Joe Namath

 Joseph William Namath (/'neIm@th/ born on May 31 1943) is an ex- American football player who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily in the New York Jets. He was a college football player at Alabama where he was a finalist for the national championship in his senior year and was selected by the Jets first overall in the 1965 AFL Draft. In his five AFL seasons He was a two-time MVP and twice was the league's top passer yards, while leading the Jets to win one AFL championship as well as a Super Bowl. These two wins remain the Jets only championships. Following the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, Namath joined the NFL with the Jets and was the NFL's touchdowns and passing yards leading player during the 1972 season. He played in New York for seven more seasons, his final year spent as an official of the Los Angeles Rams.Namath cemented his legacy in 1969 when he guaranteed his underdog Jets were going to win Super Bowl III before defeating the NFL's Baltimore Colts in one of the most thrilling sports upsets ever. The Super Bowl victory was the first for an AFL franchise, dispelling notions that its teams were less successful than the NFL's and demonstrating they would enter the merger on equal footing. Namath received Super Bowl MVP honors in the game, while also becoming the first quarterback to win both a college national championship and a major professional championship.Nicknamed "Broadway Joe", Namath became a media icon who attracted mainstream popularity outside of sports. Although his statistics and win-loss record are unimpressive from a contemporary standpoint, Namath remains one of the most famous and popular figures. In 1985 Namath was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.