NAMATH, JOE

born May 31, 1943, Beaver Falls, Pa., U.S. byname of Joseph William Namath, also called Joe Willie, or Broadway Joe American collegiate and professional football quarterback who was one of the best passers in football. Namath excelled in several sports as a youth in the steel-mill town of Beaver Falls, near Pittsburgh. He played football at the University of Alabama (196264) under coach Bear Bryant, a famous developer of professional quarterbacks. While playing in college he sustained the first of many knee injuries that ultimately shortened his career. The National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL) competed for him as a first-round draft choice, and he went to the AFL New York Jets with an unprecedented three-year contract for more than $400,000. He became the Jets' starting quarterback midway through his first season, and in 1967 he threw for a record 4,007 yards. Before the 1969 Super Bowl he guaranteed that the Jets would defeat the favoured NFL Baltimore Colts, and they did: 167. In 1969 Namath retired briefly over the issue of his ownership of a New York City nightclub (hence his nickname Broadway Joe), but he sold it and returned to the Jets. In the same year, he was chosen for the all-time AFL team (the AFL and the NFL merged in 1970). He played with the Jets through the 1976 season, sustaining further injuries, but he had by then set seasonal and career records for most games with 300 yards or more gained by passing. In 197778 he was a backup quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, and then he retired. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. He remained in the public eye through television commercials (begun during his playing days) and film, television, and theatre appearances.