray Combs.

Namath appeared in summer stock productions of Damn Yankees, Fiddler on the Roof, and Li'l Abner, and finally legitimized his "Broadway Joe" nickname as a cast replacement in a New York revival of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial in 1983. He guest hosted The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson several times and also served as a color commentator on NFL broadcasts, including the 1985 season of Monday Night Football and several years with NBC Sports. 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. He appeared as himself in the 2013 sports film Underdogs and the 2015 comedy film The Wedding Ringer.

Namath's prowess on the field, fashion sense, lighthearted personality, and status as a sex symbol made him the first sports figure to appeal equally to men, women, and children—as demonstrated by his various product endorsements over the years. His nickname "Broadway Joe" was given to him by Sherman Plunkett, a Jets teammate. "Joe Willie Namath" was Namath's moniker based on his full given name and was popularized by sportscaster Howard Cosell. On the field, Namath stood out from other AFL and NFL players in low-cut white shoes rather than traditional black high-tops. The white shoes started when Namath was at Alabama, where he kept having his worn-out cleats taped over as a superstition, especially after his first major knee injury was the result of a game in which he had forgotten to have the shoes taped. When he joined the Jets, Namath continued to have his shoes taped until Jets coach Weeb Ewbank noticed that the excess tape usage was costing the team money, so he ordered white cleats for Namath. 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).

Namath also appeared in television advertisements both during and after his playing career, most notably for Ovaltine milk flavoring, Noxzema shaving cream (in which he was shaved by a then-unknown Farrah Fawcett), and Hanes Beautymist pantyhose (which he famously wore in the commercials). All of these commercials contributed to his becoming a pop-culture icon.

Namath continues to serve as an unofficial spokesman and goodwill ambassador of the Jets. In 2011, Namath was representing Topps and promoting a "Super Bowl Legends" contest, appearing on its behalf on the Late Show with David Letterman. For Super Bowl XLVIII which was hosted in the Jets' MetLife Stadium, Namath and his daughter Jessica wore fur coats for the ceremonial coin toss to "bring back a little of that flash from his heyday" as a player.

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.

As of 2018, Namath is the spokesperson for the insurance agency Medicare Coverage Helpline.

The Story And Significance Of Frank Gatski - Played Center For Eight Title Winning Football Teams

Frank "Gunner" Gatski  was an American professional football center who played for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League in the 1940s and 1950s. Gatski was one of the most heralded centers of his era. Known for his strength and consistency, he helped protect quarterback Otto Graham and open up running lanes for halfback Marion Motley as the Browns won seven league championships between 1946 and 1955. Gatski won an eighth championship after he was traded to the Detroit Lions in 1957, his final season.

Gatski was born in West Virginia to a coal-mining family. He played for three years on his local high school team before attending Marshall University, where he continued to play football. He joined the U.S. Army in 1942 and went to fight in World War II. Upon his return in 1945, he played in a couple of games at Auburn University in Alabama, before officials found out he had attended and played for Marshall, and took classes. After graduating, he tried out and made the roster for the Browns, a team under formation in the new AAFC thanks to Johnny Brickels, the former Huntington High School football coach who knew Paul Brown (Ed Ulinski of Marshall also tried out, played and later coached the Browns) after another former Marshall player, Sam Clagg, alerted Brickels to the two players. Gatski played as a linebacker and backup center for most of his first two years before earning a spot as the starting center. He retained that position as Cleveland continued to dominate the AAFC, going 47-4-2 and winning four championships before the league dissolved and the Browns, the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts were absorbed by the NFL in 1950. Gatski and the Browns won the 1950, 1954 and 1955 titles, losing in the title game in 1951-52-53. He retired after the 1957 season when he won an eighth title with the Detroit Lions, never having missed a game or practice in his career.

After leaving football, Gatski worked briefly as a scout for the Boston Patriots. He then joined a reform school in West Virginia as athletic director and head football coach, staying there until the school closed in 1982. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. Marshall retired Gatski's number 72 in 2005, the only football number retired for the Thundering Herd. He died that year in a nursing home in West Virginia. In 2006, the East End Bridge in Huntington, West Virginia was renamed the Frank Gatski Memorial Bridge in his honor.

In 1940, Marshall University coach Cam Henderson offered Gatski a chance to attend the West Virginia school on a football scholarship. Gatski accepted. He joined the junior varsity team, where he was the starting center for a season before moving to Marshall's varsity football team in 1941. He started 17 games at center and linebacker beginning in 1941, when Marshall posted a 7–1 record. The team faltered the following year, falling to 1–7–1 as its best players went to serve in the military.

Gatski enlisted in the Army Enlisted Reserve Corps before the 1942 season as America's involvement in World War II intensified. Marshall canceled its football program in 1943 as Gatski entered his senior year, and he was called to active duty and later sent with an infantry division to fight in the European theater of World War II. He went to England and followed American troops as they landed in Normandy and marched further into Europe. "I wasn't in any heavy fighting," he later said. He attained the rank of private first class. Gatski returned from duty in 1945, but Marshall had yet to resume its football program, so he enrolled at Auburn University in Alabama and finished out his studies, playing part of the season on the school's football team. "Marshall hadn't started back up, and I hadn't played football for two years," he later explained. "I didn't want to sit around and do nothing, so I went to Auburn."

When Gatski graduated, Sam Clagg, a teammate at Marshall, helped get him a tryout with the Cleveland Browns after contacting John Brickels, an assistant coach with West Virginia ties. The Browns were a new team in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and were set to begin play in 1946. Gatski, who was working in the mines after graduating from Auburn, hitchhiked to Bowling Green, Ohio for the team's training camp. He did not consider a football career a certainty, and returning to the coal mines where his father had died in an accident was a distinct possibility. "I didn't know what was going to happen," he said later. "I just went up there to see what would happen."

Gatski arrived in Bowling Green with the nickname "Gunner" for his strength and speed on the offensive line that he had acquired in Huntington. The center before Gatski at Marshall, Jim Roberts, was said to hit like a tail gunner, and that may have had something to do with Gatski picking up Gunner as his nickname and as the newest Herd center. Growing up in the rough surroundings of a West Virginia mining town had toughened him up, and he did not mind Cleveland coach Paul Brown's overbearing perfectionism. As a professional, he later said, "you're supposed to be able to take that crap." Initially, Gatski's prospects of making the team looked dim. Brown had brought in veteran center Mo Scarry to be the starter. But Gatski proved his value to the team with his reliability and work ethic. He made the team and signed a $3,000 per year contract.

Gatski played mostly as a backup to Scarry and as a linebacker in his first and part of his second season. He became the full-time starter at center in the 1948 season. The Browns, meanwhile, were an immediate success. The team won the AAFC championship every year from 1946-47-48-49, posting a perfect season of 14–0 in 1948 and losing only four games in four seasons.  Gatski's role on the offensive line was to help protect quarterback Otto Graham from defenders when he went back to pass. He also helped push away defenders and create space for fullback Marion Motley to run47- in.

The Browns merged into the more established National Football League in 1950. Aided by Gatski's blocking, the offense and the team continued to succeed. Cleveland won the 1950 NFL championship, and reached the championship game in each of the following five seasons, winning again in 1954 and 1955. By the time the Browns entered the NFL, Gatski had developed a reputation for consistency, durability and toughness. Brown began keeping only one center on the roster – Gatski. Centers today would complain about that, Walt Michaels, who played with Gatski in the early 1950s, said in later years. Gatski, however, did not mind. "He would take all the snaps," Michaels said.

Gatski was a quiet man who liked to hunt. He practiced hitting targets with his bow and arrow at League Park in Cleveland, where the Browns trained during the season. He was one of the Browns "Filthy Five" players who did not wash their practice uniforms during the season. Brown called him one of the strongest men on the team's roster. Graham thought of him as sure protection against opposing linemen. Teammates called him an "iron man" and a "Rock of Gibraltar". He was named to All-Pro lists in all but one year between 1951 and 1955.

The Browns struggled after Graham retired in 1956 and ended the regular season at 5–7, their first-ever losing record. After the season, Brown traded the 35-year-old Gatski to the Detroit Lions for a draft pick after Gatski asked for a raise. He only played in the 1957 season with the Lions. Detroit beat the Browns for the NFL championship that year. By the time he retired after the 1957 season, Gatski had won eight championships and played in 11 championship games in 12 seasons played, a professional football record and still best for any non-kicker/punter. Gatski did not miss a practice or a game during his 12 seasons in football.

After retiring from football, Gatski was a scout for the Boston Patriots for two years before becoming head football coach and athletic director at the West Virginia Industrial School for Boys, a correctional facility for young offenders in Pruntytown, West Virginia.

Gatski was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985 as part of a class that included Joe Namath, Pete Rozelle, O. J. Simpson, and Roger Staubach. Gatski said he had not expected to make it into the hall. He had not played for 28 years when he was selected by an old-timers committee. Two decades later, Marshall University retired Gatski's number 72 during a homecoming game against the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Gatski was the first and remains the only Marshall football player to be so honored.

Gatski died on November 22, 2005, at a nursing home in Morgantown, West Virginia and was buried at the West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton. He was married and had seven children. The following year, the East End Bridge in Huntington, West Virginia was renamed the Frank Gatski Memorial Bridge during halftime of a Marshall-UTEP football game.

The History Of The Spring League

The Spring League (TSL) was an American football developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional athletes but not paying a salary or expenses, the league's goal was to "serve as an instructional league and showcase for professional football talent".

The Spring League was the second football property to be established by Woods, following the Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL) from 2014 to 2015 and preceding the United States Football League revival in 2022. The league consisted of three to eight teams and played an abbreviated four to six game "season" in April or May. During the year, the league arranged additional scouting events, called Spring League Showcases, that began in July 2017.

According to the league records, as of May 2021, more than 100 former players have signed contracts with a National Football League team.

The National Football League has not had an official developmental league since 2007 with NFL Europe. Several other developmental leagues unaffiliated with the NFL have arisen, such as the FXFL, Gridiron Developmental Football League, and the Rivals Professional Football League.

On September 2, 2016, the FXFL, after two abbreviated seasons of operation, announced it had suspended operations in hopes of finding a more effective business model.

A developmental league continued to be an internal NFL discussion as of December 2016 with a decision deadline of February 2017.

Like the FXFL, The Spring League is built upon the concept of serving as a second opportunity to allow players to advance to more established professional leagues,[9] yet The Spring League has some prominent differences from the FXFL. While The Spring League's core player is around 24 years old, it also took in experienced professionals, which the FXFL discouraged. All four teams are brought to one location, and at first not have distinctive identities or home cities/franchises (this began to change beginning in 2019). Rather, the games are more showcases for the NFL and Canadian Football League (CFL) scouts in the spring and summer months.

Unlike the FXFL, which paid a per-game stipend for its players, The Spring League paid only for room and board. Woods said that the lack of payment is out of financial necessity. To be eligible to participate in the league, a player may not be under contract with a pro league nor be eligible for the current year's draft. Players must also pay a $350 application fee. By 2019, the application fee had jumped to $2000, as players now also had to cover room and board as part of the fee; players with professional experience are exempt from this fee. Players must also cover their own health insurance. The league also assists in developing NFL referees.

The Spring League earns additional revenue from a subsidy that the state of Texas provides to hold its events there, as well as from organizations seeking to test equipment and rules changes. In 2019, the XFL served as The Spring League's largest revenue source, paying the league "six figures" to test-run its rulebook, a payment that allowed The Spring League to turn a profit that year for the first time. In October 2020 the league reached a multi-year agreement with FS1 to televise The Spring League along with the option to acquire a minority stake in the league.

CEO Woods founded The Spring League in early 2016. On December 22, 2016, SiriusXM NFL Radio initially reported the league as being owned by the NFL, but retracted that by the end of the day. The NFL informed its teams of the league's existence and its plans to operate from April 5 through April 26, 2017. The Spring League's 2017 season consisted of a four-team, three-week single round-robin tournament in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia at The Greenbrier resort in April, and a two-team "Showcase" game in Napa, California in July. The teams in each tournament were only identified with vague geographic names such as North, South, East, West and California. A game streamed on Facebook received 60,000 views while a practice received 30,000 views.

Coaches with long NFL or College experience included quarterback coach Terry Shea, Steve Fairchild, Donnie Henderson, Dennis Creehan and Art Valero (offensive line). For the April games, the league had four teams and 105 players. Its players included NFL veterans Fred Jackson, Anthony "Boobie" Dixon, Ben Tate, Greg Hardy, Ricky Stanzi, McLeod Bethel-Thompson and Ahmad Bradshaw. The players ranged from two to 10 years out from college.

The league indicated two CFL and 10 NFL teams had their scouts visit the league while another 20 made requests for video footage. Following the April games, roughly two dozen players were invited to NFL rookie mini-camps. The Carolina Panthers picked up six for their rookie mini-camp.

After the first season, NFL scouts seemed to like the league structure but otherwise gave mixed responses. Value was perceived by scouts as they got updated information on forgotten players or saw a player with a conditioned arm, but otherwise the talent level was below what NFL teams expected for an established developmental league. Some scouts expected younger players that had been to a couple of NFL training camps but in the wrong system. Woods indicated that the older and big names brought attention to the league, which has a secondary purpose of providing a veteran annual showcase.

On July 15, 2017, the Spring League Showcase was held at Napa Memorial Stadium in California between Spring League California, coached by Terry Shea and Spring League East, coached by Donnie Henderson. Flofootball.com's FloPRO subscription service streamed the game. David Ash started the game for the California roster and lead several scoring drives. He had 96 passing yards and 9-of-13 passing, including a 4-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Dixon with an interception and 3 runs for a total of 10 yards with his longest for 9 yards. For the East, two quarterbacks, Casey Pachall and Trenton Norvell, made touchdown passes. Pachall completed 4-of-6 passes for 84 yards and a 67-yard touchdown. The game's top rusher was Paul Harris of the East team, who rushed twice for 74 yards and a 6-yard touchdown. East defeated California 23–19.

The league had try-outs in various cities in October and November 2017 and February 2018. On December 7, 2017, The Spring League announced it would play its second season in Austin, Texas beginning in late March 2018. The league was also to have a football-specific tech forum and a joint internship program with the University of Texas’ Center for Sports Leadership & Innovation. Turner Sports announced in mid-January 2018, while the league games would be on its new streaming service B/R Live, the league was also finalizing a deal to practice and play games at Circuit of the Americas near Austin, Texas. On February 14, the league announced the signing of Heisman Trophy winner and former Cleveland Browns first round pick Johnny Manziel to the league playing on the South team. Games to be played on April 7 and 14. Other former NFL commitments to the league were former Cleveland Browns first round pick Kellen Winslow Jr. and former Baltimore Ravens running back Lorenzo Taliaferro. On March 3, the league did not execute on the contract to play the 2018 season at the Circuit of the Americas and instead announced events to take place at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex in Round Rock, Texas.

The Spring League announced a "Fall Showcase" for Miami, Florida to take place November 6–9, 2018, which was intended to prepare players for the then-future AAF and XFL, which were set to play winter/spring seasons.

For 2019, The Spring League tested rules for the XFL. Seen here is the later implemented XFL kickoff formation.

For the 2019 season, The Spring League partnered with the XFL to test rule changes the new league hoped to implement for its own 2020 season. One rule change, originally proposed by Pro Football Talk in 2017, was replacing overtime with a two-point conversion shootout occurring simultaneously at both end zones with five rounds in the TSL.[37] Also tested was the tap rule, which allows a referee to send a player to the sideline for less than a penalty level offense.[38] Both rules and the kickoff formation were later implemented in the XFL. The Spring League was also hired by the XFL to hold three mini-camp style tryouts. With this revenue source, the league's revenue exceeded one million dollars and would have its first profitable year. The two leagues are in preliminary discussions of the Spring League becoming the XFL's official development league.

2019 season practice began March 31, 2019 with double headers on April 6 and 11, 2019. Each of the four teams played two games.[39] For the first time, one of the teams had a brand name; the Austin Generals (formerly South) was named after its host city of Austin, Texas, and used the logo and colors of the former New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League.[39][40] The remaining three teams retained their generic North, East and West brandings.

The league held its two "Summer Showcases" in partnership with the XFL - the first in June in Mission Viejo, California and the second on July 30 in Long Beach, California, 2019 with 100 pay-to-play players in a four-day camp and a six quarter scrimmage. XFL executives and coaches and ESPN and Fox staff were on hand to view rule tests and in-game technologies, with the broadcaster giving feedback on how it would effect broadcast coverage.

A "Fall Showcase" was held in September in Marietta, Georgia, and in November they held another showcase in Miami, Florida.

For 2020, TSL played a showcase game against the Japan national American football team at the Ford Center at The Star March 1, and the main competition March 7 and 11 at Sam Boyd Stadium. The designated home team (formerly West) was dubbed the Las Vegas Hughes, named after Howard Hughes, who spent much of the end of his life as a recluse in Las Vegas. Mettenberger agreed to return as a quarterback. The registration fee for The Spring League's March 2020 season in Las Vegas was $2,100.

The league was able to get most of its abbreviated 2020 season completed just before social distancing mandates tied to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States took effect, shutting down effectively all in-person sports in the United States.

The league held its annual Summer Showcase in July in Glendale, Colorado with a total of 85 players and another 25 staff members and medical personnel participated. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic all players had to go through 14-day self-quarantine before camp and all meetings were conducted in a video conference.

In October 2020 FS1 reached a multi-year agreement to televise The Spring League along with the option to acquire a minority stake in the league, with initial agreement to play a 6-team fall-season in late October and November 2020. The league began its fall season on Oct. 27 with six teams competing in what was intended to be a 12-game format over four weeks in a bubble environment, based out of the San Antonio Alamodome. Fox Sports 1 aired games on Tuesday and Wednesday. The league stated that this time the players did not pay to attend, but Woods later explained that some players did pay, while select others did not.

All six teams had brands and names, including the returning Generals (originally from Austin), Aviators (re-branded from Las Vegas Hughes), and four new teams: the Blues (modified from the FXFL Blacktips), Alphas (a wolf motif), Conquerors and Jousters.

In November 2020, amid the then-resurgent COVID-19 pandemic, TSL announced that the league would be cancelling the final week of the season. The top two teams met in the final on December 15, at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The Generals finished as the first TSL champions, after beating the Aviators 37–14 in the final.

In March 2021, TSL announced that they reached a partnership agreement with Stephen Austin's American National Combines, and were to hold tryouts for the first time in league history. They also declared that players who were on an active roster during TSL's fall 2020 season were not required to participate in the tryouts. In April, TSL announced the 2021 season was to start on May 6, and would feature two new teams – the Linemen and Sea Lions (eight teams in total), competing in a six-week regular season from two hub cities: The North Division in Indianapolis, Indiana and the South Division in Houston, Texas. For the first time, one game every week will be broadcast on Fox including the championship game, while all other games will be broadcast on FS1 and FS2.

The Linemen beat the Jousters 26–23 in the first and only Mega Bowl, and won the TSL championship. Linemen QB Ryan Willis won both final[86] and regular season MVP awards.

On June 3, 2021, Woods announced that he had acquired the remaining extant trademarks of the United States Football League with intent of launching a USFL-branded league in 2022, with Fox Sports remaining as a partner in the new USFL. What was to become of The Spring League remained, at the time, an unresolved question, but according to the initial announcement TSL was to continue, probably as a scouting showcase or developmental operation. It was later reported that TSL in no longer associated with the new USFL.

On February 18, 2022, Woods stated that TSL was "no longer operational", but later reports indicate that it will continues as a business although the football operations are suspended.

On June 2023 it was announced that Woods is planning to lunch a 11-on-11 spring football league for high school players called the Prep Super League. Games will be played from April 19 through May 24 with teams located in Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, New Jersey, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, and Tampa. Players will pay a player development fee and provide their own insurance to participate. Isos Capital Management is one of the league's investors.

The Story And Significance Of Arnie Weinmeister - Dominant Defensive Tackle In 3 Different Leagues

Arnold George Weinmeister was a Canadian professional football player who was a defensive tackle. He went to four Pro Bowls, but with only a six-year tenure in the All-America Football Conference and National Football League combined, his career is one of the shortest of any Pro Football Hall of Fame member. He also played in the Canadian Football League. He was born in Rhein, Saskatchewan.

Weinmeister was a two-time All-City tackle in high school, and played end, fullback and tackle during a 4-year tenure at the University of Washington which was interrupted by four years of army service. He was scouted by New York Yankees (AAFC) head coach Ray Flaherty while playing fullback.

Weinmeister turned professional in 1948 and played defensive tackle for the New York Yankees in the All-America Football Conference until 1949, and for the New York Giants from 1950 to 1953. During his final season in New York, he served as the team captain. In 1949, Weinmeister won second-team All-AAFC as a rookie followed by first-team All-AAFC honors, was voted All-NFL Choice for four consecutive years (1950–1953), and was selected to play in the NFL's Pro Bowl every year from 1950 to 1953.

He was on the inaugural roster for the BC Lions in 1954, and played for the team for two seasons. He is one of five Saskatchewan natives to make it to the NFL (the other four being Jon Ryan, Rueben Mayes, Ben Heenan, and Brett Jones).

Few players ever have been so dominant at their position in pro football than Arnie Weinmeister was in his six-year stint as a defensive tackle that began with the New York Yankees of the All-America Football Conference in 1948 and ended with the New York Giants of the NFL in 1953.

He won second-team All-AAFC as a rookie followed by first-team All-AAFC honors in 1949 and then was a unanimous All-NFL choice all four years with the Giants. He also was selected to play in the NFL's Pro Bowl each of the first four years in the NFL.

Arnie was one of the first defensive players to captivate the masses of fans the way an offensive ball-handler does. At 6-4 and 235 pounds, he was bigger than the average player of his day and he was widely considered to be the fastest lineman in pro football.

Blessed with a keen football instinct, he was a master at diagnosing opposition plays. He used his size and speed to stop whatever the opposition attempted, but it was as a pass rusher that he really caught the fans’ attention. A natural team leader, he was the Giants co-captain in his final season in New York.

In high school Arnie was a two-time All-City tackle. He played end, fullback, and tackle in his four-year tenure at the University of Washington, a tenure interrupted by a four-year Army stint. New York Yankee Coach Ray Flaherty first spotted Weinmeister as a fullback but wisely made him into a two-way tackle when he turned pro in 1948. When he moved to the Giants, Arnie was used almost exclusively on defense. With a six-year tenure in the AAFC and NFL, his career is one of the shortest of any Pro Football Hall of Fame member.

The Story And Significance Of Charley Taylor - Record-Tying Seven Seasons With 50 Or More Receptions At Retirement

Charles Robert Taylor was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver for 13 seasons with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. After playing college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils, he was selected by Washington in the first round of the 1964 NFL Draft. With Taylor, the Redskins made the playoffs five times (1971–1974, 1976) and reached the Super Bowl once (VII), after the 1972 season. A six-time All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowl selection, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984.

Taylor was selected by the Washington Redskins as the third overall pick of the 1964 NFL Draft. He was also selected in the AFL draft, taken ninth by the Houston Oilers. Taylor signed with Washington and won the UPI rookie of the year award as a running back, and became the first NFL rookie in 20 years to finish in the top 10 in the league in both rushing (sixth with 755 yards) and receiving (eighth, 53 receptions for 814 yards). The 53 catches were a then-record for running backs.

Although known as a successful running back, Taylor was switched to wide receiver in 1966 and led the NFL in receiving in both 1966 and 1967. He played that position for the rest of his career and had a record-tying seven seasons with 50 or more receptions. In 1972, he scored two touchdowns in Washington's win over the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football Conference Championship Game, advancing them to their first Super Bowl. They lost in Super Bowl VII to the undefeated Miami Dolphins. In the season finale in 1975, Taylor passed Don Maynard and became the NFL's all-time receptions leader with his 634th career catch on December 21 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Following Maynard's retirement in 1973, Taylor was the league's active leader in receiving yards for four seasons. He began 1974 with 7,470 yards, then 11th all-time, and climbed up to 4th.

Taylor retired following the 1977 season as the NFL's all-time leading receiver with 649 receptions, for 9,110 yards and 79 touchdowns. His career receptions record stood until 1984, when he was passed by Charlie Joiner. With 1,488 yards rushing and some kick return yardage, Taylor totaled 10,803 combined net yards. Along with his 11 touchdowns rushing, Taylor scored 540 points in his career. He was named first- or second-team All-Pro six times and was selected to eight Pro Bowls.

Taylor was named to the NFL 1960s All-Decade Team. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984, and was selected as one of the 70 Greatest Redskins of all time. In 1999, he was ranked number 85 on The Sporting News' list of its 100 greatest football players.

After retiring, Taylor was hired to work in the Redskins' front office with Bobby Mitchell as a scout. He became their receivers coach in 1981, when Joe Gibbs became the head coach. He served on the coaching staff through 1993 under Richie Petitbon, but was not retained by new head coach Norv Turner in March 1994, ending three decades with the franchise.

Taylor and his wife Patricia married in 1965. The Taylors lived in Falcons Landing in Potomac Falls, Virginia. They had three children, Elizabeth, Erica, and Charles, Jr., and three grandchildren, Robyn, Jordyn, and Nathan. He did speaking engagements and served as a consultant to the Commanders.

Taylor died on February 19, 2022, in Northern Virginia, at the age of 80.