Ken Stabler Kenneth Michael " Ken " Stabler ( born December 25 , 1945 in Foley , Alabama ) , ( a . k . a . " The Snake " ) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Oakland Raiders ( 1970 – 79 ) , Houston Oilers ( 1980 – 81 ) , and New Orleans Saints ( 1982 – 84 ) . He played college football for the University of Alabama . Biography . High school career . Stabler became a highly touted football player at Foley High School . He led Foley to a won - loss record of 29 – 1 over his high school career — the only loss coming against rival Fairhope High School . He was an all - around athlete in high school , averaging 29 points a game in basketball and excelling enough as a left - handed pitcher in baseball to receive minor - league contract offers from the Houston Astros and New York Yankees . During his high school career , he earned his nickname " the Snake " from his coach following a long , winding touchdown run . College career . Stabler was recruited by legendary head coach Bear Bryant at Alabama , joining the team in 1964 . Due to National Collegiate Athletic Association regulations at the time , freshmen were ineligible to play ; therefore , Stabler would sit out during the 1964 season . In that season , the Crimson Tide won the National Championship with quarterback Joe Namath . In the 1965 season , Stabler was used sparingly as a back - up to Steve Sloan at quarterback , following Namath ' s departure to the AFL . That year again , the Crimson Tide won their second consecutive National Championship , finishing the season with a record of 9 - 1 - 1 . The team defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Orange Bowl , 39 – 28 . As a junior in 1966 , he took over the quarterback position full - time . He led the team to an undefeated , 11 – 0 season which ended in a 34 – 7 rout of Nebraska in the Sugar Bowl . Despite the unblemished record , the Tide was snubbed by the polls , finishing in third behind Notre Dame and Michigan State . Expectations were high in Stabler ' s senior season , though those expectations would not be completely fulfilled . The offense often struggled , and the defense ' s performance slipped . During the season , Bryant kicked Stabler off the team for cutting class and partying , though he was given a second chance . The Tide finished with an 8 – 2 – 1 record , including a loss to rival Tennessee . Though the season was lackluster , Stabler would provide a memorable moment in the Iron Bowl . Trailing 3 – 0 in a game drenched by rain , Stabler scampered through the mud for a 53 – yard , game - winning touchdown which gave the Tide a 7 – 3 victory over rival Auburn at Legion Field . The play is commonly referred to as the " Run in the Mud " in Alabama football lore . Stabler finished his career at Alabama with a 28 – 3 – 2 record as a starter . NFL career . Stabler was drafted in the second round of the 1968 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders . He didn ' t get a chance to play until 1970 , and during 1968 - 69 spent time playing with Spokane in the Continental Football League . Stabler first attracted attention 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 30 - 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 accurate passes and an uncanny ability to lead late , come - from - behind drives . During the peak of his career , he had a receiving corps consisting of sprinter and multiple Hall of Fame finalist Cliff Branch , Hall of Fame receiver Fred Biletnikoff , and Hall of Fame tight end Dave Casper . The Raiders ' philosophy was to pound teams with their running game , then stretch them with their long passing game . Although Stabler lacked remarkable arm strength , he was a master of the long pass to Branch , and accurate on intermediate routes to Biletnikoff and 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 January 1977 he guided the Raiders to their first Super Bowl victory , a 32 - 14 win over the Minnesota Vikings . In the 1977 AFC playoffs against the Baltimore Colts , Stabler completed a legendary fourth - quarter pass to Casper to set up a game - tying field goal by Errol Mann . This play , dubbed the " Ghost to the Post , " sent the game to overtime ; the Raiders won 37 - 31 after Stabler threw a 10 - yard touchdown pass to Casper . After subpar 1978 and 1979 seasons in which the Raiders failed to make the playoffs - primarily due to the retirement and departures of key contributors during the Super Bowl run in 1976 ( most notably head coach John Madden , George Atkinson , Phil Villapiano , and Biletnikoff ) - Stabler was traded to the Oilers for Dan Pastorini prior to the 1980 season , after a lengthy contract holdout . Stabler left the Raiders as their all - time leader in completions ( 1 , 486 ) , passing yards ( 19 , 078 ) , and touchdown passes ( 150 ) . The Oilers , in turn , saw Stabler as the missing ingredient that could finally get them past the rival Steelers and into the Super Bowl . However Houston lacked the exceptional talent on offense that Stabler had thrived with in Oakland , as Earl Campbell and Casper - who was also acquired in a trade from the Raiders - were the few potent weapons they had . Meanwhile , 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 . Bum Phillips was fired shortly after the season . Without the popular head coach that rejuvenated an otherwise woeful Houston franchise , Stabler had a mediocre season in 1981 but re - joined Bum Phillips by signing with the Saints in 1982 . By this time , however , the 37 - year - old Stabler was no longer in his prime and the Saints were also a dismal franchise . After 3 unsuccessful seasons that were plagued by injuries and a quarterback controversy with veteran Richard Todd , Stabler retired in the middle of the 1984 season . Stabler was known for studying his playbook by the light of a nightclub jukebox and for his affinity for female fans . As Hall of Fame guard Gene Upshaw said , " When we were behind in the fourth quarter , with our backs to our end zone , no matter how he had played up to that point , we could look in his eyes and you knew , " you knew " , he was going to win it for us . That was an amazing feeling . " Stabler was the fastest to win 100 games as a starting quarterback , having done so in 150 games , which bettered Johnny Unitas ' previous mark of 153 games . Since then , only Joe Montana and Tom Brady have reached 100 wins more quickly . Stabler is also the only quarterback from the NFL ' s All - 1970 ' s team not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame . In a recent NFL feature listing the top 10 players not in the Hall of Fame , Stabler was listed at number six , partly due to his off - field scandals , which in the 1970s were less prominent , or it could be that he never emulated the success he achieved in Oakland . In the early part of 1974 , Stabler and several NFL stars agreed to join the newly created World Football League . Stabler signed a contract to play for the Birmingham Americans . " I ' m as happy as can be . Getting with a super organization and the financial benefits were key factors , but the biggest thing to me is getting back home . Getting to play before the people in the South is where it ' s at for me . In two years I ' ll be in Birmingham if I have to hitchhike , " he said . " If I can do for the WFL what Joe Namath did for the AFL , I will feel that I have really accomplished something . I was born in the South and raised in the South and played football in the South . Oakland could have offered me as much money as Birmingham but they couldn ' t have let me play in the South . " The WFL would end up folding mid - way through the 1975 season , and Stabler remained in the NFL without ever playing in the WFL . For his successes in the NFL , Stabler was named the twenty - seventh greatest quarterback of the post - merger era by Football Nation . Broadcasting career . Following his retirement as a player , Stabler worked as a color commentator , first on CBS NFL telecasts , and then on radio with Eli Gold for Alabama football games . Stabler left before Alabama ' s 2008 season and was replaced by Tom Roberts . Charitable work . Stabler serves as chairman of the XOXO Stabler Foundation , a 501 ( c ) 3 nonprofit with a mission " to raise funds , build awareness and hope for a variety of charitable causes . " Stabler ' s celebrity golf tournaments in Point Clear , Alabama have raised nearly $ 600 , 000 for charitable partner The Ronald McDonald House of Mobile , which serves families of seriously ill and injured children receiving medical treatment at local hospitals . Personal . Stabler has been married three times . He married Isabel Clarke in 1968 and divorced in 1971 , then Debbie Fitzsimmons from 1971 – 78 . In 1984 he married actress Rose Molly Burch . The two have currently filed for divorce . Stabler has three daughters , Marissa , Alexa and Kendra .