Craig Morton

Craig Morton

No. 7, 14, 15
Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: (1943-02-05) February 5, 1943
Place of birth: Flint, Michigan
Career information
College: California
NFL Draft: 1965 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5
Debuted in 1965 for the Dallas Cowboys
Last played in 1982 for the Denver Broncos
Career history
Dallas Cowboys (1965-1974) New York Giants (1974-1976) Denver Broncos (1977-1982)
Career highlights and awards
Pop Warner Trophy (1964) 1977 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Denver Broncos Ring of Fame Super Bowl champion (VI)
Career NFL statistics
TD-INT 183-187 Yards 27,908 QB Rating 73.5 Stats at NFL.com
College Football Hall of Fame

Larry Craig Morton (born February 5, 1943, in Flint, Michigan) is a former professional football player. He played 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.

Early life

Morton is a graduate of Campbell High School in Campbell, California, where he played football and baseball. As a pitcher he received offers from Major League Baseball teams to play in their minor league systems. His football coach at Campbell High School was Hal Raley, and as a quarterback he was voted Northern California high school athlete of the year and was selected to play in the annual California Shrine High School football game.

He would go on to play for the University of California under the direction of head coach and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Marv Levy and assistant coach and future NFL Hall of Famer Bill Walsh. He became a starter at quarterback since the sixth game of his sophomore season. Back then his nickname was "Big hummer" and his production dominated the Golden Bears offense output.

As a sophomore in 1962, he could only play in 5 games because of a knee injury, but still managed 905 passing yards, a 54% completion rate and 9 touchdowns. As a junior in 1963 he already owned most of Cal's all-time quarterback records.

In his 3 seasons as a starter he would never play on a winning team. His senior season in 1964 saw him complete 185 of 308 passes for 2,121 yards and 13 touchdowns, and even with a losing 3-7 record, he was recognized for his talent and contributions by being named first team All-America over other winning quarterbacks. He would also receive the W. J. Voit Memorial Trophy, given to the best player on the Pacific Coast, and the Pop Warner Award, given to the best senior player.

He finished his career with 4,501 passing yards (a Pac-8 record), and most of Cal's all-time passing records, including:

• Touchdown passes in one game (5).
• Touchdown passes in a season (13).
• Touchdown passes in a career (36).
• Total yards in one game (285).
• Passing yards in a career (4,501).
• Passing yards in a season (2,121).
• Most passing completions and attempts in one game.
• Most passing completions and attempts in a season.
• Most passing completions and attempts in one game.

In 1964 as the starting quarterback for the West, he would face Roger Staubach in the East–West Shrine Game, which would be a sign of things to come.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame and the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Morton was drafted by Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the 1965 NFL Draft (fitfh overall). He spent his first 4 seasons as the backup for Don Meredith, but still received opportunities to play due to different injuries suffered by Meredith. In 1969 he became the starter at quarterback after Meredith's surprising retirement.

In 1970 Morton led the Cowboys to Super Bowl V where they lost a close game to the Baltimore Colts. This result created one of the most famous quarterback controversies in NFL history, when in 1971 Tom Landry started alternating Morton with Roger Staubach, reaching an extreme point against the Chicago Bears, where they alternated on each play. After this famous game, Landry settled on Staubach and the Cowboys went on a 10 game winning streak that included Super Bowl VI.

Morton played most of the 1972 season because of a separated shoulder suffered by Staubach, but he was replaced by him during a playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers. Staubach entered a hopeless situation and would go on to throw two touchdown passes in the last 90 seconds to win the game 30-28, sealing Morton's fate with the team.

After repeatedly asking for a trade, he signed a WFL contract with the Houston Texans, but would never play a down after he was traded to the New York Giants six games into the 1974 season, in exchange for their number one draft choice in 1975, which the team would later use to draft Randy White.

New York Giants

After acquiring Morton, the New York Giants traded their starting quarterback Norm Snead to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a third round draft choice in 1975 and a fourth in 1976. During his time with the Giants he struggled along with the team, and had a difficult time dealing with the fans and the media.

Morton was traded to the to the Denver Broncos in 1977 in exchange for quarterback Steve Ramsey and a fourth round draft choice.

Denver Broncos

At age 34 he revived his career with the Denver Broncos, finishing the season as the second rated passer in the AFC and becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to start the Super Bowl for two different teams (Dallas in Super Bowl V and Denver in Super Bowl XII), a feat that has only been equaled by Kurt Warner. After the 1977 season, Morton was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year, selected All-AFC by The Sporting News,

Morton's best statistical season came in his 17th season (1981), when he threw for 3,195 yards and 21 touchdowns, compiling an excellent 90.5 passer rating and setting several records. He 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 wore number 7 for the Broncos, and retired just before the arrival of John Elway in 1983, who also wore the same number and has had it since retired in his honor. He still remains as the second all-time passing yards leader in team history with 11,895 and his regular-season record was 50 wins and 28 losses in five seasons.

He was inducted into the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame in 1988.

Although Roger Staubach replaced Morton for the Dallas Cowboys in 1973 and would go on to great success, Morton played seven more NFL seasons than Staubach. The Cowboy teammates graduated from college the same year, but Staubach began his NFL career four years later following his active service in the U.S. Navy, and he chose to retire after the 1979 season, while Morton played for three more seasons until 1982.

Personal life

Following his playing career, Morton served as head coach of the USFL's Denver Gold.

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.

Morton is currently a voter in the Harris Interactive College Poll, a component of college football's Bowl Championship Series.

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

*Super Bowl

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

External links

• College Hall of Fame Craig Morton
• Denver Broncos Ring of Fame Craig Morton
• Craig Morton has led the rejuvenated Broncos

Preceded by Greg Landry

NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award 1977

Succeeded by John Riggins