Sonny Jurgensen, an NFL Hall of Famer, Dies

Notorious for breaking curfew, Jurgensen was also known for ignoring coaches and joking about his less-than-ideal physique. He more than compensated with his pinpoint passing from the pocket, helping make the then-Redskins exciting and competitive again, leading the team to more victories in his first three seasons than the club had won in its previous six.​

“All I ask of my blockers is 4 seconds,” he once said. “I try to stay on my feet and not be forced out of the pocket. I beat people by throwing, not running.”​

That’s exactly what he did on Nov. 28, 1965, when he dismissed the crowd’s boos and rallied Washington from a 21-0 deficit to a 34-31 win over the Dallas Cowboys by throwing for 411 yards and three touchdowns. The game was the highlight of Coach Bill McPeak’s five losing seasons with the club.​

Jurgensen finished his pro football career with 32,224 passing yards, 255 touchdowns and 189 interceptions.

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“I’m glad the crowd let me stay in,” Jurgensen said sarcastically after the game. “It was decent of them, and maybe Bill McPeak appreciates it, too.”​

Jurgensen played through numerous injuries and even won over the notoriously tough Vince Lombardi, who coached Washington to its first winning season in more than a decade in 1969. Lombardi said of Jurgensen, “He is the best I have seen.”​

But Lombardi died the following year, and Jurgensen never really hit it off with defense-minded successor George Allen. Washington acquired Billy Kilmer, generating the great “Sonny vs. Billy” debates that lasted until Jurgensen retired after the 1974 season.​

“Few players could rival Sonny Jurgensen’s genuine love of the game that continued long after his playing days,” Hall of Fame President Jim Porter said. “Watching Sonny throw a football was like watching a master craftsman create a work of art.”​

Jurgensen finished his career with 2,433 completions for 32,224 yards and a 57.1 completion percentage. He threw 255 touchdown passes, 189 interceptions and had a career rating of 82.6. He made the Pro Bowl five times, led the NFL in passing yards five times, and will always be in the record books for an untoppable 99-yard touchdown pass to Gerry Allen in 1968.​

Washingtonians too young to remember Jurgensen as a player came to adore him for his astute observations as part of the radio broadcast trio of “Sonny, Sam and Frank.” Jurgensen, Hall of Fame linebacker Sam Huff and play-by-play man Frank Herzog would fuss and laugh while both rooting for and criticizing the burgundy and gold.​

Jurgensen also became an unofficial confidant-at-large around the organization. He took Gus Frerotte under his wing when the young quarterback was battling Heath Shuler for the starting job in the mid-1990s. He became a member of Daniel Snyder’s inner circle after Snyder bought the team in 1999, arriving in the owner’s helicopter and getting a special sideline seat to watch practices.​

Still, Jurgensen wouldn’t hesitate to question decisions and performances he didn’t like, especially when it came to quarterbacks. He often pined for the days when QBs were allowed to call their own plays.​

Born Christian Adolph Jurgensen III in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Aug. 23, 1934, Jurgensen was a two-way star at Duke and was drafted in the fourth round by the Eagles in 1957. He sat behind Norm Van Brocklin until 1961, when he took over the starting job and threw for 3,723 yards, 32 touchdowns and 24 interceptions — all league highs.​

Three years later, he found himself on the way to Washington. The date was April 1, 1964.​

“Someone came in and said, ‘You were traded to the Redskins,’ ” Jurgensen said in a 2007 interview. “I said ‘No, it’s April Fool’s Day, you’re kidding.’ He said, ‘No, I’m not kidding. I just heard it on the radio.’​ So I was shocked.”​