When Gerry Plunkett recently won her sixth Stanford Women's Golf Club championshipshe and Jim are avid players she told friends that an appropriate celebration should have included temporarily covering up her husband's Heisman, just to emphasize her moment in the spotlight. Life, it seems, has been a struggle for Plunkett. She always knew. STR 59. '', His father died at age 56 after Jim Plunkett's sophomore year at Stanford. And he ended up an emblem of individual and shared achievement on a team that's linked forever by one revered season. Enter the 2022 MY Hero Songwriting/Music Video Contest! The defense included linebacker Jeff Siemon, '72, and tackle Pete Lazetich, '72, who became first-team All-Americans the following season and helped lead Stanford back to the Rose Bowl. "When I found out I'd finished second to Jim," said Theismann in 1984, "I was genuinely crushed. "The best college football player I've ever seen," said Washington State coach Jim Sweeney. The Raiders ignored his request and five weeks into the season, Plunkett's resurrection began. At Stanford, Plunkett set a school records for passing yards (2,156) and touchdowns (14) as a sophomore, and then broke those records in subsequent seasons finishing his NCAA career with 7,809 passing yards and 53 touchdowns. Number of electors: 1264 - Announced: November 24, 1970. Watch our short introduction video for more information. He was a member of the National Football Leagues Atlanta Falcons for 16 seasons. Jim was drafted by the New England Patriots in the first round of the 1971 NFL Draft. Plunkett was selected by the New England Patriots as the number one overall draft choice in 1971. Jack and Aletha were determined to give Jim a normal life, and he attended public schools and played sports. His parents were poor and blind, but they were very proud. His mind only replays moments; his body replays every minute of damage. Forty years later, his impact on college football hasn't lost any luster, even though the sport has become far more freewheeling and ratcheted up the stats of quarterbacks everywhere. Plunkett then joined the Oakland Raiders in 1978, serving in a reserve capacity over the next two years, throwing no passes in 1978 and just fifteen in 1979. "Some of it has been wonderful and some of it has been absolutely horrific. Despite his lack of fame, his contributions will not go unnoticed. His mother, Carmen, was sightless since she was 19 because of typhoid fever. He was sacked six times in one game at Pittsburgh, on his way to 97 sacks over three seasons (1972-74). Jim attended James Lick High School in East San Jose, California.He won the Heisman Trophy in 1970 as quarterback for Stanford University. Despite his strong first two seasons, Plunkett was a long-shot Heisman candidate compared to the other favorites: quarterbacks Archie Manning of Mississippi and Joe Theismann of Notre Dame. In addition, the American College Football Coaches Association designated him as their Offensive Player of the Year. Plunkett received the Voit Trophy in both 1969 and 1970. But he's quick to turn conversations into the kind of comedic sparring he perfected in locker rooms. His 15 surgeries have included six on his left shoulder, one on his right shoulder, two on his neck and six on his knees. Jim Plunkett was a football quarterback for Stanford University from 1968-1970. . The massive arms of Plunkett transformed college football, changing the perception of the game from being a ground game to one that was exciting and fast. As White notes, the Stanford coaching staff had learned football as mostly an exercise in running the ball. And the people who grew close to him 40 years ago are the same ones who are closest to him today: a circle of love and mutual support that owes its origins to a team and a time that shaped Jim Plunkett's life, and those of many others. Every single one of the teams tenures has resulted in a Pro Bowl or an All-Pro selection, and the tenure has been disastrous. Randy Vataha had the same misgivings when he transferred in as a junior. His dad sold newspapers at a corner stand in San Jose, right outside San Francisco. When the Heisman vote was announced, Plunkett won by a wide margin. Check out the Jim Plunkett Hispanic Heritage 83 item on Madden NFL 23 - Ratings, Prices and more! The Raiders became the first team from the Wild Card era to win a Super Bowl. Aside from the Heisman, he captured the Maxwell Award for the nation's best player and was named player of the year by United Press International, The Sporting News, and SPORT magazine. Plunkett was born on Dec. 5, 1947, in San Jose, Calif., the youngest of three children. [17] The arguments against his induction center on Plunkett having only three winning seasons, unimpressive career statistics, and no Pro Bowl or All-Pro selections. "We came so close to making an unbelievably catastrophic decision. A native of San Jose, Calif., Plunkett graduated from Lick High in 1967, where he was a star athlete who competed in football, basketball, baseball, track and wrestling. ", In addition to mustering his physical skills, Plunkett had to change the coaches' perception of what a leader was. To this day he has a tendency to drop into the background, heightened sometimes by the pervasive sadness of his son's death. It was a memorable year as he surpassed many of his league records, passing for 2,715 yards and 18 touchdowns as Stanford went 8-3 and won the Pac-8. They were from poor or middle-class families, and they wondered how they would ever fit in at a university swarming with well-heeled classmates. He worked from an early age, cleaning up at a gas station while in elementary school, delivering newspapers, bagging groceries, and working in orchards. It was very hard to swallow. [1][18] Similar debates occurred in relation to Ken Stabler, another Super Bowl-winning quarterback with the Raiders, who missed being elected into the Hall for 25 years before being elected posthumously in 2016. With all the obstacles he went through, Jim never quit. Anyone can read what you share. Sports of the Times; Jim Plunkett's Blind Parents, https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/01/sports/sports-of-the-times-jim-plunkett-s-blind-parents.html. I was supposed to make my bed, but if I didn't, she'd walk in and feel the bed to see if I had. What happened to Hart was not unintended. Voit Memorial Trophy, awarded each year to the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast. New England also influenced the AFC East championship race, as Plunkett's 88-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass to former Stanford teammate Randy Vataha on the final day of the season dropped the Baltimore Colts to a 1040 record and into second place in the division behind the 1031 Miami Dolphins. He also captured the Maxwell Award for the nations best quarterback and was named player of the year by United Press International, The Sporting News, and SPORT magazine. '', When he and his mother, Carmen, took walks, he would describe the scenery to her. DAC 79. [9], The Plunketts moved to California during World War II. Plunkett's pro career started promisingly after the New England Patriots made him the No. He is also the only player to pass for 25, 882 yards, 164 touchdown passes, and 198 picks. [4] In 1983, Plunkett again ascended from backup to starter to quarterback the relocated Los Angeles Raiders to victory in Super Bowl XVIII. He was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. When the Heisman vote was announced, Plunkett had won by a wide margin. Ball Carrier. ''I don't think she would have cared if I had quit, she always was worried about me getting hurt,'' he said. A month before his enrollment, Plunkett was told by doctors that the lump he had felt at the base of his neck was cancerous. I love my daughter. Playing for the Oakland Raiders, Pastorini broke his shinbone and cartilage in his knee. Although Plunkett is easily spotted at Stanford events and extends his help to each new generation of athletes, his connection to Lasater, Moore, Schultz and Vataha is part of his identity. Then followed three sensational seasons at Stanford, culminating with the 1970 Heisman Trophy. He was the starting quarterback for the Stanford Cardinal from 1968 to 1970. Knee and shoulder surgeries became almost commonplace, and after a season of limited play in 1975, he asked to be traded. His parents were blind, and he chose nearby Stanford so he could be near them. Jim Plunkett is the only NFL quarterback to win Super Bowls with the same team in both Oakland and Los Angeles (with the same team in both cities). Jim Plunketts parents, Jack and Aletha, were both blind. He was a hard-knocks kid from San Jose, a Mexican-American with an Irish surname, who gravitated to Stanford in part because he wanted to stay close to his parents, both of whom were blind. Plunkett's parents were both born in New Mexico, both Mexican Americans; his mother, whose maiden name was Carmen Blea, was born in Santa . Plunkett was born to William and Carmella Plunkett (his mother was Mexican, his father was also of Mexican descent) in San Jose Calif. His mother lost her sight when she was 20. And suddenly, from near-oblivion, a rise again to the top as 1981 Super Bowl MVP. He was born to a blind mother and father.. [10], When Jim was growing up, the family's financial situation was a big problem for him. Plunkett was born to Mexican American parents with an Irish-German great-grandfather on his paternal side. He passed for 18 touchdowns and 2,299 yards during the season, guiding the Raiders to nine victories in their last 11 games and a wild-card spot in the playoffs. In 1983, Plunkett followed a similar script, this time taking the reins from Marc Wilson at midseason and helping the Raiders to their third and most recent NFL title. Jim was born in 1946, and was their only child. ''I know my mother didn't make the trip to New Orleans for the Super Bowl because she doesn't fly anymore,'' he said. Tom Flores, then the Raiders coach, was not surprised. In the spring, his daughter, Meghan Plunkett, graduated with a business and marketing degree from Manhattan College in New York, which she attended on a volleyball scholarship. They came together in Oakland after Plunkett washed out in New England and San Francisco and was contemplating retirement. The Raiders advanced to Super Bowl XVIII, where they defeated the Washington Redskins, 389. But more than most athletes, he understands perspective. Thirty years ago this week, Plunkett led the Raiders to victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XV. Surgery for a benign tumor in his neck in August 1966 slowed him physically and academically during his first year at Stanford. . His parents were blind, and he chose nearby Stanford so he could be near them. He grew up in a poor family and his parent's financial condition was extremely weak, his father was a news vendor who had to support his blind wife along with his three children. His father was born legally blind but, with thick enough glasses, could get around, even serving as the cook of the family. Continuing to be effective, Plunkett finished second in the NFL in passing yards in 1973, and in 1974 led the Patriots to an impressive 6-1 start, and the team's first non losing season in eight years, finishing second in the NFL in team scoring with 348 points, seven behind league leader Oakland. Davis denied his trade request, Plunkett says, because he wanted the veteran available in case of emergency. [12] His performance originally caused head coach John Ralston to switch him to defensive end, but Plunkett was adamant in remaining at quarterback, throwing 500 to 1,000 passes every day to polish his arm. By this time, Jim's two older sisters, Genevieve (16 years older than Jim) and Mary Ann (5 years older than Jim) had been born; Jim was born in 1947, after the family had moved to Santa Clara. They met while attending the California School for the Blind in Berkeley, and were married in 1934. The Raiders have never made the Pro Bowl or the All-Pro team, and everything they have done since the inception has been bad. . "We'd all gone to public schools instead of prep schools, and none of us had a lump of cash in our pocket," Lasater recalls. As a sophomore, 1968, he passed for 2,156 yards, a record in what was then the Pac-8 Conference. He chose to play for Stanford in part because he wanted to stay close to his parents, both of whom were blind. In addition, the American College Football Coaches Association designated him as their Offensive Player of the Year. "I really thought I was going to be the savior," Plunkett said, "but all I did was put more pressure on myself.". "The team was full of an awful lot of talented guys as well as egos," says Schultz, who was a strong safety.
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