Bryan L. Yeatter - Joe Namath, Game by Game: The Complete Professional Football Career

Bryan L. Yeatter is also the author
of Cinema of the Philippines:
A History and Filmography, 18972005
(McFarland, 2007)

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Yeatter, Bryan L., 1964
Joe Namath, game by game : the complete professional football career / Bryan L. Yeatter.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-7864-7036-5

1. Namath, Joe Willie, 1943 2. Football playersUnited StatesBiography. I. Title.
GV939.N28Y43 2012
796.332092dc23 [B] 2012019536

BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

2012 Bryan L. Yeatter. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

On the cover: Joe Namath (12) of the New York Jets in a 1714 win over the Miami Dolphins at Shea Stadium on November 24, 1974 (AP Photo/NFL Photos)

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com

For my mother and father,
who bought me a Joe Namath jersey
when I was a boy

There are a number of individuals I need to thank for their help and support as I worked on this book. I should start with my research assistants, Ellen Letostak and Cindie Moore. Ellen was always gracious in offering to look things up, despite the fact she loathes football (hates footballloves research). Hating football didnt stop her from enjoying the book as she read through it, however, and I need to also thank her for the editorial suggestions she offered along the way (it never hurts to have an English teacher proofread your work).

Cindie was also always eager to help; if I mentioned being vexed by some elusive bit of information, she would quickly reappear with a computer printout in hand. That would have been enough in itself, but Cindies most notable quality is her irrepressible buoyancy; it seems impossible to hold a negative thought in her presence, or to fail to be swept up in her sunny disposition. She has a wonderful gift for cheerleading, and we all need cheerleaders.

My brother, Alan Yeatter, was always willing to lend a hand whenever necessary, as was Michael Marshall, who gave me the run of his Premier Copy facility after hours, which was primetime for getting things done.

Football fans are often very useful when one is delving into seasons long past. Their memories and personal collections of memorabilia offer a wealth of information, and a true fan can sometimes be the best historian of all. For that reason I would like to thank Miami Dolphins fan and historian Chris Kellum and Baltimore Colts fan and historian Al Val, who were both helpful despite the fact I was writing about a man they once regarded with all the affection of an archenemy. In fact, Al, a lifelong Colts fan, still views Super Bowl III with a degree of suspicion, I believe.

While naming fans, I cant leave out the Poosers. When Peggy Pooser speaks, there is no mistaking her drawl for anything other than full-on Alabaman, and being from Alabama, she is well versed in regional football lore. But the Poosers are diehard Auburn people, and to them Namath and Bear Bryant were the enemy. Even so, in any great rivalry there is due respect for a worthy adversary, and it was Peggy who first told me of the old adage that, in Alabama, atheists are people who dont believe in Bear Bryant. The Poosers are more of the church of Shug Jordan, however, and if you were to look through the video library of Peggys late husband, Carlyle Pooser, you would come away with the distinct impression that Auburn never lost a game.

Together, Peggy and Carlyle Pooser raised sons who inherited both their congenial nature and their love of football. John Pooser is always very generous with the libations, and can be counted on to tell (and retell) the story of having attended Auburns upset victory over Alabama in 1972s famous Punt, Bama, Punt game.

I also want to acknowledge Scott Pooser because, well, he kinda looks like Joe Namath, and my hope is that in mentioning Alan Pooser as well, I will secure a unanimous vote in making me an honorary Pooser brother. I would make them all honorary Yeatter brothers, but having just one-third of the vote I can only accomplish so much toward that end.

Finally, I want to thank my parents, David Lewis Yeatter and Theresa Joy Marshall, who provided a childhood of wonderful memories for their sons. One that comes to mind in light of this book is their purchase of an 8mm Super Bowl III highlight reel from K-Mart, because their 10-year-old son could not be without it. How many times I watched that film in those pre-VCR days I could not even guess, but every play was burned into my memory, where they remain to this day. There was also the Joe Namath jersey that I would wear to every sandlot game I played in. It is with all my love and gratitude that I dedicate this book to Mom and Dad.

In the history of professional football there are certain names that stand outUnitas, Sayers, Butkus. To a fan, the mere mention of these names conjures vivid images: frosty breath billowing from Unitas helmet during a frigid December championship, Sayers in his mud-caked uniform cutting back against the grain and finding daylight, a very intense look on Butkus face as blood runs down the bridge of his nose. But there is perhaps no name in sport that can bring to mind as many and as varied an array of images as the name Namath, for while the others are inextricably linked to the game of football, Namath encompasses much more. Although he is still largely identified with the game, Joe Namath transcended it like no player before, or even since.

Namath wasnt just a player; he was a celebrity, a personality, and of course a player of another sort. His entire career seemed marked by controversy of one kind or another. An interesting thing is that, although it has been some 30 years since he retired from professional football, Namath is still a figure of controversy. One can find debate raging on the internet concerning the question of whether Namath belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The points raised against his induction (he was inducted in 1985) are worth exploring, some more valid than others.

What stands out most about the objections to his induction, however, is the lack of adequate rebuttal offered when there is good reason to counter these points. While he was playing Namath had his detractors, then as now, but the difference is that those making the case against him now seem woefully ignorant of certain pertinent facts (rule changes, for instance, which presently benefit passers in a way that Namath and his contemporaries couldnt enjoy). Some have even suggested that no quarterback with more interceptions than touchdown passes should be in the Hall of Fame. The point has been raised in relation to Namaths status as a Hall of Famer, yet one would be hard-pressed to find similar objections to other Hall of Fame quarterbacks with more interceptions than touchdowns. Eliminating them all would strike many of the greatest names in the history of the game from the HallY.A. Tittle, Sammy Baugh, Norm Van Brocklin, Bobby Layne, George Blanda; and even Terry Bradshaw, he of the four Super Bowl ringsthrew only two more touchdown passes in his career than interceptions. It was a different game then. These rule changes will be discussed in the concluding chapter.