Joe Namath turns 70 today, does not seem possible. He retired after playing in 143 career games (including play off games) with 68 wins, 71 losses and 4 ties.
He was probably most famous for his prediction, "Whoa, wait a minute. You guys have been talking for two weeks now' -- meaning the Colts' fans and the media -- 'and I'm tired of hearing it,'" Namath remembers. "I said, 'I've got news for you. We're gonna win the game. I guarantee it.' And they did.
Between 1962 and 1964, Namath played for the Alabama Crimson Tide football program under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. A year after being suspended for the final two games of the season, he led the Crimson Tide to a National Championship in 1964. During his time at Alabama, Namath led the team to a 29–4 record over three seasons.
Bryant would one day call Namath "the greatest athlete I ever coached". While some speculated on what was anticipated to be a stormy relationship between a freedom-loving player and an iron-fisted coach, Namath returned Bryant's praise, often referring to him as "not only the smartest coach I ever knew, but the man who taught me the meaning of integrity".
When Namath was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985, he broke down during his induction speech upon mentioning Bryant, who died from a heart attack in 1983. Namath would not receive his college degree until 2007, having left early to pursue his professional career.
Namath's time at Alabama would be a culture shock for him. With Beaver Falls' Lower End neighborhood having been (and still is as of 2010) predominantly African American, Namath would attend Alabama at the height of the Civil Rights movement in the Southern United States (especially the Deep South) and often got into fights with his white teammates and other white Southerners when defending African Americans.
Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh stated that Namath was "the most beautiful, accurate, stylish passer with the quickest release he'd ever seen." Hall of Fame coach Don Shula stated that Namath was "one of the three smartest quarterbacks of all time."
