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John Elway

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John Elway
refer to caption
John Elway speaking to United States troops
No. 7
Position:Quarterback
Career information
College:Stanford
NFL draft:1983 / round: 1 / pick: 1
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Pro Football Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Pro Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame

John Albert Elway, Jr. (born June 28, 1960) played American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Denver Broncos from 1983 through 1998. Regarded by many as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, Elway holds college and professional records and was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is the only quarterback to have started in five Super Bowls, having won two.

Biography

Early life

John Elway was born in Port Angeles, Washington on June 28, 1960, the son of Jane and Jack Edward Elway, a college football coach and prospect. As a youth he lived in primarily in Missoula, Montana, and Pullman, Washington, when his father was an assistant coach at Miami and Washington State, respectively. His father became the head coach at Cal State-Northridge in 1978, and the Elways moved to Southern California, where John attended his final two years of high school at Granada Hills High School in Granada Hills, California. He ended his high school career with 3,711 passing yards and 29 passing touchdowns, and was named to the Parade Magazine All America High School Football Team. Known as a dual-threat quarterback, meaning he was accomplished at running and escaping pressure, and had impressive passing ability, he was the number-one recruited high school player in the country, receiving over 60 scholarship offers.

College

He enrolled at Stanford University where he played both football and baseball. His last football game at Stanford was one of the most famous games of all time, the 1982 Big Game versus California (also known as Cal), which ended with "The Play", an amazing and memorable play with five lateral passes that allowed Cal to win the game. After that game, Elway congratulated the trombone player that got ran over. Although Elway never led his team to a bowl game, he had an accomplished college career. In his four seasons (1979–1982) at Stanford, he completed 774 passes for 9,349 yards and 77 touchdowns. Stanford had a 20-23 record during his tenure. His 24 touchdown passes in 1982 led the nation, and he graduated with nearly every Stanford and Pacific-10 career record for passing and total offense. He won Pac-10 Player of the Year honors in 1980 and 1982, was a consensus All-American, and finished second in Heisman Trophy balloting as a senior. Although his team never qualified to play in a college bowl game, in 2000, Elway was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. In 2007, Elway was ranked #15 on ESPN's Top 25 Players In College Football History list. Thomas Davids, an assistant football coach, said that Elway was the "best looking ball player he had ever seen."

Elway also excelled as a baseball player, finishing his senior year hitting .361 with nine home runs and 50 RBIs in 49 games and a 5-4 record with a 4.51 ERA.

Elway graduated with a degree in economics, and he is a member of the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity.

Draft

In the 1983 NFL Draft, Elway was selected as the first overall pick by the Baltimore Colts. Elway had, by then, played two summers of minor league baseball for the New York Yankees organization. Additionally, Elway had publicly stated that he refused to join the Colts organization, feeling the team could not allow him to be successful. If they did not trade him he said he was going to play baseball. Eventually, Colts owner Robert Irsay gave in. The Colts traded him to the Denver Broncos for QB Mark Herrmann, rights to OL Chris Hinton and a first-round pick (OG Ron Solt) in the 1985 NFL Draft on May 2, 1983. John Elway is one of three quarterbacks in the history of the NFL Draft (started in 1936) to be drafted #1 and go on to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The other two are Terry Bradshaw and Troy Aikman.

1980s professional career

Elway stormed into the mile-high air as one of the most highly anticipated athletes in the history of the NFL. The local newspapers ran a section that was called "The Elway Watch". He soon became known to by all the Broncos fans simply as "The Duke" of Denver.

Elway would debut that season in the Broncos season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium. Elway's first career sack in the NFL came at the hands of linebacker and fellow Hall of Famer Jack Lambert. The sack has since become iconic as somewhat of a passing of the torch as Lambert, by then a 10-year veteran still in the prime of his career, would be forced to retire the following season due to a turf toe injury while Elway's career was just beginning at this point.

Although the Broncos were playoff contenders for Elway's early years, Elway would go through the normal growing pains of a young NFL quarterback.

1986

In the 1986 season, Elway led the Broncos to Super Bowl XXI, after defeating the Cleveland Browns on a famous possession at the end of the game that became known as "The Drive". (In a span of 5 minutes and 2 seconds, Elway led his team 98 yards to tie the game with 37 seconds left in regulation. The Broncos went on to win the game in overtime.) Elway and the Broncos started out the Super Bowl against the New York Giants very well, building a 10-7 lead and then driving to the Giants 1-yard line in the second quarter. However, the Broncos lost five yards on their next three plays and came up empty after kicker Rich Karlis missed the field goal attempt. From that point on, the rest of the game went downhill for the Broncos. Elway was sacked in the end zone for a safety on the Broncos ensuing possession, cutting their lead to 10-9. Then in the second half, the Giants scored 30 points and ended up winning the game 39-20. Still, Elway had an impressive performance, throwing for 304 yards and a touchdown, with one interception, while also leading Denver in rushing with 27 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

1987

In 1987, Elway was selected to start in the American Football Conference's (AFC) Pro Bowl team and won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. He went on to once again lead the Broncos to a victory over the Browns in the AFC title game, earning their second consecutive Super Bowl appearance, this one against the Washington Redskins. The game started out very well for Denver, and they built up a 10-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. At the time, no team had ever overcome a 10-0 deficit in the Super Bowl. But in the second quarter, the Redskins suddenly stormed back with a record 35 points, and ended up winning Super Bowl XXII 42-10. Elway did have a few highlights. His 56-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Nattiel after just 1:57 had elapsed in the game set a record for the fastest touchdown in Super Bowl history, at the time. He also became the first quarterback ever to catch a pass in the Super Bowl, recording a 23-yard reception from halfback Steve Sewell on a halfback option play. With a porous defense unable to stop the Redskins offense, Elway was forced to take more risks on the offensive end. As a result, Elway's performance was rather disappointing: just 14 out of 38 completions for 257 yards and one touchdown, with three interceptions.

1988-1989

After recording an 8-8 record in 1988, Elway once again led his team to the Super Bowl after the 1989 season, with yet another win over the Browns in the AFC championship game, going on to face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIV. However this game ended even worse for the Broncos than their previous Super Bowl losses. San Francisco blew out Denver 55-10, the most lopsided score in Super Bowl history. Although Elway scored the only touchdown for his team on a three-yard run, his performance was exceptionally abysmal: 10 out of 26 completions for 108 yards with no touchdown passes and two interceptions. But he didn't try to hide from the media after the game or downplay his dismal performance. And when he was asked if he wanted to go back to the Super Bowl after three losses, he responded that he wanted to go back every year, even if his team kept losing. Still by this point, many doubted that he would ever win a Super Bowl in his career. He was already being compared to other famous quarterbacks who had failed to win a championship, like Fran Tarkenton and Dan Fouts.

1990s professional career

Ending on top

It took Elway another eight years, but he eventually led his team back to the Super Bowl in 1997. During the 1997 preseason American Bowl game in Mexico City, Elway ruptured his right (throwing arm) biceps tendon. It was treated non-surgically, and he returned to play 19 days later, going on that season to play in his fourth Super Bowl. In Super Bowl XXXII, the Broncos faced the defending Super Bowl champions Green Bay Packers. They went on to defeat the Packers 31-24, finally winning a Super Bowl after three failed attempts for Elway (and four for the team). In 1998, the Broncos repeated this feat and Elway was awarded the MVP of Super Bowl XXXIII, throwing for 336 yards and one touchdown with one interception, while also scoring a rushing touchdown in Denver's 34-19 win over the Atlanta Falcons. It was his last game.

Legacy

On May 2, 1999, at the age of 38, Elway announced his retirement from pro football. Elway is regarded as one of the top quarterbacks ever to grace the game. He has one of the best winning percentages in league history (148-82-1), and is tied for second most Pro Bowl selections for a quarterback (nine). He is third to Dan Marino and Brett Favre in career passing attempts, passing yards and completions. His four total rushing touchdowns in his Super Bowl games are the most ever by a quarterback. Elway is the only quarterback to have started in five Super Bowls. He is also the second player ever to score a rushing touchdown in four different Super Bowls (running back Thurman Thomas was the first).

On Monday September 13, 1999, his number 7 jersey was retired by the Denver Broncos during halftime of a game vs the Miami Dolphins; that same night he was inducted into the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame. (Craig Morton, his direct predecessor in Denver, also wore number 7 and is in the Ring of Fame alongside Elway.) He was the first Broncos player to have the five-year waiting period waived. Also in 1999 he was inducted in to the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.

Also in 1999, he was ranked number 16 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players[citation needed], the only player to have spent the majority of his career with the Broncos to make the list. (Willie Brown, who began his career with the Broncos but spent more of it with the Oakland Raiders, also made the list.) In 2005, TSN published another special feature honoring the 50 Greatest Quarterbacks. Elway was ranked third behind Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana. During his NFL career, Elway had a winning record against every other NFL team except for one. [citation needed]

Elway was named the greatest athlete wearing the #7 by Sports Illustrated. Current Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who grew up idolizing Elway and Joe Montana, wears number 7 in honor of Elway.[1]

Stats

Elway also holds the record for most game-winning or game-tying scoring drives in the fourth quarter, with 47. Elway holds the rather undesirable record for most times being sacked (516) and most career Super Bowl interceptions, with eight picks in the five title games he played. He also ended his career with 148 wins, good for second place, behind Brett Favre on the most wins by a starting quarterback (NFL) list. He finished his career with 774 rushes, one shy of NFL record-holder Randall Cunningham (775) for rushes by a quarterback. Elway's 3,417 rushing yards ranks sixth all-time among NFL QB's behind Cunningham, Steve Young, Michael Vick, Fran Tarkenton, and Steve McNair.

Elway threw for 1,128 yards in his five Super Bowls, second only to Joe Montana's record of 1,142 yards. His 76 Super Bowl pass completions rank him third behind Montana and Jim Kelly.

Elway holds several Broncos franchise records:

  • Most Total Offensive Yards: 54,882 yards (51,475 passing, 3,407 rushing)
  • Most Total Touchdowns: 334 (300 passing, 33 rushing, 1 receiving)
  • Most Total Plays: 8,027
  • Winning Percentage: .643 (148-82-1)
  • Most Career Passing Yards: 51,475
  • Most Career Completions: 4,123
  • Most Career Attempts: 7,250
  • Most Touchdown Passes: 300

Hall of Fame

On August 8, 2004, Elway was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, by his eldest daughter Jessica. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000.

Career highlights

  • In 1979, Elway was drafted out of high school by the Kansas City Royals to play baseball in the MLB. George Brett, the future Hall Of Fame third baseman for the Royals is said to have remarked, "I hope this guy plays football." (The two would have competed for third base playing time).[citation needed]
  • In the 1981 summer draft, he was the first selection of the New York Yankees. The following year he hit .314 and a club-high 24 home runs while playing for the Oneonta, New York single-A farm club.
  • In the 1983 NFL draft, he was selected as the first overall pick by the Baltimore Colts and on May 2 was traded to the Denver Broncos.
  • On January 11, 1987, Elway executed "The Drive", a last ditch, five-minute, 15-play, 98-yard touchdown drive in the AFC Championship against the Cleveland Browns to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, leading to an overtime win by field goal (by Rich Karlis) for the Broncos. It included six passes made (nine attempted), five rushes and an eight-yard sack. He was named the NFL Most Valuable Player and the AFC Offensive MVP.
  • He is the only player to throw for over 3,000 yards and rush for over 200 yards in seven straight seasons (1985–1991).
  • He was named the AFC Offensive MVP in 1993 when he passed for over 4,030 yards and 25 touchdowns. He had a quarterback rating of 92.8.
  • In 1997, he led the Broncos to their first ever Super Bowl win in Super Bowl XXXII. His three previous attempts in Super Bowls XXI, XXII, and XXIV were unsuccessful.
  • He is the oldest player to score a touchdown in a Super Bowl at age 38 in Super Bowl XXXIII.
  • On January 31, 1999, in Super Bowl XXXIII he passed for 336 yards in a 34-19 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Elway was named the Super Bowl MVP.
  • He was selected to the Pro Bowl nine times during his 16 seasons with the Broncos, a franchise record.
  • Over his professional career, he led his teams to a record 47 fourth quarter comebacks.
  • His 148 wins place him second (to Brett Favre) for career wins among quarterbacks. He was also sacked 516 times, more than any other quarterback.
  • Elway's 300 career touchdown passes places him fifth behind Dan Marino, Brett Favre, Fran Tarkenton and Peyton Manning.
  • He is one of only three quarterbacks to pass for at least 3,000 yards in 12 seasons; Brett Favre and Dan Marino are the others.
  • On January 31, 2004, he was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Business activities

John Elway is currently co-owner of the Arena Football team Colorado Crush, a position he has held since 2002. In February 2007, Elway was elected chairman of the Arena Football League's executive committee.[2]

Elway is the owner of two steakhouse restaurants, each named "Elway's": One is located in the upscale Cherry Creek shopping district, and the other is in the Ritz-Carlton hotel in downtown Denver.[3]

Elway used to own five auto dealerships in the Denver area. He sold them to AutoNation for $82.5 million in 1997. In December 2006, Elway ended the nine-year licensing agreement with AutoNation Inc., removing his name from Denver-area dealerships. At the time, Elway said the move could allow him to get back into the auto business under his own name.[3] He still owns a Toyota - Scion dealership in Ontario, California[4][5] and Nissan dealership in Riverside, California [6]

Family

Elway was once married to Janet Elway, who attended Stanford University and competed on its swimming team. The couple married in 1984, then separated in 2002 and divorced in 2003.

Elway has a daughter, Jessica (full name Jessica Gwen Elway) who is currently a student-athlete at Stanford. She had a minimal role in Stanford's women's basketball team during her freshman year. According to published newspaper reports in late October 2005, the school announced that Jessica would not rejoin the team for her sophomore year, for personal reasons. She previously attended Cherry Creek High School, located in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Jessica is known for her moving introduction speech at her father's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Jessica made history by becoming the first daughter to ever introduce her father as an inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Former Green Bay Packer greats Jim Taylor and Forrest Gregg were both introduced at their induction ceremonies by Marie Lombardi, widow of legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi.

Another daughter, Jordan, attends the University of Denver where she is a member of the lacrosse team. She originally attended the University of Virginia, after graduation from Cherry Creek HS.

Elway has a son, Jack (John Albert Elway III), who is a 17 year-old senior at Cherry Creek High School in Colorado. He plays quarterback on the varsity squad, stands 6′2″ and weighs 188 lb. Elway will work as the quarterbacks coach for Cherry Creek for Jack's senior year.[7] Jack Elway verbally committed to play quarterback for Arizona State University. [8] ASU's head coach Dennis Erickson was his grandfather Jack's first offensive coordinator, from 1979-81, at San José State, the elder Jack's first Division I head coaching job.

John Elway had a twin sister, Jana, who "always kept him out of trouble." A non-smoker, she contracted lung cancer in 2002 and died at the age of 42 in the summer of 2002. John's father (and best friend) Jack, died of an apparent heart attack a year earlier.

Pop culture

John Elway appeared on commercials for the foam Vortex football. When the Koosh Vortex football was first introduced in 1994, Elway threw it over 90 yards. In 1998, Elway made history again, throwing the new Vortex Mach 110 over 110 yards.

Elway has suffered a long-term battle with acid reflux disease. In 2003, he made this condition public and became the spokesman for Prevacid.

John Elway is constantly referenced on South Park. Like many Colorado residents, the boys are fans of the Broncos, and therefore look to Elway as a hero. In one episode ,"The Wacky Molestation Adventure", a John Elway statue is known as the "provider" for the boys' make-believe town. Stan Marsh has many posters of Elway on his bedroom wall. In another episode with Barbra Streisand, Stan asks her if she knows John Elway. When she replies no, Stan says "You're so rich and famous, but you don't know John Elway?". In It's Christmas in Canada, at least Stan expresses interest in a John Elway action figure with karate chop action for Christmas. In the intro to Butters' Very Own Episode, the song states "he loves John Alway" while Butters is shown holding up a photo of himself in Elway's arms to which Butters corrects them, "Elway!"

He has twice been lampooned on The Simpsons. In "Cape Feare", he is Homer's preferred new identity, as Homer fantasizes himself scoring a touchdown as the Broncos quarterback in a Super Bowl. However, upon viewing the scoreboard, it shows that the Broncos are trailing in the game, 56-7. This is a reference to Super Bowl XXIV, which Elway's Broncos lost 55-10, with Elway scoring the only touchdown of the game for his team long after the Broncos had any hope of making a comeback. In "You Only Move Twice", the Denver Broncos are seen haplessly getting their football drills wrong after Homer receives the team as a gift from Hank Scorpio. Homer is disappointed as he'd always dreamed of owning the Dallas Cowboys. "Awww the Denver Broncos...," Homer later says. The Denver Broncos would win the next two Super Bowls after the original airing of that episode.

In 1994 he appeared in an episode of "Home Improvement".

Two days before the 2006 AFC Championship Game pitting the Broncos against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a Pennsylvania high school student named Joshua Vannoy sported an Elway jersey. A teacher, John Kelly, an avid Steeler fan, humiliated him by having him sit on the floor during a test and had the students throw paper balls at him. Vannoy, who only wore the jersey because he was an Elway fan, claimed that he wasn't able to concentrate fully on the test, messed up miserably, and was called a "stinking Denver fan". He eventually stopped attending school and had to transfer to another high school. The teacher claimed that the incident was only in fun. When Elway heard the news, he sent Vannoy a custom designed recliner.[9]

John Elway and his Elway Foundation host a charity golf tournament every year called the John Elway Golf Classic. Profits are split equally between two local charities, The Kempe Foundation and The Family Advocacy, Care and Support (F.A.C.E.S.), both of which combat child abuse.

Elway has contributed to a number of Republican Party candidates in recent elections. Following the decision by incumbent U.S. Senator Wayne Allard on January 15, 2007 not to seek another term in 2008, some pundits speculated Elway might campaign for the seat.[10]

Elway will appear in the ABC reality television series Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, scheduled to appear in June 2007, featuring a dozen celebrities in a stock car racing competition. In the premier episode, Elway will match up against Serena Williams and Laird Hamilton. John won the reality TV show over the cowboy, Ty Murray.

Elway was featured on the cover of All-Pro Football 2K8 video game with Barry Sanders and Jerry Rice.

Elway was featured as the star of John Elway's Quarterback video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Elway had a cameo appearance in the Garth Brooks music video," We Shall Be Free," along with fellow quarterbacks, Troy Aikman and Warren Moon.

Present

On August 23, 2007, John Elway signed on to be the quarterbacks coach for the Cherry Creek High School American football team in Englewood, Colorado. His son, Jack, is the Bruins' starting quarterback and also wears No. 7.

John Elway just had a knee replaced. At age 47.

Quotes

  • "Until that clock hits zero zero, I'm going to give it my all. I'm going to give it all I've got" — Elway referring to his 49 fourth quarter comebacks in an interview with NFL Films

Career statistics

Regular season

¹Led league ²Second place ³Third place †Tied
Year Passing Rushing
Att Comp Yds TD Int Att Yds Avg TD
1983 259 123 1,663 7 14 28 146 5.2 1
1984 380 214 2,598 18 15 56 237 4.2 1
1985 605¹ 327² 3,891² 22 23 51 253 5.0 0
1986 504 280 3,485 19 13 52 257 4.9 1
1987 410 224 3,198 19 12 66 304 4.6 4
1988 496 274 3,309 17 19 54 234 4.3 1
1989 416 223 3,051 18 18 48 244 5.1 3
1990 502 294 3,526 15 14 50 258 5.2 3
1991 451 242 3,253 13 12 55 255 4.6 6
1992 316 174 2,242 10 17 34 94 2.8 2
1993 551¹ 348¹ 4,030¹ 25² 10 44 153 3.5 0
1994 494 307 3,490 16 10 58 235 4.1 4
1995 542 316 3,970 26 14 41 176 4.3 1
1996 466 287 3,328 26 14 50 249 5.0 4
1997 502 280 3,635 27 11 50 218 4.4 1
1998 356 210 2,806 22 10 37 94 2.5 1
Total
(all-time)		 7,250
(3rd)		 4,123
(3rd)		 51,475
(3rd)		 300
(5th)		 226 774 3,407 4.4 33

Playoffs

*includes Super Bowl
Year Passing Rushing
Att Comp Yds TD Int Att Yds Avg TD
1983 15 10 123 0 1 3 16 5.3 0
1984 37 19 184 2 2 4 16 4.0 0
1986* 107 57 805 3 4 15 101 6.7 2
1987* 89 42 797 6 5 18 76 4.2 1
1989* 82 42 732 4 3 16 91 5.7 1
1991 54 30 378 1 2 10 49 4.9 0
1993 47 29 302 3 1 5 23 4.6 0
1996 38 25 226 2 0 5 30 6.0 0
1997* 96 56 726 3 2 9 25 2.8 1
1998* 86 45 691 3 1 9 34 3.8 1
Total 651 355 4,964 27 21 94 461 4.9 6


See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/22/AR2006012201255.html
  2. ^ espn.comElway to chair Arena League executive committee
  3. ^ a b espn.com, Elway expands business empire, opening new steakhouse
  4. ^ Crown Toyota, John Elway's Crown Toyota
  5. ^ Crown Scion, John Elway's Crown Scion
  6. ^ John Elway Nissan, John Elway's Morreno Valley Nissan
  7. ^ http://www.myfoxcolorado.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=4144616&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1
  8. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3071811
  9. ^ http://www.ncnewsonline.com/topstories/local_story_027060803.html
  10. ^ http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?id=13831
  • The Associated Press, "Clock runs out on Elway", Arizona Daily Wildcat, May 3, 1999.[1]
  • Ivan Carter, "KC helped make Elway a star", The Kansas City Star, August 8, 2004, p. C8.
Preceded by NCAA Top Five Award
Class of 1983
Bruce Baumgartner
John Elway
Richard J. Giusto
Charles F. Kiraly
David R. Rimington 		Succeeded by
Preceded by NFL Super Bowl MVPs
Super Bowl XXXIII, 1999 		Succeeded by
Preceded by NFL Most Valuable Player
1987 season 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Stanford Starting Quarterbacks
1980-1982 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Denver Broncos Starting Quarterbacks
1983-1998 		Succeeded by

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