The Waverly Wonders is a short-lived TV sitcom, starring retired pro football star Joe Namath, that lasted less than a month on NBC in 1978.
Conceived as a vehicle for Namath (who had retired from the Los Angeles Rams after the 1977 NFL season), the show focused on the misadventures of Joe Casey, a washed-up professional basketball player who now taught history at Waverly High School (in Eastville, Wisconsin) and coached the school's basketball team, the Waverly Wonders.
Casey wasn't much of a teacher (he knew nothing about history) and his team wasn't much on the court (they hadn't won a game in three years); about the only decent player they had was a girl, Connie (Kim Lankford). Other "Wonders" included Tate (Charles Bloom), Faguzzi (Joshua Greenrock) and Parks (Tierre Turner). Ben Gazzarra (the show's only recognizable name other than Namath's) co-starred as stodgy former coach George Benton, who served as a foil to Casey (much like Mr. Woodman did to Gabe Kotter in Welcome Back, Kotter on ABC.)
Up against Donny and Marie on ABC and Wonder Woman on CBS, The Waverly Wonders didn't have much of a chance, and the ratings reflected this. Nine episodes were produced, but only five were shown (Friday nights at 8-8:30pm Eastern) from September 7 through October 6, 1978. (Perhaps The Waverly Wonders was simply ahead of its time: the concept of a sitcom about a high school basketball team was used by NBC 17 years later for Hang Time, which aired for six seasons on Saturday mornings and starred two other professional sports-legends, Reggie Theus and Dick Butkus.)
Namath never starred in another TV series, although he did do guest spots on such programs as The Love Boat and Fantasy Island.