Biggest NFL star ever

[Chip R]

I was running an errand tonight and had Brian Kenney's ESPN radio show on. He said he was talking to Mike Ditka about Favre and eventually the conversation got around to the biggest star in NFL history. This isn't necessarily the best player but the biggest star. It's easy to say that a current player would have that distinction in this 24/7 media and most of us not being able to remember stars back in the day. For my money, Joe Namath was the biggest star.

But you might have to adjust for eras. For example, Red Grange was a tremendous star when he first entered the NFL in 1925. He helped legitimize the NFL when he joined the Bears and they went on a 19 game 67 day barnstorming tour. He got in a salary dispute with the Bears and left to form his own league. How many players had the influence to form their own league? Someone like him would be the biggest star of the 20s. Maybe someone like Bronko Nagurski would have been the biggest star of the 30s. Maybe someone like Don Hutson or Sammy Baugh for the 40s.

[bucksfan2]

Joe Namath was a huge star until he wanted to kiss Susie Kolber on live TV. I think his star has fallen quite a bit since then.

Jim Brown was mentioned but the man has been a disaster for the better part of a decade and is pretty toxic right now.

Mike Ditka and Dick Butkus come to mind as two guys who saw their star shine well after their NFL playing careers had ended. Heck Ditka had a SNL skit about him.

I think Favre can be one of the biggest if he wants to be. The issue that arises with today's players is they have already made millions and have a pretty nice NFL pension to go along with it. But I do think Favre symbolizes the everyman with everything he has done. Tough as nails, married his HS sweat heart, overcame an addiction, his wife battled cancer, and he has stayed a hometown boy to two cities. I do think a few years after he retires you will see him sign a contract with the Packers to be a spokesman/mascot type of guy.

[GIDP]

Peyton Manning and Bret Favre. You could ask anyone and they instantly would know who he is. They are both active players so maybe that helps.

Non active members, Jerry Rice is probably the most recognizable. Then again I dont really know what star means other than face recognition.

[texasdave]

Johnny Unitas or Joe Montana. I'd probably go with Johnny U.

[improbus]

Maybe I'm just young, but the whole Joe Namath phenomenon is so strange to me. Was he really that different from Ocho/TO types today? He wore the fur coats, seemed to care more about off the field stuff than on, and his overall importance to the actual football product seems to be vastly overrated. To me, there is no more overrated athlete in the history of sports thn Joe Namath.

[KOBasinger]

O.J. Simpson

[GaiusBallstar]

O.J. Simpson

Its amazing to me how famous O.J. was back in the day, I'm really to young to remember anything but the murder controversy and all his escapades afterward. But the murder thing has made him even MORE famous really.

Funny story, James Cameron the director(Terminator, Terminator 2, Aliens, Titanic, Avatar, etc.) was trying to decide who was going to be The Terminator in the original movie. Someone suggested O.J. Simpson, and Cameron basically said that O.J. was too nice and no one would really believe that he was a cold blooded killer. Obviously the role eventually went to teh Ahnuld.

[Mario-Rijo]

Jerry Rice (or Joe Montana). Dick Butkus is a pretty big football star as well.

In fact if I were doing a Mt. Rushmore of sports (5 heads) it would go:

Babe Ruth
Michael Jordan
Wayne Gretzky
Jerry Rice
Muhammad Ali

[Dom Heffner]

Joe Namath was a huge star until he wanted to kiss Susie Kolber on live TV. I think his star has fallen quite a bit since then.

Jim Brown was mentioned but the man has been a disaster for the better part of a decade and is pretty toxic right now.

Mike Ditka and Dick Butkus come to mind as two guys who saw their star shine well after their NFL playing careers had ended. Heck Ditka had a SNL skit about him.

I think Favre can be one of the biggest if he wants to be. The issue that arises with today's players is they have already made millions and have a pretty nice NFL pension to go along with it. But I do think Favre symbolizes the everyman with everything he has done. Tough as nails, married his HS sweat heart, overcame an addiction, his wife battled cancer, and he has stayed a hometown boy to two cities. I do think a few years after he retires you will see him sign a contract with the Packers to be a spokesman/mascot type of guy.

I think Namath's star had faded LONG before the Kolber thing.

Just due to time...

[westofyou]

Namath was the biggest AFL star ever.

Johnny Unitas was a bigggggggggg NFL star, as was Montana. Neither was as big as OJ though.

[Betterread]

Joe Montana was the biggest star. Joe Namath had about 2-3 years of complete brilliance that have not been equalled, but Montana was a star for a longer time.
OJ - come on. No way is he up there with Montana, Namath, Unitas.

[kaldaniels]

Jerry Rice (or Joe Montana). Dick Butkus is a pretty big football star as well.

In fact if I were doing a Mt. Rushmore of sports (5 heads) it would go:

Babe Ruth
Michael Jordan
Wayne Gretzky
Jerry Rice
Muhammad Ali

I may be wrong, but I just don't think Jerry Rice has the name recognition that you must think he has. Yeah, he did DWTS, but go out on the street and I think more people know of Peyton Manning,Brett Farve,Joe Montana, et al. Can't knock him as a player, just questioning the awareness of him.

[Betterread]

Jerry Rice (or Joe Montana). Dick Butkus is a pretty big football star as well.

In fact if I were doing a Mt. Rushmore of sports (5 heads) it would go:

Babe Ruth
Michael Jordan
Wayne Gretzky
Jerry Rice
Muhammad Ali

If you include the rest of the world:
Ali
Jordan
Pele
Tiger Woods
Zinedine Zidane

[HokieRed]

If you include the rest of the world:
Ali
Jordan
Pele
Tiger Woods
Zinedine Zidane

Outside Europe, sub. Maradona for Zidane.

[Tornon]

If you include the rest of the world:
Ali
Jordan
Pele
Tiger Woods
Zinedine Zidane

Zidane over Beckham?

[Boston Red]

Cameron basically said that O.J. was too nice and no one would really believe that he was a cold blooded killer.

Apparently he was right (at least for the most important 12 people).

[ThornWithin81]

Joe Montana or Johnny Unitas. The Namath thing is a joke.

[RedsBaron]

The Biggest NFL Star Ever almost by definition has to be a quarterback. QB has been the glamour position for at least the last 50 years. I don't necessarily believe that Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, Bret Favre and Peyton Manning are the four greatest QBs of all time, but they may be the four most famous quarterbacks of the last half century. It's probably "pick 'em" between those four for the title of Biggest NFL Star...if not ever, at least in the last fifty years. I'm not sure where to rate players such as Red Grange or Sammy Baugh, who played while pro football was not nearly as big a sport as it is now, and without all of the media we have today.

[westofyou]

The Biggest NFL Star Ever almost by definition has to be a quarterback. QB has been the glamour position for at least the last 50 years. I don't necessarily believe that Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, Bret Favre and Peyton Manning are the four greatest QBs of all time, but they may be the four most famous quarterbacks of the last half century. It's probably "pick 'em" between those four for the title of Biggest NFL Star...if not ever, at least in the last fifty years. I'm not sure where to rate players such as Red Grange or Sammy Baugh, who played while pro football was not nearly as big a sport as it is now, and without all of the media we have today.

The 70's were the decade of the running back though, way more players in that bucket that decade than QB's

[Jack Burton]

Joe Mantegna

[improbus]

I think the most interesting thing about this discussion/argument is that the list is so varied. What that tells me is that the NFL's desire to put the "shield" over the individual players works and that the game of football really requires 53 men to win. If we were to ask the same question about basketball we would have a very short list and baseball's list would be pretty short too. Football's seems to be pretty lenghty.

[RFS62]

Namath was the perfect player for the perfect era in television. His endorsements were legendary. The white shoes, shaving his fu manchu, wearing the pantyhose..... seems silly and insignificant now but were big stories back in the day. He was Broadway Joe, the spokesperson for the sexual revolution and the Playboy lifestyle.

His prediction of victory in Super Bowl III was legendary. Lying poolside in Miami Beach and calmly guaranteeing the win while the media didn't give the Jets a ghost of a chance was the essence of "cool".

Plenty of players were better, but no player ever had the social impact that Broadway Joe had, IMO. Maybe OJ because he was a black man accepted by the whole world in his endorsement deals was more socially significant, but I'll still give the nod to Namath.

[Kingspoint]

Player: "Broadway" Joe Namath

Overall: Vince Lombardi


(I typed this before reading any of the other posts.)

[Kingspoint]

I was running an errand tonight and had Brian Kenney's ESPN radio show on. He said he was talking to Mike Ditka about Favre and eventually the conversation got around to the biggest star in NFL history. This isn't necessarily the best player but the biggest star. It's easy to say that a current player would have that distinction in this 24/7 media and most of us not being able to remember stars back in the day. For my money, Joe Namath was the biggest star.

But you might have to adjust for eras. For example, Red Grange was a tremendous star when he first entered the NFL in 1925. He helped legitimize the NFL when he joined the Bears and they went on a 19 game 67 day barnstorming tour. He got in a salary dispute with the Bears and left to form his own league. How many players had the influence to form their own league? Someone like him would be the biggest star of the 20s. Maybe someone like Bronko Nagurski would have been the biggest star of the 30s. Maybe someone like Don Hutson or Sammy Baugh for the 40s.

Nice post. Couldn't agree more.

[GIDP]

Joe Mantegna

http://www.cineol.net/images/noticias/Cameos/Waterboy.jpg

[15fan]

In fact if I were doing a Mt. Rushmore of sports (5 heads) it would go:

Babe Ruth
Michael Jordan
Wayne Gretzky
Jerry Rice
Muhammad Ali

Bill Russell (11) has as many NBA titles as Jordan (6) and Kobe Bryant (5) combined.

[ol'Sparky]

jim brown

[Captain13]

Akili Smith...no wait, Kijana Carter...no, David Klingler

[gonelong]

William "The Refrigerator" Perry was about as big a star as one could get in the mid '80s. Dude guested on the A-Team, had his own GI Joe: http://www.thesameintensity.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/william_perry.jpg

For a year or two, I can't really think of anyone who he shared the NFL stage with. He had it pretty much all to himself and was everywhere.

GL

[Captain13]

William "The Refrigerator" Perry was about as big a star as one could get in the mid '80s. Dude guested on the A-Team, had his own GI Joe: http://www.thesameintensity.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/william_perry.jpg

For a year or two, I can't really think of anyone who he shared the NFL stage with. He had it pretty much all to himself and was everywhere.

GL

Not to mention, he was clearly the BIGGEST star in the NFL, weighing in well over 300lbs. Love The Fridge.

[oneupper]

Montana, Unitas, Simpson, Payton, Rice. You can make a case for all of them.

But if he stays around along enough, it will be Manning.

[New York Red]

Montana, Unitas, Simpson, Payton, Rice. You can make a case for all of them.

But if he stays around along enough, it will be Manning.
I think you nailed it. But you have to throw Namath in there too (not for his fame now, but for his popularity back in the AFL days).

[oneupper]

Namath was the Sandy Koufax of football. Brilliant for short time, plagued by injuries.
Favre would be a better addition, IMO and Marino had he ever won a super bowl.

[RollyInRaleigh]

Namath was the perfect player for the perfect era in television. His endorsements were legendary. The white shoes, shaving his fu manchu, wearing the pantyhose..... seems silly and insignificant now but were big stories back in the day. He was Broadway Joe, the spokesperson for the sexual revolution and the Playboy lifestyle.

His prediction of victory in Super Bowl III was legendary. Lying poolside in Miami Beach and calmly guaranteeing the win while the media didn't give the Jets a ghost of a chance was the essence of "cool".

Plenty of players were better, but no player ever had the social impact that Broadway Joe had, IMO. Maybe OJ because he was a black man accepted by the whole world in his endorsement deals was more socially significant, but I'll still give the nod to Namath.

I agree, RFS62. The things that Namath did at that time in history was totally against the norm. We were used to Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas. Namath was totally different. With two healthy knees, he would have been something. Never saw a quicker, smoother release of the football. Yes, Joe was smooth.....

[improbus]

I agree, RFS62. The things that Namath did at that time in history was totally against the norm. We were used to Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas. Namath was totally different. With two healthy knees, he would have been something. Never saw a quicker, smoother release of the football. Yes, Joe was smooth.....
But, isn't it strange (a maybe a little sad) that the NFL's biggest star ever is a marginal HOF player (who had a short career with suspect numbers) and not one of the all-time greats. Perhaps it speaks to the dullness of NFL players, especially QB's. I was listening to Dan LeBatard's Miami radio show and they were discussing this very issue. They were claiming that there have only been two successful eccentric QB's. Namath and McMahon. Everyone else falls much closer to the "robot" category. They don't have one of those Ruth-like bigger than life characters who was both great/transcendant and interesting. It seems like you are one or the other.

[RedsBaron]

But, isn't it strange (a maybe a little sad) that the NFL's biggest star ever is a marginal HOF player (who had a short career with suspect numbers) and not one of the all-time greats. Perhaps it speaks to the dullness of NFL players, especially QB's. I was listening to Dan LeBatard's Miami radio show and they were discussing this very issue. They were claiming that there have only been two successful eccentric QB's. Namath and McMahon. Everyone else falls much closer to the "robot" category. They don't have one of those Ruth-like bigger than life characters who was both great/transcendant and interesting. It seems like you are one or the other.

Joe Namath had charisma in spades and a wonderful arm. Bear Bryant called him the best athlete he ever coached. Namath had great courage, playing with the knees he had. Namath guaranteed a win in Super Bowl III and made good on the guarantee in the NFL's greatest upset. He lead the AFL in passing yards three times and was the first QB to throw for 4000 yards in a season (1967). I agree he rightfully is in the NFL Hall of Fame.
What Namath did not have was particularly impressive passing stats, even for his era. In his Super Bowl season of 1968 he completed less than half of his passing attempts, and his career percentage was only 50.1%, which isn't outstanding even for his era. His average yards per passing attempt of 7.4 in his career is mediocre. He threw 173 TDs but also tossed 220 interceptions in his career, and only twice (1965, 1969) in his career did he throw more TD passes in a season than he did picks. There are a host of QBs in the 1960s and 1970s who had better stats than Joe Willie and who are not in the HOF.
An interesting comparsion can be made between Namath, who was Alabama's QB in 1962-64, and Ken Stabler, who was Alabama's QB in 1965-67.
One threw right and one threw left, both partied hard, and both were suspended by Bear Bryant. Both played on national championship teams at 'Bama.
Namath played in the NFL from 1965 through 1977 and Stabler played in the NFL from 1970 through 1984. During the latter years of Stabler's career he played when the rules were altered to help the passing game, but by then Stabler was a shell of who he had been in his prime seasons of 1973-77.
Passing percentage favors Stabler, 59.8 to 50.1.
Passer rating favors Stabler 75.3 to 65.5. Stabler had a rating of 94.9 in 1974 and 103.4 in 1976, while Namath never had a season rating as high as 80.
Stabler threw for 27,938 yards, Namath for 27,663.
Both QBs had an average of 7.4 yards per attempt.
Both threw interceptions. As noted above Namath had 173 TD passes and 220 interceptions. Stabler had 194 TD passes and 222 interceptions.
Namath made five Pro Bowls, while Stabler made four.
Each QB was voted league MVP by somebody (AP and/or the Bert Bell award) in two different seasons-Namath in 1968 and 1969, Stabler in 1974 and 1976.
Namath had a career playoff record of 2-1 and Stabler had a career playoff record of 7-5.
Each QB won a Super Bowl, Namath going 17 for 28 with 206 yards and no TDs in the Jets 16-7 win in Super Bowl III and Stabler going 12 for 19 for 180 yards and a TD in the Raiders 32-14 win in Super Bowl IX.
Namath is in the HOF. Stabler is not.

[Kingspoint]

The last episode of Mad Men had a subject on suitcases. The idea by the Ad Agency was to get Joe Namath in a commercial showing the toughness of the suitcase, comparing it to his Offensive Line. Don Draper said, "He hasn't won anything, yet", where the ad gal said, "But, he's already so popular".

[Kingspoint]

Joe Namath had charisma in spades and a wonderful arm. Bear Bryant called him the best athlete he ever coached. Namath had great courage, playing with the knees he had. Namath guaranteed a win in Super Bowl III and made good on the guarantee in the NFL's greatest upset. He lead the AFL in passing yards three times and was the first QB to throw for 4000 yards in a season (1967). I agree he rightfully is in the NFL Hall of Fame.
What Namath did not have was particularly impressive passing stats, even for his era. In his Super Bowl season of 1968 he completed less than half of his passing attempts, and his career percentage was only 50.1%, which isn't outstanding even for his era. His average yards per passing attempt of 7.4 in his career is mediocre. He threw 173 TDs but also tossed 220 interceptions in his career, and only twice (1965, 1969) in his career did he throw more TD passes in a season than he did picks. There are a host of QBs in the 1960s and 1970s who had better stats than Joe Willie and who are not in the HOF.
An interesting comparsion can be made between Namath, who was Alabama's QB in 1962-64, and Ken Stabler, who was Alabama's QB in 1965-67.
One threw right and one threw left, both partied hard, and both were suspended by Bear Bryant. Both played on national championship teams at 'Bama.
Namath played in the NFL from 1965 through 1977 and Stabler played in the NFL from 1970 through 1984. During the latter years of Stabler's career he played when the rules were altered to help the passing game, but by then Stabler was a shell of who he had been in his prime seasons of 1973-77.
Passing percentage favors Stabler, 59.8 to 50.1.
Passer rating favors Stabler 75.3 to 65.5. Stabler had a rating of 94.9 in 1974 and 103.4 in 1976, while Namath never had a season rating as high as 80.
Stabler threw for 27,938 yards, Namath for 27,663.
Both QBs had an average of 7.4 yards per attempt.
Both threw interceptions. As noted above Namath had 173 TD passes and 220 interceptions. Stabler had 194 TD passes and 222 interceptions.
Namath made five Pro Bowls, while Stabler made four.
Each QB was voted league MVP by somebody (AP and/or the Bert Bell award) in two different seasons-Namath in 1968 and 1969, Stabler in 1974 and 1976.
Namath had a career playoff record of 2-1 and Stabler had a career playoff record of 7-5.
Each QB won a Super Bowl, Namath going 17 for 28 with 206 yards and no TDs in the Jets 16-7 win in Super Bowl III and Stabler going 12 for 19 for 180 yards and a TD in the Raiders 32-14 win in Super Bowl IX.
Namath is in the HOF. Stabler is not.

Great post!

The further it gets from those who were born after 1955, the harder it will be for the masses to recognize just how great Joe Willie Namath was. When it comes to Football, especially Quarterbacks, throw all statistics out the window. Winning football has nothing to do with statistics. It's about attitude. Joe Namath had that attitude, as did Kenny Stabler, Terry Bradshaw, Sonny Jurgensen, and dozens of others.

[cincrazy]

Can't think of a bigger "star" in my lifetime than Prime Time himself, Deion Sanders.

[TRF]

Dick Butkus and Bubba Smith changed beer commercials forever.

And they were in Blue Thunder.

nuff said.

[GAC]

An impossible task, unless it's broken down by decade, and even then it would be a very hard task because players - before every household had a TV - didn't get the same type of exposure.

1920s - Red Grange, Jim Thorpe
1930s - Bronko Nagurski, Don Hutson
1940s - Sammy Baugh
1950s - Otto Graham
1960s - Johnny Unitas, Bart Starr, Jim Brown, Broadway Joe
1970s - Walter Payton, Lynn Swann, Terry Bradshaw, and .....

YouTube - Coca-Cola Classic ad: Mean Joe Green [Full Version] (1979) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xffOCZYX6F8)


1980s - Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and Eric Dickerson
1990s - John Elway, Brett Favre, Deion Sanders
2000s - Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ray Lewis

[mth123]

In my lieftime nobody in the NFL was as big a star as OJ Simpson was. Montana, Unitas, Namath were all big stars, but nobody dominated the national scene the way OJ did.

At least not until Peyton Manning. I'd say now that Manning is the answer.