FB: Sonny Jurgensen (only living Duke Pro FB HOFer) announces retirement

[Reilly]

Sonny's announcement: https://www.redskins.com/news/after-62-years-sonny-jurgensen-is-retiring-from-professional-football

Pro FB HOF by school: https://www.profootballhof.com/heroes-of-the-game/colleges/

"aura of warmth and intelligence" (what an accolade to attain): https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/aug/11/sonny-jurgensen-carried-final-flame-dignity-connec/

[Indoor66]

I saw him at Duke, in Philly and then in Washington. He was a great QB. Seems he is a better man.

[Reilly]

I saw him at Duke ...

Interested in reading your thoughts/impressions of those mid-1950s Duke games. I guess Jurgensen played varsity in 1954, 1955, and 1956.

[chrishoke]

Growing up in Durham, the Redskins were my team. I was a big fan and Sonny was the man. All their games were carried by the local am radio station 620 am and I loved listening to Sonny and Sam Huff call the games after they retired. Great memories.

[WV_Iron_Duke]

Sonny was so popular in the DC Metro area he was the first analyst for the Bullets games when they first moved from Baltimore.

[53n206]

Sonny was a classmate, though we were not aquatinted, except on the basketball court where he consistently drained long set shots. A wonderful QB. Incredible arm. (Were he to play today!) Major knee injury when he was hit out of bounds in practice. Never quite as good thereafter. Pro career outstanding.

[westwall]

I saw him at Duke, in Philly and then in Washington. He was a great QB. Seems he is a better man.

And I also saw him in action at Ohio State, beating the National and Big Ten Champs (1955)

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Sonny threw a beautiful ball, tight spiral, had a great arm. And like another poster mentioned, great hearing him and Sam Huff do the games after he retired.

[budwom]

Too bad football was different in his Duke days...Coach Bill Murray just didn't like throwing the ball....(common in those days) so the future Hall of Famer threw the ball 59 times during his senior season....ack.
These days some players throw the ball that much in a single game.

[Indoor66]

Sonny threw a beautiful ball, tight spiral, had a great arm. And like another poster mentioned, great hearing him and Sam Huff do the games after he retired.

Anyone remember the special done on TV by Walter Cronkite: "The Violent World of Sam Huff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKeAX9rmzbk)"?

[jv001]

Sonny was a classmate, though we were not aquatinted, except on the basketball court where he consistently drained long set shots. A wonderful QB. Incredible arm. (Were he to play today!) Major knee injury when he was hit out of bounds in practice. Never quite as good thereafter. Pro career outstanding.

Sonny was a very good athlete. Matter of fact he played in the North Carolina East-West game but not the football game. He played in the basketball game. I didn't see Sonny play at Duke but he was my favorite Redskin player. I remember him completing a behind the back pass in one game. The way Sonny became a Redskin is sort of funny. He was traded from the Eagles for Norm Snead who played his college football at Wake Forest. So I guess you could say they kept in the conference with that trade. I have no doubt that the Redskins got the best of it. GoDuke!

[szstark]

Was at a game at RFK when Sonny came down out of the broadcast booth to host the kid’s punt, pass, and kick contest. He didn’t take off his broadcast blazer, he didn’t warm up, he just picked up the ball and threw it 65 yards in the air and hit the tape square in the middle. What an arm.

[jv001]

Was at a game at RFK when Sonny came down out of the broadcast booth to host the kid’s punt, pass, and kick contest. He didn’t take off his broadcast blazer, he didn’t warm up, he just picked up the ball and threw it 65 yards in the air and hit the tape square in the middle. What an arm.

He was THE MAN!!! GoDuke!

[jimsumner]

Jurgensen was a great prep athlete, a nationally-ranked tennis player, an all-state basketball player, a starting catcher. One of the best all-around athletes in NC prep history.

At Duke he was better known as a DB. A combination of injuries and Bill Murray's disinclination to throw the ball left him with very modest passing stats.

Ace Parker was a Murray assistant. Parker knew Jurgensen's worth and had lots of NFL contacts. He made the appropriate phone calls and made sure Jurgensen didn't slip into the cracks.

[madscavenger]

They had a photo of Sonny on the wall at Bats.



http://i65.tinypic.com/2cn8z5.jpg


Bats, where you could really, really relax. What a treasure it was.



http://i67.tinypic.com/2f06qdg.jpg

[Indoor66]

They had a photo of Sonny on the wall at Bats.



http://i65.tinypic.com/2cn8z5.jpg


Bats, where you could really, really relax. What a treasure it was.



http://i67.tinypic.com/2f06qdg.jpg

That picture predates the restaurant. That was from when Bat & Anna fed students in their home. That was taken in their living room. That is Anna serving the pizza.

[53n206]

Jurgensen was a great prep athlete, a nationally-ranked tennis player, an all-state basketball player, a starting catcher. One of the best all-around athletes in NC prep history.

At Duke he was better known as a DB. A combination of injuries and Bill Murray's disinclination to throw the ball left him with very modest passing stats.

Ace Parker was a Murray assistant. Parker knew Jurgensen's worth and had lots of NFL contacts. He made the appropriate phone calls and made sure Jurgensen didn't slip into the cracks.

Ace Parker was also an amazing all-round athlete; major league baseball, pro football (NFL MVP in 1940).Died in Portsmouth, Va at 101. (Well worth a Google.) Anna's pizzas were wonderful. My wife thought they were the best she has ever had, but that was 50 yrs ago.

[budwom]

These days it's not easy to find a place where you order spaghetti and get serenaded by the owner with a guitar.

[sagegrouse]

Ace Parker was also an amazing all-round athlete; major league baseball, pro football (NFL MVP in 1940).Died in Portsmouth, Va at 101. (Well worth a Google.) Anna's pizzas were wonderful. My wife thought they were the best she has ever had, but that was 50 yrs ago.

And golf. I have a friend who pitched for Ace Parker on the college Wrold Series team way back when. He would let the pitchers play golf on the road when they were not scheduled to pitch. He would join them, pick up any old set of clubs and had no trouble shooting 75.

[wsb3]

Jurgensen was a great prep athlete, a nationally-ranked tennis player, an all-state basketball player, a starting catcher. One of the best all-around athletes in NC prep history.

At Duke he was better known as a DB. A combination of injuries and Bill Murray's disinclination to throw the ball left him with very modest passing stats.

Ace Parker was a Murray assistant. Parker knew Jurgensen's worth and had lots of NFL contacts. He made the appropriate phone calls and made sure Jurgensen didn't slip into the cracks.

I remember Sonny with the Skins..Before my time when he was at Duke. He grew up in my hometown, Wilmington. Pretty remarkable that Sonny & Roman Gabriel both played at New Hanover High School and were starting QB's in the NFL at the same time during a time there were 15 NFL teams. Wilmington was still a small, sleepy undiscovered city back then.

In 1967 the Skins & Rams played to a 28-28 tie. I believe their high school coach flew to L.A. for the game. I was guess that was a perfect outcome for him.

[roge054]

Recall Sonny saying the difference between him and Otto Graham was that Otto liked milk shakes and chocolate bars and he liked Scotch and blondes.

[westwall]

Anyone remember the special done on TV by Walter Cronkite: "The Violent World of Sam Huff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKeAX9rmzbk)"?

Sure !!

What's the question??

[HereBeforeCoachK]

I remember Sonny with the Skins..Before my time when he was at Duke. He grew up in my hometown, Wilmington. Pretty remarkable that Sonny & Roman Gabriel both played at New Hanover High School and were starting QB's in the NFL at the same time during a time there were 15 NFL teams. Wilmington was still a small, sleepy undiscovered city back then.

In 1967 the Skins & Rams played to a 28-28 tie. I believe their high school coach flew to L.A. for the game. I was guess that was a perfect outcome for him.

I've always thought that New Hanover/Wilmington tie was one of the all time amazing trivia type questions in NFL history. Also, great story about the 28-28 tie.

[DevilYouKnow]

My Dad taught Sonny J at Duke.

I asked if he was a good student. My Dad said, "He was a great quarterback."

[Reilly]

... He grew up in my hometown, Wilmington. Pretty remarkable that Sonny & Roman Gabriel both played at New Hanover High School and were starting QB's in the NFL at the same time during a time there were 15 NFL teams. Wilmington was still a small, sleepy undiscovered city back then.

In 1967 the Skins & Rams played to a 28-28 tie. I believe their high school coach flew to L.A. for the game. I was guess that was a perfect outcome for him.

Sonny threw for four TDs, and the Redskins' record after the game stood at 2-2-2: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196710220ram.htm

[jv001]

I remember Sonny with the Skins..Before my time when he was at Duke. He grew up in my hometown, Wilmington. Pretty remarkable that Sonny & Roman Gabriel both played at New Hanover High School and were starting QB's in the NFL at the same time during a time there were 15 NFL teams. Wilmington was still a small, sleepy undiscovered city back then.

In 1967 the Skins & Rams played to a 28-28 tie. I believe their high school coach flew to L.A. for the game. I was guess that was a perfect outcome for him.

Sonny at Duke
Norm Snead at Wake
Roman Gabriel at State
I don't remember a great QB at Cheat U in those early years, but they did have Chris Hanburger, LB and Charlie Choo Justice, RB who played for the Skins. GoDuke!

[arnie]

Sonny at Duke
Norm Snead at Wake
Roman Gabriel at State
I don't remember a great QB at Cheat U in those early years, but they did have Chris Hanburger, LB and Charlie Choo Justice, RB who played for the Skins. GoDuke!

If I recall correctly, the Cheats didn’t even have a regular QB starter in the NFL until recent years. Certainly no star QBs ever.

[jimsumner]

Sonny at Duke
Norm Snead at Wake
Roman Gabriel at State
I don't remember a great QB at Cheat U in those early years, but they did have Chris Hanburger, LB and Charlie Choo Justice, RB who played for the Skins. GoDuke!

As a Redskins fan I didn't have any trouble rooting for Chris Hanburger.

Ken Willard was also a pretty good UNC-turned-NFL player in that decade.

Carolina had a series of good college QBs in the '60s, Junior Edge and Danny Talbott among them. But none had impactful NFL careers.

After Jurgensen, Duke had Don Altman, Walt Rappold, Gil Garner, Scotty Glacken, Al Woodall and Leo Hart among others. A pretty good run of college QBs. But no NFL stars in that group.

And, of course, Jurgensen and Snead were once traded for each other, a trade that worked out well for Washington.

[jv001]

As a Redskins fan I didn't have any trouble rooting for Chris Hanburger.

Ken Willard was also a pretty good UNC-turned-NFL player in that decade.

Carolina had a series of good college QBs in the '60s, Junior Edge and Danny Talbott among them. But none had impactful NFL careers.

After Jurgensen, Duke had Don Altman, Walt Rappold, Gil Garner, Scotty Glacken, Al Woodall and Leo Hart among others. A pretty good run of college QBs. But no NFL stars in that group.

And, of course, Jurgensen and Snead were once traded for each other, a trade that worked out well for Washington.

Thanks for the road down memory lane, Jim. I vaguely remember Willard, Edge and Talbott. Was Talbott from Rocky Mount or am I thinking about another player? I remember watching Altman, Rappold, Garner, Glacken, Woodall and Leo Hart. Was it Altman and Rappold that alternated at QB during games? I think Hart was involved in the famous "shoe string" play against the cheats. And in my estimation the Skins won the Jurgensen-Snead trade.

[budwom]

Thanks for the road down memory lane, Jim. I vaguely remember Willard, Edge and Talbott. Was Talbott from Rocky Mount or am I thinking about another player? I remember watching Altman, Rappold, Garner, Glacken, Woodall and Leo Hart. Was it Altman and Rappold that alternated at QB during games? I think Hart was involved in the famous "shoe string" play against the cheats. And in my estimation the Skins won the Jurgensen-Snead trade.

Hart was involved to the extent that he did nothing but pretend to tie his shoe while Wes Chesson skulked down the sideline with the ball. I believe I have mentioned before (vis a vis the secrecy, large Cones of Silence, that surround football programs today) that the week before that game, a housemate of mine was running laps around the practice field and watched them run the play repeatedly, so we knew it was coming (though it wasn't clear to us how it would precisely unfold).
A most bizarre play indeed. And fruitful.

[jv001]

Hart was involved to the extent that he did nothing but pretend to tie his shoe while Wes Chesson skulked down the sideline with the ball. I believe I have mentioned before (vis a vis the secrecy, large Cones of Silence, that surround football programs today) that the week before that game, a housemate of mine was running laps around the practice field and watched them run the play repeatedly, so we knew it was coming (though it wasn't clear to us how it would precisely unfold).
A most bizarre play indeed. And fruitful.

Very fruitful. GoDuke!

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Hart was involved to the extent that he did nothing but pretend to tie his shoe while Wes Chesson skulked down the sideline with the ball. .

True dat....of course, that was significant involvement...as he was the QB and oh yeah, he was Leo Hart, so he commanded attention from the D.

[jimsumner]

Thanks for the road down memory lane, Jim. I vaguely remember Willard, Edge and Talbott. Was Talbott from Rocky Mount or am I thinking about another player? I remember watching Altman, Rappold, Garner, Glacken, Woodall and Leo Hart. Was it Altman and Rappold that alternated at QB during games? I think Hart was involved in the famous "shoe string" play against the cheats. And in my estimation the Skins won the Jurgensen-Snead trade.

Talbott was from Rocky Mount. I have three male cousins about my age who grew up in Rocky Mount and all I heard growing up was Danny Talbott, the classic football-baseball-basketball-prep superstar, BMOC.

Junior Edge was from the Fayetteville area--Massey Hill, IIRC-and the Fayetteville Observer was my local paper growing up. So, he also was a big part of my earliest years watching sports.

Altman had one of the more interesting academic years in Duke history. He quarterbacked Duke to the 1960 ACC title and subsequent Cotton Bowl win over Lance Alworth and Arkansas. A few months later he was the star pitcher on Duke's College World Series team. His nickname was "Ace" and you can see why.

Rappold backed up Altman in 1960 and split QB duties with Garner in 1961 and 1962.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Talbott was from Rocky Mount. I have three male cousins about my age who grew up in Rocky Mount and all I heard growing up was Danny Talbott, the classic football-baseball-basketball-prep superstar, BMOC.

Junior Edge was from the Fayetteville area--Massey Hill, IIRC-and the Fayetteville Observer was my local paper growing up. So, he also was a big part of my earliest years watching sports.

Altman had one of the more interesting academic years in Duke history. He quarterbacked Duke to the 1960 ACC title and subsequent Cotton Bowl win over Lance Alworth and Arkansas. A few months later he was the star pitcher on Duke's College World Series team. His nickname was "Ace" and you can see why.

Rappold backed up Altman in 1960 and split QB duties with Garner in 1961 and 1962.

And... Don Altman is NOT in the Duke HOF if I remember correctly? His stepson is my neighbor. How is it possible that Ace isn't recognized properly for his amazing legacy - until recently an outlier for winning a bowl game and making a World Series.

[madscavenger]

If I recall correctly, the Cheats didn’t even have a regular QB starter in the NFL until recent years...………..


until recent years


Ahh, the magic of additional benefits.

[sagegrouse]

And... Don Altman is NOT in the Duke HOF if I remember correctly? His stepson is my neighbor. How is it possible that Ace isn't recognized properly for his amazing legacy - until recently an outlier for winning a bowl game and making a World Series.

Don appears to have played three years in the minors to somewhat indifferent success. Don't know what you're referring to.

Ahhh! Sun dawns over Marblhehead -- the College World Series!

Altman was first team and then 2nd team All-ACC and, as of a few years ago, was by far the Duke all-time leader in ERA at 1.61. (And with aluminum bats, I don't think he has lost his lead.

[madscavenger]

Don appears to have played three years in the minors to somewhat indifferent success. Don't know what you're referring to.

Ahhh! Sun dawns over Marblhehead -- the College World Series!

Altman was first team and then 2nd team All-ACC and, as of a few years ago, was by far the Duke all-time leader in ERA at 1.61. (And with aluminum bats, I don't think he has lost his lead.

----------------------------

Don't know what you're referring to.

i'm not sure if this was directed at my post. FWIW, that was directed at Post #27. Thought it was obvious, and gratuitous yes, but well deserved.

[wsb3]

Sonny threw for four TDs, and the Redskins' record after the game stood at 2-2-2: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196710220ram.htm

Wow.. Very good...

[Reilly]

Today Sonny turns 85. Happy birthday.

Christian Adolph Jurgensen, III: https://www.profootballhof.com/players/sonny-jurgensen/

Duke with famous hoops and football players named Christian.

Nice HOF commercial: https://www.profootballhof.com/videos/hof-commercial-sonny-jurgensen/

[Reilly]

Great Sonny footage here: https://sports.yahoo.com/never-got-see-sonny-jurgensen-175939434.html

[Reilly]

Sonny's back in the radio booth for today's Redskins game.

[jimsumner]

Sonny's back in the radio booth for today's Redskins game.

Too bad he can't play QB today.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Too bad he can't play QB today.

...or yesterday...:cool:

[johnb]

The 3 Duke members of the NFL HOF happened to have all been great multi-sport athletes.

As was pointed out, the prep Jurgenson was a nationally ranked tennis player, an all state bball player, starting catcher, and presumably also played some football. Sonny Parker played MLB, pro football, and Duke basketball.

And in 1939, George McAfee batted .353 for the Duke baseball team, won the Southern Conference sprint championship (100 yard dash, 9.7 seconds), and was a consensus football All American while leading the Blue Devils in rushing, receiving, scoring, kickoff returns, punt returns, interceptions, and punting. He then played on 2 Bears NFL championship teams. Right after his All Pro 2nd season in 1941, McAfee joined the Navy (Ace Parker also served for 2 years during WWII). McAfee returned to the Bears midway through the 1945 season, eventually setting the NFL record for career punt return average (broken in 2007 by Devin Hester).

[53n206]

Too bad he can't play QB today.

For whom?