You're a Hall of Fame athlete, freshly retired. What do you do?

The Game Room
41

Jim Plunkett

42

Well, yeah, when your peer group includes the dude who played 26 seasons :wink: .

But, in all seriousness, Kemp retired relatively young, at age 34, after playing in nine of the AFL’s ten seasons (and a few seasons as a benchwarmer in the NFL and CFL in the late '50s). Of the other top QBs in the AFL, the aforementioned George Blanda, as well as Len Dawson (19 seasons), John Hadl (16 seasons), Daryle Lamonica (12 seasons) and even the injury-plagued Joe Namath (13 seasons) had longer careers.

Plus, Kemp’s best years in the AFL were in that league’s early years, before the Super Bowl was played (which, from 1966-69, pitted the AFL’s champ against the NFL’s champ); unlike Dawson, Namath, and Lamonica, Kemp never made it to the Super Bowl.

43

In the Super Bowl era, Plunkett’s the only one, not counting three guys who aren’t yet eligible for the Hall: Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, and Eli Manning.

44

And Eli shouldn’t get in, but because he played for NY, he will.

45

I was curious about the pre-Super Bowl era, as well, so I did a little digging.

I only went back to 1940, as the quarterback position was usually used very differently before then. Anyway, here, as best that I can tell, are the multiple NFL champion quarterbacks from 1940 to 1965:

  • Sid Luckman, Bears (1940, 1941, 1943, 1946)
  • Otto Graham, Browns (1950, 1954, 1955)
  • Bobby Layne, Lions (1952, 1953, 1957)
  • Bart Starr, Packers (1961, 1962, 1965)
  • Johnny Unitas, Colts (1958, 1959)
  • Bob Waterfield, Rams (1945, 1951)
  • Tommy Thompson, Eagles (1948, 1949)

Of those players, only Thompson isn’t in the Hall of Fame.

46

Too late to edit: add Norm Van Brocklin to the list above. He and Bob Waterfield split time at QB for the ‘51 Rams (and both of them played in the championship game), and he also won the 1960 championship as the Eagles’ QB. (And, he’s in the Hall.)

47

Just wanted to say I agree.

48

If I was a retired hall of famer with money in the bank, coaching at the high school level might be fun, especially if I was just an assistant. If a career QB, I’d be the quarterback coach. If a baseball player, serve as hitting coach or pitching coach.

That, plus a few charity meet & greet events, some sponsorship work, and lots of vacation travel would keep me busy.