Ken Stabler

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Ken Stabler
Date of birth	December 25, 1945 (age 61)
Place of birth	Foley, Alabama
Position(s)	Quarterback
College	Alabama
Career Highlights
Pro Bowls	4
Awards	1976 Bert Bell Award
Honors	NFL 1970s All-Decade Team
Stats
Statistics	Pro Football Reference DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1970-1979 1980-1981 1982-1984	Oakland Raiders Houston Oilers New Orleans Saints

Kenny "The Snake" Stabler (born December 25, 1945) is a former National Football League quarterback who played quarterback at the University of Alabama and for the Oakland Raiders (1970-1979); and for the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints (1980-1984). He is left-handed, and at the time of his pro career left-handed quarterbacks were looked on as being unsuitable for professional football, with a variety of semi-credible excuses being given for this view. One such was that the spin on passes would be the reverse of "normal", resulting in problems for receivers.

1 Nickname, high school and college career
2 NFL career
3 Trivia
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Nickname, high school and college career

Born on December 25, 1945 in Foley, Alabama, USA, Stabler became a highly touted football player in high school, earning the nickname "The Snake" from his coach after a long, winding touchdown run.

He was recruited by Alabama's Paul "Bear" Bryant and joined the team in 1964. At the time, freshman were ineligible, and were not allowed to play in accordance with NCAA regulations, so Stabler did not participate in the 1964 season. As Stabler sat out the 1964 season, he watched his Crimson Tide with its second national championship under Bryant. In 1965, with Joe Namath having graduated and Stabler becoming eligible to participate, he split time with Steve Sloan at quarterback, and combined they led Alabama to a national championship with a thrilling 39-28 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Orange Bowl. In 1966, as a junior, Stabler took over the starting job full-time, and led Alabama to a perfect 11-0 season, capped by a blowout of Nebraska, this time in the Sugar Bowl. The Tide, coming off of back-to-back national championships, and having went undefeated in 1966, was nevertheless snubbed at the polls, finishing third in the nation behind Notre Dame and Michigan State. In 1967, expectations were high for the team as Stabler was finally a senior, but it turned into a lackluster year. The offense, with Stabler at the helm, struggled at times, and the defense's performance slipped too. Alabama finished 8-2-1, it's worst season since Stabler was a freshman in high school, 1960. The 1967 season, however, is particularly memorable for Stabler, with his game-winning touchdown run against rival Auburn. Trailing 3-0 in a game that was mired by a horrendous rain, Stabler scampered around right end for a 47-yard touchdown run, giving the Tide a 7-3 victory over hated rival Auburn. This run has been dubbed, "The Run in the Mud" in Alabama football lore, and has been captured twice in the paintings of famed sports artist Daniel Moore.

All told, Stabler finished his career with the Crimson Tide in 1967, having compiled a 28-3-2 record as a starter.

[edit] NFL career

He was drafted in the second round of the NFL draft in 1968. Stabler first made his mark in the NFL in a 1972 playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. After entering the game in relief of Daryle Lamonica, he scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a 31-yard scramble. The Steelers, however, came back to win on a controversial, deflected pass from Terry Bradshaw to Franco Harris, known in football lore as The Immaculate Reception.

After suffering severe knee injuries, Stabler became less a scrambling quarterback and more a classic, drop-back passer, known for deadly-accurate passes in the 10-to-20 yard range and an uncanny ability to lead late, come-from-behind drives. During the peak of his career he had an impressive receiving corps consisting of sprinter Cliff Branch, sure-handed possession receiver Fred Biletnikoff, and Hall-of-Fame tight end Dave Casper. As a starter in Oakland, Stabler was named AFC player of the year in 1974 and 1976, and was the NFL's passing champion in 1976. In 1977 he guided the Raiders to their first Super Bowl victory, after a narrow playoff victory over the New England Patriots in which he scored the winning touchdown on a surprise quarterback keeper. In the 1977 AFC Playoffs against the Baltimore Colts he threw a crucial 4th quarter pass to Dave Casper that set up a game tying field goal that sent into overtime in which the Raiders eventually won; the 4th quarter pass was dubbed the Ghost to the Post.

In 1980 he was traded to the Houston Oilers for Dan Pastorini, whom Raiders' owner Al Davis regarded as a more effective deep passer. The Oilers in turn saw Stabler as the missing ingredient that could finally get them past the Steelers and into the Super Bowl. Pastorini lost the starting job in Oakland to Jim Plunkett after an injury, and Plunkett then led the Raiders over Stabler and the Oilers in the playoffs. Stabler played one more season with Houston and then finished his NFL career with a three-year stint with the New Orleans Saints.

He currently provides color commentary alongside Eli Gold for broadcasts of Alabama football.

On September 1, 2006, The U.S. federal government sued Stabler, seeking more than $500,000 US in overdue taxes and proposing foreclosure on property he owns in Mobile and Baldwin counties.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Trivia

Stabler is an unlockable character in the first NFL Street.
Ken Stabler was born on Christmas Day.
Ken Stabler was featured on an SNL skit as the spokesman for a fictional product called the Lung Brush.
Ken Stabler often forgot the plays at the line of scrimmage while leading by a large margin.