John Elway

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John Elway

Date of birth	June 28, 1960 (age 46)
Place of birth	Port Angeles, Washington
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight	215 lb (98 kg)
Position(s)	Quarterback
College	Stanford
NFL Draft	1983 / Round 1 / Pick 1
Career Highlights
Pro Bowls	1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998
Awards	1998 Super Bowl MVP, 1993 UPI AFC Offensive P.O.Y., 1987 AP NFL MVP, 1987 UPI AFC Offensive P.O.Y.
Honors	Denver Broncos Ring of Fame, NFL 1990s All-Decade Team Colorado Sports Hall of Fame College Football Hall of Fame
Retired #s	Denver Broncos #7
Records	Denver Broncos Career Passing Yards (51,475), Denver Broncos Career Passing TDs (300)
Statistics	DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1983–1998	Denver Broncos
College Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2004

John Albert Elway, Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Denver Broncos from 1983 through 1998. He holds many college and some professional records, was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and is the only quarterback to have started in five Super Bowls.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Elway was born in Port Angeles, Washington. The son of football coach Jack Elway. As a youth he lived in Grays Harbor, Washington, Missoula, Montana, and Pullman, Washington, before moving to southern California at age 16. He attended his final two years of high school at Granada Hills High School in Granada Hills, California. He ended his high school career with 5,711 passing yards and 49 passing touchdowns. Known as a dual-threat quarterback (one who can both pass and run), he was the number-one recruited high-school player in the country, with more than sixty scholarship offers.

[edit] 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 infamous) play with five lateral passes that allowed Cal to win the game. 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.

Elway also excelled as a baseball player, finishing his senior year hitting .361 with 9 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 Delta Tau Delta Fraternity.

[edit] Draft

In the 1983 NFL Draft, Elway was selected as the 1st overall pick by the then 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. He demanded a trade. 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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". 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.

[edit] 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. 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. But overall, Elway's performance was rather disappointing: just 14 out of 38 completions for 257 yards and one touchdown, with three interceptions.

[edit] 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 3 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.

[edit] 1990s professional career

[edit] 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 would go 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 1 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.

[edit] 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. Not only does he have more wins than any other quarterback in NFL history^[1], but he has one of the best winning percentages in league history (148-82-1), and is tied for 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. 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 1 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, 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.

[edit] 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, still the record for any NFL quarterback. He finished his career with 774 rushes, one shy of NFL record-holder Randall Cunningham (775) for rushes by a quarterback. Elway's 3,407 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 5 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

[edit] 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.

[edit] Career highlights

In 1979, Elway was drafted out of high school by the Kansas City Royals to play baseball of Major League Baseball.
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 1st 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 4th 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.
He led the NFL all-time list with 148 wins as a starting quarterback. He was also sacked 516 times, more than any other quarterback.
Elway's 300 career touchdown passes places him fourth behind Dan Marino, Brett Favre and Fran Tarkenton.
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.
Elway has led 47 game-winning or game-saving drives in the fourth quarter or overtime, the most for any pro quarterback, even "Comeback Kid" Joe Montana.

[edit] 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 restaurants. One is called "Elways" located in the upscale Cherry Creek shopping district. The other is called "Elway's Colorado Steakhouse" located in the Ritz-Carlton hotel in downtown Denver, and is scheduled to open in the summer of 2007. ^[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 dealership in Ontario, California.^[4]

[edit] Family

Elway was once married to Janet Elway, who attended Stanford University and competed on its swimming team. The couple 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 orignally 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 junior at Cherry Creek High School in Colorado. He plays quarterback on the varsity squad, stands 6'2" and weighs 188 lbs. His son's friend, Nicholas Nemeroff, was his all-American varsity running back before he transferred to Texas Central High School to play for Coach Jason Schneidman's TCHS Tigers.

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.

[edit] 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. In many instances the boys look to him as a hero, being from Colorado fans of thus fans of the Broncos. It was thought that Elway was Eric Cartman's father. 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.

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 [1].

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. ^[5]

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Regular season

¹Led league ²Second place ³Third place ^†Tied
Year	Passing					Rushing
Year	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 (4th)	226	774	3,407	4.4	33

[edit] Playoffs

*includes Super Bowl
Year	Passing					Rushing
Year	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

[edit] See also

Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame

[edit] References

^ Pompei, Dan. "Quarterbacks with a case for the Hall of Fame - or not", The Sporting News, June 12, 2000. Retrieved on 2006-12-29.
^ espn.comElway to chair Arena League executive committee
^ ^a ^b espn.com, Elway expands business empire, opening new steakhouse
^ Crown Toyota, John Elway's Crown Toyota
^ http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?id=13831

The Associated Press, "Clock runs out on Elway", Arizona Daily Wildcat, May 3, 1999.[2]
Ivan Carter, "KC helped make Elway a star", The Kansas City Star, August 8, 2004, p. C8.

Preceded by Par J. Arvidsson Rowdy Gaines Oliver Luck Kenneth W. Sims Lynette Woodard	NCAA Top Five Award Class of 1983 Bruce Baumgartner John Elway Richard J. Giusto Charles F. Kiraly David R. Rimington	Succeeded by John E. Frank Beth Heiden Terrell L. Hoage Stefan G. Humphries Steve Young

Preceded by Terrell Davis	NFL Super Bowl MVPs Super Bowl XXXIII, 1999	Succeeded by Kurt Warner
Preceded by Lawrence Taylor	NFL Most Valuable Player 1987 season	Succeeded by Boomer Esiason
Preceded by Turk Schonert	Stanford Starting Quarterbacks 1980-1982	Succeeded by Steve Cottrell
Preceded by Steve DeBerg	Denver Broncos Starting Quarterbacks 1983-1998	Succeeded by Brian Griese

National Football League number one overall Draft picks

Berwanger • Francis • C. Davis • Aldrich • Cafego • Harmon • Dudley • Sinkwich • Bertelli • Trippi • Dancewicz • Fenimore • Gilmer • Bednarik • Hart • Rote • Wade • Babcock • Garrett • Shaw • Glick • Hornung • Hill • Duncan • Cannon • Mason • E. Davis • Baker • Parks • Frederickson • Nobis • Bu. Smith • Yary • Bradshaw • Plunkett • Patulski • Matuszak • Jones • Bartkowski • Selmon • Bell • Campbell • Cousineau • B. Sims • Rogers • K. Sims • Elway • Fryar • Br. Smith • Jackson • Testaverde • Bruce • Aikman • George • Maryland • Emtman • Bledsoe • Wilkinson • Carter • Johnson • Pace • P. Manning • Couch • Brown • Vick • Carr • Palmer • E. Manning • A. Smith • Williams

National Football League | NFL's 1990s All-Decade Team

NFL MVP Award from the Associated Press.

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