Joe Namath

He married Deborah Mays in 1984. While he was 41 at the time of wedding, Deborah was just 22 years old. They couple was blessed with two children, Jessica and Olivia.

They divorced in 2000 and following the split, his daughters chose to live with him.

He is known for publicly admitting to his alcohol problem. He even entered an outpatient treatment program for alcohol on January 12, 2004. He has written about his experiences with alcohol in the book, ‘Namath’.

Joseph William ‘Joe’ Namath was born in Beaver Falls, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. He was close to both his parents, but lived with his mother after the couple divorced.

While in school, he was spectacular in basketball, baseball and football. He participated in his school football team, which would go on to win the WPIAL Class AA Championship.

After he graduated, he received a number of offers from Major League Baseball teams, but he always wanted to build a career in football.

He was given a number of offers from Division I college football programs including Penn State, Alabama and Notre Dame University. After Alabama’s head coach, Bear Bryant’s offer, Namath accepted a full scholarship.

From 1962 to 1964, he played for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team and led the team to a National Championship. After the death of his coach, Namath was left heartbroken.

He was drafted in the upstart American Football League and the National Football League on November 28, 1964. As NFL drafted him 12th overall and AFL drafted him as their first pick with the ‘Jets’, he decided to sign a contract with the Jets.

For the 1967 season, he became the first quarterback to pass 4000 yards in one season. The next year, he led the Jets to a 27-23 win over the defending AFL champions, ‘Oakland Riders’.

1969 proved to be the highlight year of his career, when the Jets had a 16-7 win over the Baltimore Colts. This is considered one of his career high-points because he became the first-quarterback to ever win a national championship game in college, a major professional league championship and a Super Bowl.

In 1969, he also hosted his very own show, ‘The Joe Namath Show’, with guest-host, Dick Schaap.

After the season, he opened his very own Upper East Side bar, ‘Bachelors III’. However, since his reputation was at stake, the NFL commissioner asked him to dissociate himself from the bar.

He received the American Football League Rookie of the Year, in 1965.

He is the proud recipient of the Hickok Belt, which he earned in 1968.

In 1969, he won the AFL-NFL Super Bowl MVP.

He won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award, in 1974.