OK Bobby Layne, Sonny Jurgenson, Joe Namath, Billy Kilmer, Brett Favre and a few select others, There is a new sheriff in town and his name is Diego Pavia. All he did on October 5th was lead his 23 point underdog Vanderbilt Commodores to an historic win over the #1 ranked Crimson Tide of Alabama. Historic? It’s the first time Vandy has defeated the Tide since 1984. It’s also the first time Vanderbilt had beaten a #1 ranked team. Ever. What makes Diego Pavia qualify for my “Bad Boy” Quarterback Hall of Fame? Well, it starts with some attitude:
Said Pavia to The Athletic’s Ralph Russo in the locker room following the Alabama game, “I feel like every time I touch the field, I’m the best player on the field and no matter who we play. You know, that’s just who I am.”
The Bad Boy QB Hall of Fame
There is more to this unique club than attitude, but extreme self-confidence is the starting point. The great Quarterbacks walk a little differently, they talk a little differently, and they act like there is no tomorrow. They are described as leaders; poised, and even courageous. They are confident, and yes, frequently cocky.
Quarterbacks like Pavia are the straw that stirs the drink. When they speak they look you in the eye. They motivate. They know who to talk up and who to break down in the huddle. They are coachable, but at the same time, they are risk-takers, gamblers, and gunslingers. They can take the heat and invariably defer the praise to those around them.
How do we Define a “Bad Boy” Quarterback?
Attitude & Confidence: See Pavia’s quote above
Infectious Leader: The type of teammate that makes everyone around him a better player
Notorious Partier: These QBs never met a curfew they couldn’t break
Shows up Big in the Big Games: The bigger the stage the better the performance
Plays Hurt: See Joe Namath below
Our Bad Boy QB HOF Charter Members List:
Bobby Layne
If you look up Bobby Layne in the Pro Football Hall of Fame you’ll see him described as having “sterling accomplishments on the field but also with a penchant for enjoying every moment off the field, even if it meant on occasion a big night on the town just hours before a crucial game.” His HOF bio goes on to say while some of his exploits may be exaggerated with time, “There is no question he did not always subscribe to the general rules of team behavior”.
An All-American at the University of Texas, Bobby Layne was the 3rd pick in the first round of the NFL Draft in 1948 by the Chicago Bears. Eventually he would be traded to the Detroit Lions where he would win three NFL Championships for the Lions in 1952, 1953, and 1957. He was one of the NFL’s first bona-fide superstars who always seemed to live on the edge, and the fans loved him.
The Blonde Bomber
Bobby Layne’s most legendary on-the-field moment occurred in the 1953 NFL Championship game against the arch-rival Cleveland Browns. The Browns were holding a 16-10 lead with 4:10 left in the game when Layne and the Lions took over the ball on their own 20-yard line. Layne, commonly called “The Blonde Bomber,” expertly picked apart the Browns’ NFL leading defense with the clock winding down. Ultimately, Layne hit receiver Jim Doran for a 33 yard pass in the end zone to tie the game 16-16 and his famous teammate and friend, Doak Walker, would kick the winning extra point as the Lions prevailed 17-16.
For orchestrating this famous championship-winning drive many credit Bobby Layne as being the father of the “two-minute drill.” Said fellow Hall of Famer Doak Walker of his teammate, “Bobby never lost a game. Some days, he just ran out of time.”
Only Six…???
In 1957 during Detroit’s training camp, Bobby Layne was arrested for drunk driving. He was reportedly driving on the wrong side of the road with five passengers in the car and his headlights off. According to an article in the Bleacher Report a few years ago, Bobby, “…kept poking the officer who pulled him over… thus forcing the officer, who in those days might have given a famous Quarterback a police escort home, instead, took him in for a mug shot.”
According to the Detroit Athletic, Bobby later claimed he “only” drank six highballs that night and that the officer mistook his Texas drawl for slurred speech. Miraculously, Layne was acquitted. Gotta love the ‘50s! As teammate Yale Lary said of Layne, “When Bobby told you to block, you blocked, and when he said drink, you drank!”
The Curse of Bobby Layne
Eventually, the Lions’ championships ran out and some in the front office ran out of patience for Bobby Layne’s extra curricular activities. Two games into the 1958 season the Lions would shock his team and the Detroit fans and trade Bobby Layne to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It has been reported by many who were there that as he left the Lions locker room for the last time, a bitter Bobby Layne delivered a parting shot: “This team will not win another (title) for another 50 years.”
Bobby Layne would go on to play five more years for the Steelers and end his 15 year Hall of Fame career after the 1962 season. He finished with over 26,000 passing yards (unheard of for that era), 196 TD passes, as well as 2,451 rushing yards as a QB. He was the ultimate dual-threat QB before its time. All-in-all a brilliant Bad Boy career.
Oh, the Detroit Lions? Well, following the “Curse of Bobby Layne,” Detroit has spent the past six decades without another NFL Championship. Jared Goff, you might consider whether the curfew is all that important!
Joe Namath
Who doesn’t know this Bad Boy, right? Joe Willie Namath. Broadway Joe.
Joe Namath, from Beaver Falls, PA, would star at Alabama from 1962-64 with Howard Schnellenberger as his offensive coordinator. Namath led the Tide to a national championship in 1964 and during his time at Alabama his teams went 29-4 over the three seasons. But it wasn’t all that easy.
At the end of the 1963 season Joe was suspended by Coach Bryant for the final two games for violating the team’s non-drinking policy. Bear didn’t mess around. But given Namath would not be available for the Sugar Bowl vs Ole Miss, Bear Bryant was quoted as saying his team’s chances of winning were about the same as it snowing in New Orleans. Well, it snowed on game day in New Orelans and a Namath-less Crimson Tide won without a TD 12-7.
The Knee. Always the Knee…
The following year of 1964 would see Joe Namath sustain his first, but not last, serious knee injury in the fourth game vs North Carolina State. Joe sat out the next four games, with QB Steve Sloan filling in and winning all four. But vs Georgia Tech, Joe Willie would come in to a 0-0 game in the 2nd half and lead ‘Bama to a 24-7 victory.
Joe repeated the heroics the very next week vs Auburn in the first-ever televised Iron Bowl. Again, Namath came in off the bench and threw two touchdown passes, leading Alabama to a 21-14 come-from-behind win. The legend was growing as Alabama played for the national championship vs Texas in the Orange Bowl. Down 21-7 at the half, Namath and the Tide mounted a comeback but fell just short and lost to the Longhorns 21-17. Namath was named MVP, and in spite of the loss, Alabama was named co-national champions with Arkansas.
Joe Goes Pro
In late 1964 the NFL and upstart AFL were at the height of their bidding war for college players. Joe Namath would be selected in the first round by both leagues with the AFL New York Jets making him the first pick in the first round. The day after the Orange Bowl Namath signed with the Jets for a salary of $427,000 over three years, a pro football record contract at the time. In 1965, after appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated, his teammate, offensive lineman Sherman Plunkett, came up with the nickname “Broadway Joe.”
From 1965-69 Joe dazzled fans with his lightening quick release and his uncanny ability to make big plays. He was an AFL All-Star in four of his first five years in professional football. In 1967 he became the first professional QB to pass for over 4,000 yards in a 14 game season. During the same period he underwent four knee operations and occasionally had to have his knee drained at halftime in order to finish the game. For those of you who have not had the pleasure, these football docs use VERY large needles. It’s all guts to go back out on the field after a knee drain.
Super Bowl lll
The highpoint of Broadway Joe’s almost mythical career came in 1969 in Super Bowl lll shortly before the AFL-NFL merger. The NFL had dominated the AFL in the first two Super Bowls and most football pundits believed parity was years away. Don Shula’s Baltimore Colts came into the game as, “the greatest team in NFL history.” The Colts and their highly rated defense led by DE Bubba Smith were believed to be invincible.
But at a press conference three days before the game, and tired of hearing the same doomsday predictions from the press, Joe Namath came out with it. Said Broadway Joe, “We’re going to win the game. I guarantee it.”
Joe backed up his bold prediction and defeated the Colts 16-7. The legend was sealed. In the game, Joe was 17 of 28 for 195 yards and won the game MVP award. There has never been a more outrageous NFL prediction than Broadway Joe’s in Super Bowl lll.
Bad Boy Joe?
Joe was just as bodacious off the field! Somehow, although it was never explained, Joe made it onto Richard Nixon’s list of political opponents which was made public during the Watergate investigation. Go figure?
Bachelors lll
Broadway Joe opened a popular Upper East Side nightclub following the 1969 Super Bowl called Bachelors lll. Joe was so popular that all types flocked to see or be seen with Joe Namath. The clientele was mixed with sports celebrities, movie stars, political bigwigs, and yes, even a few well-known Mafia types, it was THE place to see and be seen!
Unfortunately, gambling back in those days was VERY taboo for professional sports leagues. There was nothing like the sponsorship status casinos and gaming companies enjoy today. The NFL was very worried about gamblers being associated with its brand, so after reports surfaced of well-known gamblers and bookies frequenting Bachelors lll, Pete Rozelle, the commissioner of the NFL, ordered Joe to divest himself of club ownership.
Joe, being a charter Bad Boy refused and with a great deal of emotion in an interview with Howard Cosell said he would choose to retire before he would give up his beloved Bachelors lll. But Broadway Joe’s paychecks were pretty flashy and retirement didn’t last long. Joe recanted and agreed to sell the club and reported to Jets training camp in 1970 on time.
White Shoes, Fur Coats, Panty Hose and Movie Stars
Joe first started having his cleats at Alabama taped with white tape to cover up the wear and tear. He liked to look cool. He was also superstitious about the white tape since the one game when he didn’t tape his shoes at Alabama was when he suffered his first knee injury. Joe became steadfast about the white shoes. When he came to the Jets, coach Weeb Ewbank ordered white shoes for Joe because he thought he was running through too much white tape. NFL budgets were not what they are today!
Joe also started the fad of wearing a full-length fur coat on the sidelines of Jets games. This, of course, was ultimately banned by his nemesis Pete Rozelle.
Want more? In a TV Noxzema shaving cream commercial he was shaved by a budding new actress; Farrah Fawcett. Most famously he wore women’s pantyhose in a commercial for Hanes Beautymist.
Yes, Joe had fun. He dated fashion model Randy Oakes, singer and songwriter Janis Joplin, and actresses Jill St John and Raquel Welch.
Watch Out for “Slick”
Namath’s drinking persisted well after his retirement from the NFL after the 1977 season. In 2003 Joe was being interviewed by ESPN sideline reporter Suzy Kolber. “I want to kiss you. I couldn’t care less about the team struggling… I want to kiss you,” Namath slurred during the interview on live TV during a Jets vs Patriots game. He later apologized and admitted that he was drunk during the interview.
“I saw it as a blessing in disguise,” Joe wrote in his book All the Way, My Life in Four Quarters (2019). “I had embarrassed my friends and family and could not escape that feeling. I haven’t had a drink since.”
Namath eventually learned to fend off his bouts of alcoholism by naming the temptation that continually consumed him. He called the urge, “Slick.” “Every now and then ‘Slick’ whispers, but having a name for him makes me listen to him differently,” Namath wrote.
Joe Namath always showed up to play, even if it was in different states of mind or readiness. He played hurt and in the tough losses he always put the blame on his own shoulders. Of all the legends on our list, Joe Willie Namath is the one that checks all the boxes on our criteria for the QB Bad Boy HOF.