They rallied around him and he just rose to the occasion, making big plays in big games.. Plunkett threw for 2,935 yards, 20 touchdown passes, and 18 picks in that season. Whenever we went on a trip, we usually took a bus. Anyone can read what you share. Nothing got draped over the Heisman. He competed in basketball, baseball, track and wrestling - earning a California High School Individual Wrestling Championship. Tara VanDerveer took the Cardinal from doormat to dynamo and helped boost womens athletics. He didn't play well for the freshman team, and when his performance didn't improve the next spring, coach John Ralston suggested a switch to defensive end. Prominent among the photos and memorabilia is a famous trophy depicting a football player in a classic stiff-arm pose. A doctor discovered a thyroid tumor, which nearly ended his college career. He is the son of Native American and Hispanic parents. His parents were both blind. Jack and Aletha were determined to give Jim a normal life, and he attended public schools and played sports. His father was born legally blind but, with thick enough glasses, could get around, even serving as the cook of the family. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. It's the trudge that comes from aching knees, although they've been better since he had bone and cartilage replaced with titanium and Teflon a couple of years ago. Carmen was also of Native American ancestry. I know life goes on but its been devastating. Five mostly difficult seasons in New England followed, preceding a trade to the 49ers and, in 1978, Plunketts outright release. ''If they wanted to go somewhere, they went. Number of electors: 1264 - Announced: November 24, 1970. Plunkett spent most of the 19841986 seasons either injured or as a backup, and missed the entire 1987 season following rotator cuff surgery. He is an inspiration to all who know him. With all the obstacles he went through, Jim never quit. They met while attending the California School for the Blind in Berkeley, and were married in 1934. MAC 76. I asked to be traded, Plunkett says, and Mr. Davis said no.. Jim Plunkett is my hero because he inspires me to never give up. "We didn't want to live through that again.". In addition to this, he became the second of four players to win the Heisman Trophy and Super Bowl MVP, alongside Roger Staubach, Marcus Allen, and Desmond Howard. The opponent: undefeated and heavily favored Ohio State. Only his family means more, and even in that context, there is a special rapport. . I do feel somewhat slighted, Plunkett says. MY HERO Project seeks unique works of art by professional and student artists that celebrate the lives and courageous acts of heroes who work to promote change by positively affecting others and their communities. He was the first Latino to win the Heisman Trophy. While working as a news vendor, his father, William, was legally blind. What was Jim Plunkett childhood like? Plunkett was the first player of Hispanic heritage to be drafted with the first overall pick in the NFL draft. For his career, Plunkett completed 1,943-of-3,701 passes for 25,882 yards with 164 touchdowns and 198 interceptions. Davis denied his trade request, Plunkett says, because he wanted the veteran available in case of emergency. Plunkett completed 16 of 25 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown in the game. He chose to play for Stanford in part because he wanted to stay close to his parents, both of whom were blind. That year he was named Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XV, and was named the Comeback Player of the Year. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. He was named the NFLs Comeback Player of the Year in 1981. He was the starting quarterback for the Stanford Cardinal from 1968 to 1970. From the spoken words of influential leaders, to emotionally powerful lyrics in a song, heroic audio is all around us. Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. He became the starting quarterback for the Raiders midway through the 1980 season. [1][18] Similar debates occurred in relation to Ken Stabler, another Super Bowl-winning quarterback with the Raiders, who missed being elected into the Hall for 25 years before being elected posthumously in 2016. ", I got so many great letters. His parents were poor and blind, but they were very proud. Harbaugh, who has a reverence for football tradition, is emphatic about Plunkett's identity now. With a career total offense of 7,887 yards, including passing for 7,544, Plunkett set an NCAA record. Perhaps the most profound expression of the men's continuing devotion occurred during the anguish that overwhelmed them when the Plunketts' 25-year-old son Jimmy died two years ago. "Bob [Moore] and Jack Schultz came to our house every day," Gerry Plunkett recalls. New York, NY, 10006. [19], Plunkett was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1990, the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1992 in San Francisco, California, and finally the California Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 in recognition for both his college and pro football careers. Its a stark contrast to 1980, when Plunkett longed to leave Oakland in hopes of reinvigorating a fading career. He was a hard-knocks kid from San Jose, a Mexican-American with an Irish surname, who gravitated to Stanford in part because he wanted to stay close to his parents, both of whom were blind. Bill Parcells was the first Hispanic-American head coach of the NFL, and Tom Flores won two Super Bowl rings. Jim Plunkett was born in San Francisco, California on December 5th, 1947. It took a lot of courage to get there. At Stanford, Plunkett set a school records for passing yards (2,156) and touchdowns (14) as a sophomore, and then broke those records in subsequent seasons finishing his NCAA career with 7,809 passing yards and 53 touchdowns. Jim Plunketts nomination to the Pro Football Hall of Fame is fraught with controversy. And while he is a celebrity, he is hoping to complete a pass at the Raiders' treasury for a new contract that might double his $180,000 annual salary. For years he has opened the guesthouse at his Atherton home to Stanford athletes ex-quarterback Tavita Pritchard, '10, is the current resident. Plunkett's pro career started promisingly after the New England Patriots made him the No. What John Sande, '71, the team's center, remembers is a sound. He played for the last time in 1986, his injuries and pain settling the issue. He was named Rookie of the Year that first season, but little worked out for either him or the team from that point on, and he took a steady beating behind the Pats' weak offensive line. After that, she was totally blind. They delighted last summer in the wedding of their daughter, Meghan, but theyre still mourning the loss of their son, James Jr., who was 25 when he died in November 2008. Plunketts Stanford career nearly ended before it began. Some of them said my story gave them a new sense of purpose in life. He then capped his collegiate career by leading Stanford to a 27-17 upset of unbeaten Ohio State in the 1971 Rose Bowl, completing 20-of-30 passes for 265 yards and one touchdown. The USC game fell halfway into that 1970 season. He was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. However, the tumor turned out to be benign and Plunkett was given a clean bill of health. They also helped Carmen with cooking and other household chores. I remember my father always told me to come straight home after school. Sometimes the measure of a hero isnt that he did something amazing, but that he inspires many people. He was a member of the National Football Leagues Atlanta Falcons for 16 seasons. He responded by throwing for 2,156 yards and 14 touchdowns as a 1968 sophomore before adding 2,673 yards and 20 scores as a 1969 junior, helping him to finish eighth in that years Heisman vote. Was it that his parents were blind or they were deaf?, Jim threw a football 60 yards in his first ever competition. The year before, he was selected first overall in the draft, becoming the first Hispanic player to do so. Plunkett was selected by the New England Patriots as the number one overall draft choice in 1971. In 1968, he threw for 14 touchdowns and set a Pac-8 record with 2,156 yards passing. Since 1995, The MY HERO Project has been using media, art and technology to celebrate the best of humanity. "We're as close as any group of guys can be," says Plunkett. No rushing or total offense stats currently available for Plunkett. The Raiders became the first team from the Wild Card era to win a Super Bowl. By this time, Jim's two older sisters, Genevieve (16 years older than Jim) and Mary Ann (5 years older than Jim) had been born; Jim was born in 1947, after the family had moved to Santa Clara. . In the 1984 Super Bowl, Plunkett passed for 172 yards and one touchdown in the Raiders' 38-9 rout of Washington, to that point the biggest Super Bowl victory margin. He worked from an early age, cleaning up at a gas station while in elementary school, delivering newspapers, bagging groceries, and working in orchards. He sat out all of 1987 with a shoulder injury and his NFL career ended in the 1988 preseason when, at 40, the Raiders released him. Plunkett then joined the Oakland Raiders in 1978, serving in a reserve capacity over the next two years, throwing no passes in 1978 and just fifteen in 1979. During training camp in 1980, Plunkett asked to be traded because he expected to have virtually no playing time again. They were from poor or middle-class families, and they wondered how they would ever fit in at a university swarming with well-heeled classmates. "You look a lot worse than that," Plunkett responds. In exchange for Ken Stabler, Jim Pastorini was traded by the Oakland Raiders to the Houston Astros. ''The thing I'm sorry for,'' he said, ''is that my father worked so hard but he wasn't around for the best part -winning the Heisman Trophy, going to the Rose Bowl, being the No. Despite this, Hart has largely been overlooked, despite his role in the Raiders organization. Jack and Aletha were determined to give Jim a normal life, and he attended public schools and played sports. "In 1972 my confidence ran into a stone wall," he said. When the Heisman vote was announced, Plunkett had won by a wide margin. He threw for more touchdown passes than interception in all of his professional seasons except five, but he had more losing seasons than winning seasons. Stanford went 22-8-2 in his three years, and he said his best game was a 27-17 victory over Ohio . ''My father was legally blind from birth, but he could get around.He could see a little bit. His excellent arm strength and precision made him attractive to pro teams that relied much more heavily on the passing game than most college teams of the late 1960s. Its still hard for me to talk about it, Plunkett says during a phone interview, his voice catching. Click here to donate. California and was a high school star there. Knee and shoulder surgeries became almost commonplace, and after a season of limited play in 1975, he asked to be traded. ''She had a bad experience on a plane a few years ago coming back from visiting her family in New Mexico. Moore, a tight end who went on to an eight-year NFL career, talked himself into a one-on-one foot race with Plunkett the summer before their senior season, when players gave up trips home and time off to continue training together. All artworks in our commercial free, age-appropriate Gallery are contributed by professional and student artists as well as curated from art institutions around the world. Sign-up for our newsletter to inspire your inbox. "I'm 10 years older than you," says a sportswriter celebrating his 72nd birthday. Although Plunkett passed for 19 touchdowns and led the Pats to a 7-7 record in 1974, injuries mounted. The NFL's Comeback Player of the Year then He was a quarterback, although the coaches weren't so sure he should be. I like that. Jim Plunkett (Stanford University, 1970) was the runaway winner of the 1970 Heisman trophy as the nation's top college football player. Plunkett's Stanford career nearly ended before it began. Wins over Oregon State and Washington nailed down the Pac-8 title and a January 1 Rose Bowl berth. Read our IMPACT:blog to see how teachers, visitors and organizations around the world are using MY HERO to affect positive changes in the world. Plunkett's first game was a 206 victory over the Oakland Raiders, the Patriots' first regular-season contest at Schaefer Stadium. He achieved his greatest professional success during his final eight seasons with the Raiders franchise, whom he led to two Super Bowl titles.[1]. His parents were blind from the start. Completing 13-of-21 passes and three scoring strikes, two to Cliff Branch and an 80-yarder to Kenny King, he accounted for all of Oakland's touchdowns in the 27-10 victory. Jim Plunketts story is something out of a movie, and he has his rightful place in history, but he is not a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Enter the 2022 MY Hero Songwriting/Music Video Contest! Geez, you'd think that we could have seen pretty quickly that he could throw the ball.". Jim was born in San Jose, California, in 1948. Haz clic aqu para leer la historia sobre Jim Plunkett en espaol. Jim had many obstacles he had to overcome. He played for the 49ers for two seasons, before being released in 1977. "He has to be one of the great comeback stories of our time," said Raiders owner Al Davis. Throwing for 261 yards and three touchdowns, Plunkett was named the game's MVP; subsequently, Plunkett has the distinction of being the first minority to quarterback a team to a Super Bowl victory and the only Latino to be named Super Bowl MVP. Once in the press box, he growls "lousy" when asked how he's feeling. At Stanford, Plunkett set a school records for passing yards (2,156) and touchdowns (14) as a sophomore, and then broke those records in subsequent seasons finishing his NCAA career with 7,809 passing yards and 53 touchdowns.
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