‘Bald Eagle’ was ahead of his time as a passer
Y.A. Tittle, the Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback and 1963 NFL most valuable player, has died at age 90.
His family confirmed his death to officials at Louisiana State University, where Tittle starred in college. No details were immediately provided.
Known as the Bald Eagle as much for his sturdy leadership as his prematurely receding hairline, Tittle played 17 seasons of pro football. He began with the All-America Football Conference’s Baltimore Colts in1948 and finished with the NFL’s New York Giants in 1964. He played 10 years in between with the San Francisco 49ers, but had his greatest success in New York, leading the Giants to three division titles in four years in a remarkable late-career surge.
Tittle, also called YAT by his teammates, was elected to the football shrine in 1971. He threw 36 touch- down passes while winning the MVP award in ’63, and held the NFL record for most TD passes in a season until Dan Marino threw 48 in 1984.
Tittle passed for 33,070 yards and 242 touchdowns during his career. In an age when the running game dominated the sport, Tittle was the only quarterback of his generation to throw at least 30 touchdown passes in back-to-back seasons when he did it with the Giants.
After football, Tittle ran an insurance business in Palo Alto, Calif., well past the standard retirement age. He appeared briefly in the 1999 movie Any Given Sunday as a coach.