Good read on Joe Namath

FitToBeTide

All-American
Aug 19, 2001
4,213
828
237
St. Florian
Joe Willie. One of a kind. They broke the mold and tore down the factory after him.

On of my favorite Bama guys of all time. Thanks, Joe, for not forgetting where you came from (and who still loves you)!
 

TrampLineman

Hall of Fame
Jul 21, 2010
7,287
6
57
Alabama
I wished I could have seen him in person as I'm way too young to have seen him. I know his old film is amazing watching him jump and throw. He jumped like a deer and had an absolute cannon of an arm!
 

FitToBeTide

All-American
Aug 19, 2001
4,213
828
237
St. Florian
Coach Bryant said on more than one occasion that he was the best athlete he'd coached. That's saying a lot if you think about it.

I'm old enough to have seen him play in person, which qualifies me as a member of the OFC (Old Farts Club) here on TF. :D
 

dvil doc

1st Team
Dec 3, 2014
365
59
47
Northern Virginia
Coach Bryant said on more than one occasion that he was the best athlete he'd coached. That's saying a lot if you think about it.

I'm old enough to have seen him play in person, which qualifies me as a member of the OFC (Old Farts Club) here on TF. :D
Me too. Old that is. I never saw him play in person but saw him on set on Third Saturday last season. I got a quick pic of my son with Joe in the background getting miked up.
 

78Alum

All-American
Aug 1, 2007
2,676
725
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Alabaster, AL
The only pro game I ever saw was as a young kid. It was a preseason game the Jets played against the Boston Patriots in Ladd Stadium in Mobile in the 60's It was quite an experience to see Joe Willie, Don Maynard, Emerson Boozer, and all the other guys. Joe Namath always was one of a kind. I always wondered what he would have been without all the knee problems or if had had the benefit of Dr. Andrews and what can be done today.
 

shaggy

BamaNation Citizen
Nov 21, 2001
64
7
127
Hoover
I saw Joe Willie at Ladd Stadium in the 60's. Probably the same game but I don't remember anything else about it.
 

TIDE-HSV

Senior Administrator
Staff member
Oct 13, 1999
84,527
39,615
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Huntsville, AL,USA
Thing was, he didn't look like that kind of athlete in person. He was skinny and extremely hunched over. He and I used to play golf on the old nine hole UA course. It was the only place he could get far enough away from Coach to smoke. Along with the visions of his feats on the field, I'll always carry an image of him hunched over a putt with a cigarette hanging out of the side of his mouth... :D
 

Ole Man Dan

Hall of Fame
Apr 21, 2008
8,982
3,421
187
Gadsden, Al.
So glad I got to see (when I was 10) 1968 Boston Patriots vs. New York Jets regular season game played on September 22, 1968, at Legion Field.
I'm nearly Joe's age. I got to watch him at Alabama. Met him at his bar in Tuscaloosa, and Watched Joe as a Jet also.

My Mom at 92 is still one of Joe's fans. She met him several times over the years, and loves him to death. My Mom has an old picture of Joe in his fur coat that hung on her fridge for 50 years.

Joe has been one of the faces of Alabama Football, since his days at the Capstone.
 

mlh

All-American
Apr 28, 2004
3,072
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So glad I got to see (when I was 10) 1968 Boston Patriots vs. New York Jets regular season game played on September 22, 1968, at Legion Field.
I was at that game, as well. Great fun. It was my 10th birthday gift.
 

Chukker Veteran

Hall of Fame
Feb 6, 2001
10,594
5,067
287
It's the off season so I'm going to retell an old story...please bear with me or skip it if you've seen it before...

I rented a house from some sisters for several years while living in Tuscaloosa. They were great people, and big football fans. There was a vacant lot included in the property, on home gameday I could more than pay my rent parking cars. I would save the easiest spot for the sisters, and they would always bring me a chocolate cake on gameday. We got along famously, as the saying goes.

Many years later, before Namath got married, he brought his bride-to-be to Tuscaloosa to meet the sisters who had befriended him while he was a student. They evidently had a close relationship, the article described how he had stayed in touch with them through the years, sending flowers every year and such. I knew how nice they had been to the young student Namath because years later I got the same treatment from them.

And the most remarkable thing was that they never once dropped his name or their friendship, even though they had been dealing with me for three years. I was absolutely amazed. Their family had a hotel in Tuscaloosa, some old timers might remember them.

I also remember them being in the news years after knowing them when they drove to a game in Texas at a very advanced age.
 

shaggy

BamaNation Citizen
Nov 21, 2001
64
7
127
Hoover
Met Joe maybe 10 years or so ago when he had a book signing at Brookwood Village in Homewood. My wife asked Joe how his daughter was doing at UA (she was a student at the time) and mentioned our daughter was also there. He stopped the line for a good 3 minutes to talk about "our daughter". There aren't many celebs who would give two cents about your life. Joe is one in a million.
 

rolltide7854

All-American
Aug 20, 2007
2,032
1,047
187
Birmingham, Ala
My first memory of Alabama football was him SCORING against Texas. yep, still not over it.

Coach Bryant said on more than one occasion that he was the best athlete he'd coached. That's saying a lot if you think about it.

I'm old enough to have seen him play in person, which qualifies me as a member of the OFC (Old Farts Club) here on TF. :D
 

Tenntiderman

All-American
Dec 1, 2017
2,257
1,352
187
Spring Hill, Tn
My first memory of Alabama football was him SCORING against Texas. yep, still not over it.
i was a kid , but my family was in the den watching that game. My Dad jumped up and said Joe scored on 3rd down. Later in years and while listening to WDJC radio in B'ham one day in 1990...Dr Gaylon McCullolah (I am certain I have misspelled his name. Sorry) was a guest to be interviewed, and Gaylon was a Tide OL player in 1964 against Texas. He made the comment that on 3rd down ...Joe scored because Joe was was laying on top of him and HIS hips were on top of the goalline. Coach Bryant also knew it, but he had too much class to whine about it like an Awbun coach might do for the next 10 or 12 years. I think I heard where Gaylon has passed on. Not entirely certain but I saw that somewhere.
 

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