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  1. #1

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

    Sonny's announcement: https://www.redskins.com/news/after-...ional-football

    Pro FB HOF by school: https://www.profootballhof.com/heroe...game/colleges/

    "aura of warmth and intelligence" (what an accolade to attain): https://www.washingtontimes.com/news...ignity-connec/
    Last edited by Reilly; 08-12-2019 at 06:54 PM.

  2. #2
    I saw him at Duke, in Philly and then in Washington. He was a great QB. Seems he is a better man.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Indoor66 View Post
    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.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    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.
    "This is the best of all possible worlds."
    Dr. Pangloss - Candide

  5. #5
    Sonny was so popular in the DC Metro area he was the first analyst for the Bullets games when they first moved from Baltimore.

  6. #6
    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.
    Last edited by 53n206; 08-12-2019 at 10:13 PM.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    DC and DE Beach
    Quote Originally Posted by Indoor66 View Post
    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)

  8. #8
    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.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vermont
    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.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by HereBeforeCoachK View Post
    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"?

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Winston Salem, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by 53n206 View Post
    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!

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Farmingdale, New Jersey
    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.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Winston Salem, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by szstark View Post
    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!

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    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.

  15. #15
    They had a photo of Sonny on the wall at Bats.






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



    The University of North Carolina
    Where CHEATING is a Way of Life

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by madscavenger View Post
    They had a photo of Sonny on the wall at Bats.






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



    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.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by jimsumner View Post
    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.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vermont
    These days it's not easy to find a place where you order spaghetti and get serenaded by the owner with a guitar.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Steamboat Springs, CO
    Quote Originally Posted by 53n206 View Post
    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.
    Sage Grouse

    ---------------------------------------
    'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Carolina Beach
    Quote Originally Posted by jimsumner View Post
    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.

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