Namath, Joe

Namath, Joe
in full Joseph William Namath

born May 31, 1943, Beaver Falls, Pa., U.S.

U.S. football quarterback.

He developed his quarterback skills at the University of Alabama. An exceptional passer, in his third season with the New York Jets (1965–77) he threw for a record 4,007 yards. Though long hampered by knee injuries, by the time of his retirement he had set seasonal and career records for most games with 300 yards or more gained in passing. The nickname "Broadway Joe" reflected his fondness for New York nightlife.

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▪ American athlete
byname of  Joseph William Namath , also called  Joe Willie  or  Broadway Joe 
born May 31, 1943, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, U.S.
 
 American collegiate and professional gridiron football quarterback who was one of the best passers in football and a cultural sports icon of the 1960s.

      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 (1962–64) under coach Bear Bryant (Bryant, Bear), a famous developer of 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.

      Like the boxer Muhammad Ali, Namath represented a transformation of the American sports hero in the 1960s. Namath was known as much for his late-night carousing with beautiful women as for his performances on the field. He was the new kind of ideal male, defined by his countercultural style, which included modish long hair that hung below his helmet and white football shoes (when everyone else wore black). His masculinity was so unquestionable that he posed in panty hose for a magazine advertisement. And at a time when athletes were expected to be modest and self-deprecating, Namath “guaranteed” that the Jets would defeat the favoured NFL Baltimore Colts in the 1969 Super Bowl; they did, 16–7.

      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). As players throughout the league adopted Namath's personal style, his own career played out anticlimactically. 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 1977–78 he was a backup quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, after which he retired. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.

      He remained in the public eye through television commercials and film, television, and theatre appearances.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Namath, Joe — p. ext. Joseph William Namath (n. 31 may. 1943, Beaver Falls, Pa., EE.UU.). Mariscal de campo estadounidense de fútbol americano. Desarrolló su talento en la Universidad de Alabama. Fue un extraordinario lanzador de pases: en su tercera temporada …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Joe Namath — Namath in 2003 No. 12      Quarterback Personal information Date of birth: May 31, 1943 …   Wikipedia

  • Namath — Joe Namath Joe Namath (* 31. Mai 1943 in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania; eigentlich Joseph William Namath) ist ein ehemaliger US amerikanischer American Football Spieler. Er gilt als einer der charismatischsten Quarterbacks in der Geschichte der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Joe Namath — Namath 2003 Position(en): Quarterback Trikotnummer(n): 12 geboren am 31. Mai 1943 in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvani …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Joe Namath — Foto de Namath en 2003. Posición(s): QB Numero(s): 12 Fecha de nacimiento: 31 de mayo de 1943 …   Wikipedia Español

  • Joe Montana — Joseph Clifford „Joe“ Montana Jr. (* 11. Juni 1956 in New Eagle, Pennsylvania) ist ein ehemaliger US amerikanischer American Football Spieler. Als herausragender Quarterback in den 1980er und frühen 1990er Jahren gilt er als einer der besten… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Joe — /joh/, n. 1. (sometimes l.c.) Informal. fellow; guy: the average Joe who works for a living. 2. Informal. a personification of a typical, often unprepossessing representative of an occupation, personality trait, state of being, etc., that is… …   Universalium

  • Joe — (as used in expressions) Bird, Larry (Joe) DiMaggio, Joe Hill, Joe Jackson, Joe Shoeless Joe Jackson Louis, Joe Montana, Joe Morgan, Joe Namath, Joe Orton, Joe Joe Yule, Jr …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • joe — joe1 /joh/, n. Scot. jo. joe2 /joh/, n. Slang. coffee. [1840 50; of uncert. orig.] * * * (as used in expressions) Bird Larry Joe DiMaggio Joe Hill Joe Jackson Joe Shoeless Joe Jackson Louis Joe Montana Joe Morgan Joe Namath Joe Orton Joe Williams …   Universalium

  • Joe Namath — Données générales Nom complet Joseph William Namath Nationalité …   Wikipédia en Français

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