Ken Stabler
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ken Stabler | |
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| Position(s): Quarterback |
Jersey #(s): 12, 16 |
| Born: December 25, 1945 Foley, Alabama |
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| Career Information | |
| Year(s): 1970–1984 | |
| NFL Draft: 1968 / Round: 2 / Pick: 52 | |
| College: Alabama | |
| Professional Teams | |
| Career Stats | |
| TD-INT | 194-222 |
| Yards | 27,938 |
| QB Rating | 75.3 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Career Highlights and Awards | |
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Ken "Kenny" Michael Stabler (born December 25, 1945 in Foley, Alabama) is a former American football quarterback in the NFL for the Oakland Raiders (1970-1979), the Houston Oilers (1980-1981), and the New Orleans Saints (1982-1984). He played college football at the University of Alabama.
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[edit] High school and college career
Stabler became a highly touted football player at Foley High School. He led Foley to a won-loss record of 29-1 over his high school career - the only loss coming against arch-rival Fairhope, Alabama. He was an all-around athlete in high school, averaging 29 points a game in basketball and excelling enough as a left-handed pitcher in baseball to receive minor-league contract offers from the Houston Astros and New York Yankees.
He was recruited by Alabama's Paul "Bear" Bryant and joined the team in 1964. At the time, freshman were ineligible, and were not allowed to play in accordance with NCAA regulations, so Stabler did not participate in the 1964 season. As Stabler sat out the 1964 season, he watched his Crimson Tide win its second national championship under Bryant. In 1965, with Joe Namath having graduated and Stabler becoming eligible to participate, he split time with Steve Sloan at quarterback, and combined they led Alabama to a national championship with a thrilling 39-28 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Orange Bowl. In 1966, as a junior, Stabler took over the starting job full-time, and led Alabama to a perfect 11-0 season, capped by a blowout of Nebraska, this time in the Sugar Bowl. The Tide, coming off of back-to-back national championships, and having gone undefeated in 1966, was nevertheless snubbed at the polls, finishing third in the nation behind Notre Dame and Michigan State. In 1967, expectations were high for the team as Stabler was finally a senior, but it turned into a lackluster year. The offense, with Stabler at the helm, struggled at times, and the defense's performance slipped too. Alabama finished 8-2-1, its worst season since Stabler was a freshman in high school, 1960. The 1967 season, however, is particularly memorable for Stabler, with his game-winning touchdown run against rival Auburn. Trailing 3-0 in a game that was mired by a horrendous rain, Stabler scampered around right end for a 47-yard touchdown run, giving the Tide a 7-3 victory over hated rival Auburn. This run has been dubbed, "The Run in the Mud" in Alabama football lore, and has been captured twice in the paintings of famed sports artist Daniel Moore.
All told, Stabler finished his career with the Crimson Tide in 1967, having compiled a 28-3-2 record as a starter.
[edit] NFL career
Stabler was drafted in the second round of the 1968 NFL Draft. Stabler first made his mark in the NFL in a 1972 playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. After entering the game in relief of Daryle Lamonica, he scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a 30-yard scramble. The Steelers, however, came back to win on a controversial, deflected pass from Terry Bradshaw to Franco Harris, known in football lore as The Immaculate Reception. His scrambling abilities, and his late game heroics gave him the nickname "The Snake".
After suffering severe knee injuries, Stabler became less a scrambling quarterback and more a classic, drop-back passer, known for deadly-accurate passes and an uncanny ability to lead late, come-from-behind drives. During the peak of his career he had an impressive receiving corps consisting of sprinter Cliff Branch, sure-handed Hall of Fame possession receiver Fred Biletnikoff, and a Hall-of-Fame tight end Dave Casper. The Raider philosophy was to pound teams with their running game and then stretch them with their vertical (long passing) game. Although Stabler's arm was not known for great strength, he was a master of the deep ball to Branch, and deadly accurate on intermediate routes to Biletnikoff and Casper. As a starter in Oakland, Stabler was named AFC player of the year in 1974 and 1976, and was the NFL's passing champion in 1976. In January 1977 he guided the Raiders to their first Super Bowl victory, after a narrow playoff victory over the New England Patriots in which he scored the winning touchdown on a quarterback keeper. In the 1977 AFC Playoffs against the Baltimore Colts he threw a crucial 4th quarter pass to Dave Casper that set up a game tying field goal that sent into overtime in which the Raiders eventually won; the 4th quarter pass was dubbed the Ghost to the Post.
Prior to the1980 season, after a lengthy contract holdout, Stabler was traded to the Houston Oilers for Dan Pastorini. Stabler left the Raiders as their all-time leader in completions (1,486), passing yards (19,078), and touchdown passes (150). The Oilers in turn saw Stabler as the missing ingredient that could finally get them past the rival Steelers and into the Super Bowl. Pastorini lost the starting job in Oakland to Jim Plunkett after an injury, and Plunkett then led the Raiders over Stabler and the Oilers in the playoffs. Stabler played one more season with Houston, but Oiler coach Bum Phillips liked his grit and brought him with him to New Orleans where he finished his NFL career with a three-year stint with the Saints.
Stabler was a care free soul, in the vein of old pros like Bobby Layne and Joe Namath. He was known to study his playbook by the light of a jukebox and for his affinity for female fans. But, as Hall of Fame guard Gene Upshaw said, "When we were behind in the fourth quarter, with our backs to our end zone, no matter how he had played up to that point, we could look in his eyes and you knew, YOU KNEW, he was going to win it for us. That was an amazing feeling."
Of particular note regarding his career, Stabler was the quickest to win 100 games as a starting quarterback having done so in 150 games. This accomplishment was better than Johnny Unitas previous mark of doing it in 153 games. Since then, only Joe Montana and Tom Brady have reached 100 wins quicker.[1] Stabler is also the only quarterback from the NFL's All-1970's team not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (the other two being Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach).
[edit] Broadcasting career
He currently provides color commentary alongside Eli Gold for broadcasts of Alabama football.
[edit] Video game appearances
- Stabler is an unlockable character in the first NFL Street.
- Ken Stabler is one of the featured quarterbacks in All-Pro Football 2K8.
[edit] Pop culture references
- Ken Stabler was featured on a SNL skit as the spokesman for a fictional product called the [2] Lung Brush.
- Professional wrestler Jake "The Snake" Roberts adapted his nickname "The Snake" as a tribute to Stabler.
- While playing for the Houston Oilers Stabler had his own soft drink known as Snake Venom sold in the city. In his autobiography, Stabler stated that the drink "tasted about like its name."
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Ken Stabler and the Oakland Raiders by Lou Sahadi
- Snake by Ken Stabler
[edit] External links
| Preceded by O.J. Simpson |
NFL Most Valuable Player 1974 season |
Succeeded by Fran Tarkenton |
| Preceded by Dan Pastorini |
Houston Oilers Starting Quarterbacks 1980-1981 |
Succeeded by Gifford Nielsen |
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