15 Facts About Joe Namath

He was one of ther most stylish players of his time.

old TVPhoto byFairuz Naufal ZakionUnsplash

Joe Namath is the most famous player in New York Jets history. But there was a lot more to Joe Namath than his football career. There is also his acting career, as well as his colorful personal life.

Of course, the key to his fame was promising that the Jets would defeat the then Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, and then leading his team to victory. If you look at Namath’s NFL stats, they aren’t great, but he gets more style points than perhaps any other player in NFL history. So, on we go to things you didn’t know about Joe Namath.

1: Joe attended high school in Beavers Falls, PA. He excelled at baseball, basketball and football while in high school.

As a basketball star, Joe dunked at a time when dunking was rare in high school basketball. It’s still rare for most white guys in high school. Actually, Joe was the only white starter on his high school basketball team.

2: After high school, Joe was offered a contract by several MLB teams.

Joe wanted to sign with the Pirates and but said he went to played college football at Alabama because his mother wanted him to get an education. That’s right, some parents used to think a football scholarship would get their kids an education.

3: Namath originally was going to go college at Maryland but his test scores were just below the school’s standards.

Amazingly, the school didn't lower their standards.

4: In his sophomore year at Alabama, Joe was suspended and missed the Sugar Bowl because of drinking.

In an interview, Joe said he had only one drink and that he didn’t even finish that one, but he still got suspended. As time went on, Joe started finishing what he started.

5: After leading Alabama to a national championship in his senior year, Joe finished 11th in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Notre Dame’s John Huarte won the award. Both were drafted by the Jets in 1965. Anybody remember John Huarte? So much for the value of the Heisman Trophy.

6: Despite having a reputation for being injured, Joe did not miss a game due to injury in during the first five seasons of his NFL career.

Missing games in the NFL certainly doesn’t mean you aren’t tough.

7: Namath finished his NFL career with the LA Rams. In his last game in the NFL, he threw four interceptions and was benched. That game was against the Bears, and he took a beating.

He was a battered Ram.

8: Joe hosted 13 episodes of, ‘The Joe Namath Show.”

After that, the producers must have called an audible.

9: After his football career, Joe appeared in a lot of TV shows, often as himself.

Joe still had trouble nailing the character. Okay, that was cruel.

10: Joe did star in a few movies, including the classic “C.C. and Company.”

Joe left behind an acting legacy matched by only a few, such as Steven Seagal.

11: Somehow Joe found himself on Richard Nixon’s enemies list.

Nixon must have been a fan of the Baltimore Colts.

12: In a 2003 ESPN broadcast of a Jets game, Namath embarrassed himself on national TV when telling reporter, Suzy Kolber, “I want to kiss you. I couldn’t care less about the team struggling.”

By then Joe was finishing his drinks. The incident led to Joe getting treatment and stopping drinking.

13: Joe did a Noxzema shaving commercial and was shaved by Farrah Fawcett.

If she hadn’t gone into acting Farrah would have made a great barber.

14: Namath was also famous for wearing Hanes Beautymist pantyhose in a commercial.

So, I think it’s safe to say that Bears’ QB, Caleb Williams painting his fingernails is no big deal.

15: In 1978, Joe briefly had his own TV sitcom, the “Waverly Wonders.’

It was no ratings match for “Donny and Marie” and “Wonder Woman.” The real wonder of the Waverly Wonder is how it got on TV in the first place.