Dan Pastorini
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dan Pastorini | |
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| Position(s): Quarterback |
Jersey #(s): 7 |
| Born: May 26, 1949 Sonora, California |
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| Career Information | |
| Year(s): 1971–1983 | |
| NFL Draft: 1971 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3 | |
| College: Santa Clara | |
| Professional Teams | |
| Career Stats | |
| TD-INT | 103-161 |
| Yards | 18,515 |
| QB Rating | 59.1 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Career Highlights and Awards | |
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Dante "Dan" Anthony Pastorini (born May 26, 1949 in Sonora, California) was an American football quarterback who played for 12 seasons from 1971-1981, and 1983. He played for the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, all of the National Football League.
[edit] NFL career
Dan Pastorini was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the 1st Round (3rd Overall) of the 1971 NFL Draft out of Santa Clara University. He was part of a prized trio of college quarterbacks taken with the top 3 picks that year, Jim Plunkett (1st) and Archie Manning (2nd) being the others.
Pastorini was known as a tough quarterback throughout his career. From 1971 through 1979, Pastorini missed only 5 regular season games, playing through the pain of broken ribs and even a punctured lung at times. He did not play behind what would be considered a quality offensive line until 1977 when the Oilers hired Joe Bugel as offensive line coach.
In the 1978 playoffs, Pastorini fared very well, helping lead the Oilers to wins over the Bob Griese-led Miami Dolphins and AFC East division champion New England Patriots.
Pastorni's last game as a Houston Oiler was the 1979 AFC championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a game which many Oilers fans contended was decided when, in their opinion, the officials blew a call on a Mike Renfro TD reception. Instant replay rules, in any form, were not in effect at the time, so the play could not be reviewed, as it would be in the present day. The best replay angles NBC could provide of the play show Renfro juggling the ball as he went to the ground. It was not clear if he had complete control of the ball when he hit the ground or, if he did, if he was inbounds if he had possession. The play was a major turning point in the momentum of the game, which resulted in a Steeler triumph.
Later in 1980, Oilers owner, Bud Adams, traded Pastorini to the Oakland Raiders, in exchange for an aging Ken Stabler, who was 3 years Pastorini's senior.
Five weeks into the 1980 season with Oakland, Pastorini broke his leg. Jim Plunkett, a former Heisman Trophy winner who had been with the Raiders as a backup quarterback since 1978, took over and led the Raiders to a Super Bowl victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Pastorini's best season came in 1978 when he threw for a career high 2,473 yards and 16 touchdowns, leading the Oilers to the AFC Championship game. Pastorini was also named to the 1975 AFC Pro Bowl Team.
[edit] Outside of football
Pastorini raced hydroplanes, drag-raced cars, judged wet T-shirt contests, and starred in a 1974 B-movie called Weed: The Florida Connection and then co-starred in a 1979 Lee Majors movie called Killer Fish. On May 22, 1977, Pastorini was involved in a fatal boating accident during a race on Lake Mizell in Liberty, Texas. The boat veered onto the shore and hit a crowd of spectators after its engine failed, causing its automatic steering mechanism to fail. Two people were killed and three people were injured. Pastorini was found innocent of criminal responsibility. Subsequently, parents of one of the survivors filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against Pastorini. To pay for the out of court settlement, Pastorini appeared in a nude photospread in Playgirl magazine's December 1980 issue. Pastorini married Playboy Playmate June Wilkinson. She was British and 10 years older. They later divorced.
| Preceded by Charley Johnson |
Houston Oilers Starting Quarterbacks 1971-1979 |
Succeeded by Ken Stabler |
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