Jets Super Bowl legend Joe Namath turns 80 Five facts about Hall of Famer Broadw

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Joe Namath was Joakim Soria Jersey  already a household name upon delivering the greatest guarantee in profe sional sports history. But after he and his team cashed in on his Super Bowl guarantee, "Broadway Joe", for a brief moment in time, was arguably the most famous man on the planet.Namath, who declared that the 18-point underdog would defeat the mighty in Super Bowl III, backed it up by leading a Jets offense that befuddled Baltimore's mighty defense. The Jets' defense also played a key role in the upset, forcing five turnovers that included three interceptions of quarterback Earl Morrall, the NFL's MVP that season. After the Jets had finished their 16-7 victory, Namath further etched his name in pro football lore by pointing his index finger to the sky as he danced off of the Orange Bowl turf. Namath's play that day was one of the main reasons why his career was immortalized in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.In light of his 80th birthday, we decided to take a look at five facts about Namath that you might not know. One of them involves an eye-popping tidbit from Namath's crowning achievement, one that Namath himself didn't know until decades later.Of the 26 quarterbacks currently enshrined in Canton, Ohio, six are from Western Pennsylvania: Namath (Beaver Falls, Pa.), George Blanda (Youngwood, Pa.), Johnny Unitas (Pittsburgh), Joe Montana (New Eagle, Pa.), Dan Marino (Pittsburgh) and Jim Kelly (Pittsburgh/East Brady, Pa.). In 2015, the six quarterbacks .  "I get goose bumps thinking about it. It's a great honor," Namath said during the event. "It's our people. The people that were ahead of us, our work ethic. When we are talking about the six quarterbacks from Western Pennsylvania in the Hall we didn't do it by ourselves. It's in our blood, the hard-working ethic and the appreciation for others."A three-sport star at Beaver Falls High School, Namath led the to an undefeated season in 1960. Nearly a decade later, Namath watched as Unitas -- a fellow Western Pa. product --  George Brett Jersey tried in vein to rally his Colts after replacing Morrall during the second half of Super Bowl III. Unitas did quarterback the Colts to their only touchdown, but his late-game magic was not enough to overcome Namath and the Jets.During his final year at Alabama, Namath helped lead the Crimson Tide to a 10-1 record and the second of six national titles for legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. Even though his pa sing stats weren't gaudy, Namath went 29-4 as Alabama's starting quarterback. While his knees were ultimately his undoing in the NFL, Namath had no such i sues in college, where he ran for 15 touchdowns that included six scores during the '64 season. Bryant "the greatest athlete I ever coached."  The 12th overall pick in the 1965 NFL Draft, Namath spurned the NFL and the St. Louis Cardinals to sign with the Jets, who selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in that year's AFL draft. Fittingly, Namath signed with "Gang Green" after receiving a $427,000 contract, Mike Moustakas Jersey  the highest rookie contract in pro football history at the time. A Pro Bowler in 1965, Namath led the AFL in pa sing in 1966. In 1967, Namath became the first quarterback in pro football history to eclipse 4,000 pa sing yards (he also led the AFL with 28 interceptions that season). Namath took full advantage of the talented receiving duo of Hall of Famer Don Maynard and All-Pro George Sauer, who caught a combined 146 pa ses for 2,323 yards and 16 touchdowns in 14 regular-season games.  "I wanted to be Joe Namath."Joe Theismann recalls how Namath was a game changer for breaking out of the mold of the average player in his time  : NFL 100 GREATEST GAME CHANGERS on NFL Network  NFL Network (@nflnetwork)  For the first three quarters of Super Bowl III, Namath completed 17 of 28 pa ses for 206 yards. Namath did not attempt a single pa s during the fourth quarter, a fact Namath himself didn't know until decades later during on the game."I wouldn't be surprised if was zero," Namath told the interviewer when asked how many fourth-quarter pa ses he attempted against Baltimore. "Was it really? That's the first time I've been told that. I promise."  With the Jets taking a 16-0 lead one minute into the fourth quarter, Namath was content to hand the ball off to Matt Snell (30 carries, 121 yards, one touchdown) and Emerson Boozer ( Kansas City Royals Jersey 19 yards on 10 carries) during the game's final stanza. Not only did his play-calling keep the Colts' defense on its heels, Namath further frustrated them by shortening his drop to offset Baltimore's ferocious pa s rush. Namath also took advantage of the Colts' focus on stopping Maynard. While Maynard did not catch a pa s during Super Bowl III, Sauer caught eight pa ses for 133 yards that included a 39-yard catch that set up the Jets' final score.  Jets-Colts.  Justin Grimm Jersey 18-point underdogs. The guarantee. You know how it finished.No. 6 on the NFL's 100 Greatest Games list: Super Bowl III  New York Jets (@nyjets)  During his five seasons in the AFL, Namath was a four-time Pro Bowler and the league's MVP in 1968 and in '69. After injuries wiped out the majority of his first two NFL seasons, Namath earned his first and only Pro Bowl nod in the NFL in 1972 after leading the league in pa sing yards and touchdown pa ses. Two years later, after injuries limited him to just six games in 1973, Namath won Comeback Player of the Year after appearing in all 14 games during the 1974 season. If would be the final significant award Namath would win during his stellar playing career.
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