Sonny Jurgensen

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox NFL biography Christian Adolph "Sonny" Jurgensen III (born August 23, 1934) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins. He played college football for the Duke Blue Devils. Jurgensen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983. He was also a longtime color commentator for Washington's radio broadcast crew.

Early life

Jurgensen was born on August 23, 1934, in Wilmington, North Carolina. He started playing sports in elementary school, when he led his school to the city grammar school titles in baseball and basketball.<ref name=early>Template:Cite web</ref> He later won Wilmington's youth tennis championship and pitched for his local Civitan club, which won the city baseball title.<ref name=early />

Jurgensen attended New Hanover High School in Wilmington, where he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and baseball. During his junior year, the New Hanover football team won the 1951 NCHSAA Class AAA state championship. Jurgensen mainly played halfback and linebacker his junior season, before starring as a quarterback his senior year.<ref>Fields, Bill. (October 28, 2016). Sonny and Gabe - Salt Magazine. saltmagazine.com. Retrieved November 2, 2025.</ref> After his senior football season, he was chosen to start at quarterback for the North Carolina team in the annual North Carolina vs. South Carolina Shrine Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina.<ref name=early />

As a senior on the basketball team, he averaged 12 points per game as a guard and the team was the state AAA runner-ups.<ref name=early /> That same year in baseball, he batted .339 and played as a pitcher, infielder, and catcher. He also became a switch-hitter.<ref name=early />

College career

Jurgensen attended and played college football at Duke University. He joined the varsity team in 1954 as a backup quarterback behind Jerry Barger and he completed 12 of 28 passes for 212 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions.<ref name=early /> Jurgensen made the biggest impact that season as a defensive back, when he tied a team record with interceptions in four consecutive games. and ended the season with five interceptions. Duke finished the campaign with a 7–2–1 regular-season record and an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title.<ref name=early /> Then on New Year's Day, Duke beat Nebraska 34–7 in the 1955 Orange Bowl.<ref name=early />

He took over as starting quarterback in 1955. He also retained a starting position in the defensive secondary. Duke ended the season with a 7–2–1 record along with an ACC co-championship, but did not go to a bowl game because Maryland received the league's automatic bid to the Orange Bowl.<ref name=early /> That season Jurgensen completed 37 of 69 passes for 536 yards, three touchdowns and seven interceptions. He rushed 54 times for 48 yards and scored two touchdowns. He also punted four times for a 33.7 average and intercepted four passes for 17 yards.<ref name=early />

Jurgensen's senior season in 1956 did not start well, when Duke lost to South Carolina, 7–0, in the season opener. This game marked Duke's first ACC loss, coming in the fourth year of the conference's existence.<ref name=early /> Duke finished the season with a 5–4–1 mark and Jurgensen ended up 28–59 for 371 yards. He threw six interceptions and two touchdown passes and rushed 25 times for 51 yards with three touchdowns.<ref name=early /> Jurgensen's final career stats included 77–156 passes for 1,119 yards, 16 interceptions and six touchdowns. He also rushed for 109 yards and intercepted 10 passes.<ref name=early />

He also played baseball briefly at Duke and turned down an invitation to try out for the basketball team.<ref name=early />

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles (1957–1963)

Template:Quote box Jurgensen was selected in the fourth round (43rd overall) of the 1957 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He was Philadelphia's backup quarterback behind Bobby Thomason in 1957 and Norm Van Brocklin from 1958 through 1960.<ref name=hickok>Template:Cite web</ref> It was during this time as a backup that Jurgensen was a part of a championship team for the only time in his professional career, when the Eagles won the 1960 NFL Championship,.<ref name=hickok /> Although he did not play quarterback in any playoff games, Jurgensen was the holder for field goals and extra points.

After Van Brocklin retired in 1961, Jurgensen took over as Philadelphia's starter and had a successful year, passing for an NFL record 3,723 yards, tying the NFL record with 32 touchdown passes, and was named a First-team All-Pro.<ref name=hickok />

Washington Redskins (1964–1974)

Jurgensen was traded to the Washington Redskins on April 1, 1964, in exchange for Norm Snead and Claude Crabb.<ref name=redskins>Template:Cite web Template:Dead link</ref><ref name=washingtonian>Template:Cite web</ref> He was then selected to play in the Pro Bowl following the season and was also named second Team All-Pro.

One of Jurgensen's most memorable games was during the 1965 season, when the Dallas Cowboys took a 21–0 lead at DC Stadium.<ref name=washingtonian /> Jurgensen then threw for 411 yards, leading the team back to win 34–31. He rushed for a touchdown on a quarterback sneak and threw a game-winning 35-yard pass to Bobby Mitchell.<ref name=washingtonian /> In 1967, Jurgensen broke his own record by passing for 3,747 yards and also set NFL single-season records for attempts (508) and completions (288).<ref name=hickok /> Injuries hampered his performance during the 1968 season, however, with Jurgensen missing two games with broken ribs and suffering chronic pain in the elbow of his throwing arm due to calcium deposits.<ref name=Magic>"Will Lombardi's Magic Work on Jurgensen?" in Al Silverman (ed.), Pro Football Almanac, 1969. New York: McFadden-Bartell Corp., 1969, pp. 32–33.</ref> Jurgensen threw the ball just 292 times during the year, completing 167 for 1,980 yards and 17 touchdowns.<ref name=Magic />

However, he tied an NFL record early in the 1968 season for the longest pass play in league history. The 99-yard pass play to Jerry Allen occurred September 15, 1968, during the Redskins' game against the Chicago Bears. Coincidentally, Redskins' quarterbacks had three of the first four occurrences of a 99-yard pass play (Frank Filchock to Andy Farkas in 1939 and George Izo to Bobby Mitchell in 1963 were the other two occurrences of the play). Since Jurgensen's feat, no other Redskins' quarterback has completed a 99-yard pass.<ref name=hickok />

In 1969, Vince Lombardi took over as the Redskins' head coach.<ref name=profootballhof /> That season, Jurgensen led the NFL in attempts (442), completions (274), completion percentage (62%), and passing yards (3,102).<ref name=hickok /> The Redskins went 7–5–2 and had their best season since 1955 (which kept Lombardi's record of never having coached a losing NFL team intact).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Lombardi died of cancer shortly before the start of the 1970 season.<ref name=washingtonian /> Jurgensen would later say that, of the nine head coaches he played for during his NFL career, Lombardi was his favorite.<ref name=redskins />

The Redskins enjoyed a resurgence in the early 1970s under coach George Allen and made it as far as Super Bowl VII, losing to the Miami Dolphins. However, Billy Kilmer started in place of Jurgensen, who was again bothered by injuries in 1971 and 1972.<ref name=hickok />

During this period, a quarterback controversy developed between the two, complete with fans sporting "I Love Billy" or "I Love Sonny" bumper stickers on their vehicles.<ref name=washingtonian /> The defensive-minded Allen preferred Kilmer's conservative, ball-control style of play to Jurgensen's more high-risk approach. Despite the controversy, Jurgensen was helpful to his rival. Even to this day, Kilmer still stays at Jurgensen's house when he is in town.<ref name=washingtonian />

In 1974, at the age of 40 and in his final season, Jurgensen won his third NFL passing crown even though he was still splitting time with Kilmer.<ref name=profootballhof /> In the final game of his NFL career, Jurgensen made his first and only appearance as a quarterback in an NFL postseason game<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in the Redskins' 19–10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the first round of the 1974 NFC playoffs.<ref name=hickok /> He came off the bench in relief of Kilmer and completed six of 12 passes but also threw three interceptions.<ref name=hickok />

Jurgensen is recognized as the finest pure passer of his time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A five-time Pro Bowl selection, he earned three NFL individual passing titles.<ref name=profootballhof /> He exceeded 400 yards passing in a single game five times, and threw five touchdown passes in a game twice. With a career rating of 82.6, his stats include 2,433 completions for 32,224 yards and 255 touchdowns.<ref name=profootballhof /> He also rushed for 493 yards and 15 touchdowns.<ref name=hickok />

Jurgensen's 82.62 career passer rating is the highest for any player in the "Dead Ball Era" (pre-1978).<ref>Cold Hard Football Facts: Dead Ball Era career passer rating leaders Template:Webarchive</ref>

Lombardi once told Pat Peppler of the Green Bay Packers head office that, "If we would have had Sonny Jurgensen in Green Bay, we’d never have lost a game.”<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

NFL career statistics

Legend
	Won the NFL Championship
	Led the league
Bold	Career high

Year	Team	Games		Passing
Year	Team	GP	GS	Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Avg	TD	Int	Lng	Rtg
Template:NFL year	PHI	10	4	33	70	47.1	470	6.7	5	8	61	53.6
Template:NFL year	PHI	12	0	12	22	54.5	259	11.8	0	1	61	77.7
Template:NFL year	PHI	12	0	3	5	60.0	27	5.4	1	0	19	114.2
Template:NFL year	PHI	12	0	24	44	54.5	486	11.0	5	1	71	122.0
Template:NFL year	PHI	14	14	235	416	56.5	3,723	8.9	32	24	69	88.1
Template:NFL year	PHI	14	13	196	366	53.6	3,261	8.9	22	26	84	74.3
Template:NFL year	PHI	9	8	99	184	53.8	1,413	7.7	11	13	75	69.4
Template:NFL year	WAS	14	14	207	385	53.8	2,934	7.6	24	13	80	85.4
Template:NFL year	WAS	13	13	190	356	53.4	2,367	6.6	15	16	55	69.6
Template:NFL year	WAS	14	14	254	436	58.3	3,209	7.4	28	19	86	84.5
Template:NFL year	WAS	14	14	288	508	56.7	3,747	7.4	31	16	86	87.3
Template:NFL year	WAS	12	12	167	292	57.2	1,980	6.8	17	11	99	81.7
Template:NFL year	WAS	14	14	274	442	62.0	3,102	7.0	22	15	88	85.4
Template:NFL year	WAS	14	14	202	337	59.9	2,354	7.0	23	10	66	91.5
Template:NFL year	WAS	5	1	16	28	57.1	170	6.1	0	2	30	45.2
Template:NFL year	WAS	7	4	39	59	66.1	633	10.7	2	4	36	84.9
Template:NFL year	WAS	14	4	87	145	60.0	904	6.2	6	5	36	77.5
Template:NFL year	WAS	14	4	107	167	64.1	1,185	7.1	11	5	44	94.5
Career		218	147	2,433	4,262	57.1	32,224	7.6	255	189	99	82.6

After football

Broadcasting career

After retiring from the Redskins following the 1974 season, Jurgensen began another career as a color commentator, initially with CBS television. Later teaming with Hall of Fame linebacker Sam Huff, Jurgensen continued to cover the Washington Redskins on radio.

He covered the team for WRC-TV from 1994 until December 2008, when Redskins Report was canceled due to budget cuts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He served as a game analyst at preseason games and as studio analyst at training camp, making weekly picks, and other assignments. He retired from broadcasting prior to the 2019 season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Honors

Jurgensen was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1971<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Duke Sports Hall of Fame in 1979.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was then inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983. In 1999, Jurgensen was ranked the ninth best sports figure from North Carolina by Sports Illustrated<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and became a member of Wilmington's Walk of Fame in 2004.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Washington retired Jurgensen's #9 jersey in 2022, during their week 18 game against the Dallas Cowboys.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He serves on the board of advisors of the Code of Support Foundation, a nonprofit military services organization.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

References

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External links

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Sonny Jurgensen

Contents

Early life

College career