NFL’s top character: Namath

Predicted Super Bowl III upset; backed it up on the playing field

White shoes. Fur coat. Pantyhose. Fu Manchu mustache.

And an arm that would make Superman proud.

Yep, Joe Namath, a 1961 graduate of Beaver Falls High School, is the NFL’s greatest character. Guaranteed.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback who guaranteed his three-touchdown underdog New York Jets would beat the mighty Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III was a solid choice in balloting conducted by The Associated Press in conjunction with the league’s celebration of its 100th season. Namath earned 2,577 points in voting by a nationwide panel of 60 football historians and media who regularly cover the NFL.

“Sonny [Werblin, the Jets owner] came from the entertainment business and he believed in the star system. He knew fans wanted to see stars,” Namath said. “We thought of ourselves as just football players that nobody got to know except the guys we played with.

“I’ll never forget this. I had dinner with the Werblins one night — this was late in the 1960s — and Sonny was telling me, ‘You’re a confident guy. Be more open, it will be better for everybody.’ And I kept saying, ‘It’s just football. How much is there to talk about?’

“So finally, his wife leans over and says, ‘Joe, don’t worry, honey. It’s all just show business,’ and she turned out to be right. Sport was changing. Things were changing in society, too . ...

“All that action off the field? Some of it was good and some not so good. But thank God, we’re still here.” And on top. Namath easily outdistanced the late Al Davis, owner of the Raiders and a former coach and AFL commissioner. Each had 12 first-place votes, but Davis was 162 points behind Namath.

Only Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre was on all 60 ballots. Favre finished fourth overall. Of note: Two other local alums finished in the top 30. Aliquippa’s Mike Ditka was 10th and Woodland Hills’ Rob Gronkowski — Gronk to the world — placed 15th.

Namath’s career numbers weren’t spectacular, but his impact on the sport was enormous. The Jets’ win helped validate the AFL and the merger that NFL owners accepted. It boosted the Super Bowl toward elite sports status; no event in America gets more attention or draws a bigger audience.