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| Born | February 5, 1943 Flint, Michigan |
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| Career information | |||
| Year(s) | 1965–1982 | ||
| NFL Draft | 1965 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5 | ||
| AFL Draft | 1965 / Round: 10 / Pick: 75 (By the Oakland Raiders) |
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| College | California | ||
| Professional teams | |||
| Career stats | |||
| TD-INT | 183-187 | ||
| Yards | 27,908 | ||
| QB Rating | 73.5 | ||
| Stats at NFL.com | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
Larry Craig Morton (born February 5, 1943 in Flint, Michigan) is a former professional football player, a quarterback in the National Football League for 18 seasons, 1965-82. Morton played for the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and the Denver Broncos; he played college football at the University of California.
Morton was the first quarterback in NFL history to start the Super Bowl for two different teams (Dallas in 1970 and Denver in 1977), a feat that has only been equaled by Kurt Warner.[1]
Following his playing career, Morton served as head coach of the USFL's Denver Gold.
Morton was a downfield passer not known for his mobility, and is one of the all time leaders in yards per completion. He also briefly held the record for the most passes completed in a row.
Morton's best statistical season came in his 17th season (1981) when he threw for over 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns, compiling an excellent 90.5 passer rating. Craig was selected All-AFC after the 1977 season by The Sporting News.
In his senior season (1964), Morton was awarded the 1960 W.J. Voit Memorial Trophy as the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast and was an All-American at Cal. He was drafted by Dallas in the first round of the 1965 NFL Draft. He was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992. Morton is a notable graduate of Campbell High School in Campbell, California.
Morton is currently a voter in the Harris Interactive College Poll, a component of college football's Bowl Championship Series. He was inducted into the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame in 1988.
- Although Roger Staubach replaced an ineffective Morton for the Dallas Cowboys in 1971 and would go on to great success (and eventually the Pro Football Hall of Fame), Morton played seven more seasons than Staubach. Staubach was a 1965 graduate of the Naval Academy, and served four years in the U.S. Navy prior to his NFL career, which began in 1969. Staubach retired after the 1979 season, while Morton played for three more seasons.
- Morton wore number 7 for the Broncos, and retired just before the arrival of John Elway in 1983, who, of course, wore the same number and has had it since retired in his honor. Both players are honored in the Broncos Ring of Fame with number 7 next to both player's names.
- In 2008, Morton co-authored a book (with Denver Post writer Adrian Dater) entitled "Then Morton Said to Elway..." - The Best Denver Broncos Stories Ever Told. The book was published by Triumph Books.
Contents |
Career statistics
Regular season
| Year | Team | Passing | Rushing | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Comp | Yds | TD | Int | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 1965 | DAL | 34 | 17 | 173 | 2 | 4 | 3 | -8 | -2.67 | 0 |
| 1966 | DAL | 27 | 13 | 225 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 50 | 7.14 | 0 |
| 1967 | DAL | 137 | 69 | 978 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 42 | 2.8 | 0 |
| 1968 | DAL | 85 | 44 | 752 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 28 | 7 | 2 |
| 1969 | DAL | 302 | 162 | 2619 | 21 | 15 | 16 | 62 | 3.88 | 1 |
| 1970 | DAL | 207 | 102 | 1819 | 15 | 7 | 16 | 37 | 2.31 | 0 |
| 1971 | DAL | 143 | 78 | 1131 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 2.25 | 1 |
| 1972 | DAL | 339 | 185 | 2396 | 15 | 21 | 8 | 26 | 3.25 | 2 |
| 1973 | DAL | 32 | 13 | 174 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1974 | DAL | 2 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1974 | NYG | 237 | 122 | 1510 | 9 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 1.25 | 0 |
| 1975 | NYG | 363 | 186 | 2359 | 11 | 16 | 22 | 72 | 3.27 | 0 |
| 1976 | NYG | 284 | 153 | 1865 | 9 | 20 | 15 | 48 | 3.2 | 0 |
| 1977 | DEN | 254 | 131 | 1929 | 14 | 8 | 31 | 125 | 4.03 | 4 |
| 1978 | DEN | 267 | 146 | 1802 | 11 | 8 | 17 | 71 | 4.18 | 0 |
| 1979 | DEN | 370 | 204 | 2626 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 13 | 0.57 | 1 |
| 1980 | DEN | 301 | 183 | 2150 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 29 | 1.38 | 1 |
| 1981 | DEN | 376 | 225 | 3195 | 21 | 14 | 8 | 18 | 2.25 | 0 |
| 1982 | DEN | 26 | 18 | 193 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 3786 | 2053 | 27908 | 183 | 187 | 215 | 627 | 2.92 | 12 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | Opp | Result | Comp | Att | Yds | TD | Int | Rusing Att | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Dallas | Cleveland | L, 14-38 | 8 | 24 | 95 | 0 | 2 | -- | -- | -- |
| 1970 | Dallas | Detroit | W, 5-0 | 4 | 18 | 38 | 0 | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| 1970 | Dallas | San Francisco | W, 17-10 | 7 | 22 | 101 | 1 | 0 | -- | -- | -- |
| *1970 | Dallas | Baltimore | L, 13-16 | 12 | 26 | 127 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1972 | Dallas | San Francisco | W, 30-28 | 8 | 21 | 96 | 1 | 2 | -- | -- | -- |
| 1972 | Dallas | Washington | L, 3-26 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1977 | Denver | Pittsburgh | W, 34-21 | 11 | 23 | 164 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1977 | Denver | Oakland | W, 20-17 | 10 | 20 | 224 | 2 | 1 | 2 | -4 | 0 |
| *1977 | Denver | Dallas | L, 10-27 | 4 | 15 | 39 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1978 | Denver | Pittsburgh | L, 10-33 | 3 | 5 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979 | Denver | Houston | L, 7-13 | 14 | 27 | 144 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
References
- ^ Crouse, Karen (2009-02-01). "Warner Is Left to Ponder His Future". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/sports/football/02kurt.html?hp. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
| Preceded by Don Meredith |
Dallas Cowboys Starting Quarterbacks 1969-1970 |
Succeeded by Roger Staubach |
| Preceded by Norm Snead |
New York Giants Starting Quarterbacks 1974-76 |
Succeeded by Joe Pisarcik |
| Preceded by Steve Ramsey |
Denver Broncos Starting Quarterbacks 1977-1982 |
Succeeded by Steve DeBerg |
| Preceded by Greg Landry |
NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award 1977 |
Succeeded by John Riggins |
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