Sonny Jurgensen

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Sonny Jurgensen
Sonny Jurgensen.jpg
Sonny Jurgensen
Position (s):
Quarterback
Jersey number (s):
9
born on August 23, 1934 in Wilmington , North Carolina
Career information
Active : 1957 - 1974
NFL Draft : 1957 / Round: 4 / Pick: 43
College : Duke University
Teams
Career statistics
Games     218
as a starter     149
Touchdowns (total)     270
Stats at NFL.com
Stats at pro-football-reference.com
Career highlights and awards
Pro Football Hall of Fame

Christian Adolph "Sonny" Jurgensen III (* 23. August 1934 in Wilmington , North Carolina ) is a former American American football player . He played as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins .

youth

Sonny Jurgensen attended school in his hometown and was active as a football, baseball and basketball player during his childhood . As a student, he became city ​​champion in tennis . From 1948 to 1953 he attended high school , where he also played football, basketball and baseball. As a football player, he played in various positions and was elected to the North Carolina student selection, which was defeated in a selection game of the South Carolina team with 23:19. Because of his sporting achievements, the sports scouts of various colleges became aware of him. Jurgensen then joined Duke University .

Player career

College career

Sonny Jurgensen studied from 1953 to 1956 at Duke University. In the football team of his college he was not initially used as a quarterback, rather he was given playing time as a defensive back and punter . After the 1954 season he played with the Duke Blue Devils in the Orange Bowl against the University of Nebraska . In the 34: 7 victory of his team, he was used as a substitute quarterback during the game. This year and the following season, in which he was used as starting quarterback , his team won the Atlantic Coast Conference .

Professional career

Sonny Jurgensen was built in 1957 in the fourth round in 43 out of the Philadelphia Eagles drafted . In the following years he was only used as a substitute. Behind quarterback Norm Van Brocklin , he won the NFL championship in 1960 . The Eagles had won ten of twelve games in the main round under coach Buck Shaw , but lost in the NFL final against the Green Bay Packers 17:13. Van Brocklin ended his career after the game and Jurgensen took over after that. In 1961 he was able to set up several season bests in the NFL. He got the most passes caught and he was able to achieve the highest gain of space of all quarterbacks with 3,723 yards . His 32 touchdowns were also top of the league. Despite his personal achievements, Jurgensen could not prevent the Eagles from ending the game rounds as one of the poor teams in 1962 and 1963. In exchange for two players, the team from Philadelphia gave him to the Washington Redskins in 1964. In the next few years, the Redskins team was coached by Otto Graham , a former top quarterback for the Cleveland Browns and Vince Lombardi , among others . The team's performance remained mediocre. The performance of Jurgensen did nothing to change that, as he set up annual bests several times. It was not until 1971 that the Redskins saw a significant increase after the engagement of head coach George Allen . Jurgensen won nine of 14 games with his team in the main round and thus reached the play-offs . In the divisional play-off game against the San Francisco 49ers he was not used due to an injury, his team lost the game 20:24.

Injuries were also responsible for the fact that Jurgensen temporarily lost his position as starting quarterback to Billy Kilmer . In 1972 he was only a starter in four of 14 games. His team was able to move into the NFC Championship Game against the Tom Landry trained Dallas Cowboys after a victory over the Green Bay Packers . With a 26: 3 victory, the Redskins could win the game and qualify for the Super Bowl . Opponents in Super Bowl VII were the Miami Dolphins , supervised by Don Shula , who won with 14: 7. Jurgensen did not find any time in either game.

The Redskins remained a top team in the NFL and Jurgensen was able to move into the play-offs with his team in the next two game years. However, Jurgensen was no longer able to make it into a final. After the 1974 season, he ended his career.

After the career

Christian Jurgensen worked from 1974 to 2008 as a sports presenter for various American radio and television companies.

Honors

Sonny Jurgensen played five times in the Pro Bowl , the final game of the best players of the season. He was voted All-Pro five times . He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983. Jurgensen is a member of the NFL 1960s All-Decade Team , the Duke University Sports Hall of Fame , the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, and the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame. He was also honored separately by the two teams he played for. The Philadelphia Eagles have inducted him into their Eagles Hall of Fame and the Washington Redskins honored him as one of the top 70 players on the team .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Annual statistics of the Philadelphia Eagles 1960
  2. ^ Statistics NFL final 1960
  3. Annual statistics of the Washington Redskins 1971
  4. Statistics Divisional Play-Off Game Washington Redskins vs. San Francisco 49ers 1971
  5. Annual statistics of the Washington Redskins 1972
  6. Statistics NFC final 1972
  7. Statistics Super Bowl VII