JOE NAMATH

He made the Super Bowl Super

Joe Namath did not create football's Super Bowl. But he did make it into a real game, a showpiece, an honest-to-goodness championship game - and it made a legend out of Namath.

The first two NFL Championships (they weren't even called Super Bowls then) were post-season games between the National and American Football League Champions. They weren't very good games, and noone gave the AFL much chance of winning. Most thought it was more of an exhibition game. But the third game, in the year 1969, had Joe Namath as the quarterback of the AFL's New York Jets. "Broadway Joe", always outspoken, not only predicted his team would win - he guaranteed it! Most expected to see this brash young man humiliated, but when Namath and the 19 point underdog Jets actually beat the NFL's Baltimore Colts by a score of 16-7, the AFL suddenly was a challenger. If not the NFL's equal, it was now certainly a worthy opponent, and eventually the two would merge into the present NFL. Namath was chosen MVP of that game.

But Joe Namath was much more than a one game wonder. Born in Beaver Falls, PA, on May 31, 1943, he was a star athlete in high school only in his senior year. Six teams wanted to sign him to a baseball contract, but he decided on football and college. He won a scholarship to the University of Alabama to play for legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who called Namath "The greatest athlete I ever coached." After setting many records during an extraordinary college career, Namath was the most coveted quarterback in the country. As the American Football League was just beginning to challenge the established NFL for the best players, Namath was the star in a great battle won by the Jets.

Namath quickly became a celebrity in New York City - off the field, as the nickname "Broadway Joe" implies, as well as on the field, as being the AFL's Rookie of the year shows. In a great professional career despite playing on two very bad knees, he would be selected as the quarterback for the all-time AFL team, and in 1985 would be inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame.

In 1984, Namath married his wife, Tatiana, who is originally from Ligonier, PA, though they met in California. They now live in Florida with their two daughters, Jessica and Olivia.