Jim Plunkett James William " Jim " Plunkett ( born December 5 , 1947 ) is a former American football quarterback who played college football for Stanford University , where he won the Heisman Trophy , and professionally for three National Football League teams : the New England Patriots , San Francisco 49ers and Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders . He led the Raiders to two Super Bowl victories ( XV and XVIII ) . He is the only eligible quarterback to start ( and win ) two Super Bowls without being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton , Ohio . Biography . Family . Plunkett was born to Mexican American parents with an Irish - German great - grandfather on his paternal side . Plunkett ' s father was a news vendor afflicted with progressive blindness , who had to support his blind wife along with their three children . Plunkett ' s parents were both born in New Mexico ; his mother , whose maiden name was Carmen Blea , was born in Santa Fe and his father , William Guitierrez Plunkett , in Albuquerque . Carmen is also part Native American . William died of a heart attack in 1969 . The Plunketts moved to California during World War 2 . William Plunkett first worked in the Richmond shipyards . By this time , Jim ' s two older sisters , Genevieve ( 16 years older than Jim ) and Mary Ann ( 5 years older than Jim ) had been born ; Jim was born in 1947 , after the family had moved to Santa Clara . They later moved to San Jose where William ran a newsstand , and where they were able to find low - cost housing . The family lived in relative poverty , and received state financial aid . Jim and his sisters learned to work hard and do things for themselves as they grew up . They also helped Carmen with cooking and other household chores . Early life . The family ' s financial situation was a big problem for Jim as he was growing up . He didn ' t like the area he lived in , often didn ' t have money for dates , and avoided bringing friends to his house . He worked from an early age , cleaning up at a gas station while in elementary school , delivering newspapers , bagging groceries , and working in orchards . In his highschool years , he worked in the summers , being too busy with sports during the schoolyear . Jim went to William C . Overfelt High School in the 9th and 10th grades and then transferred to and graduated from James Lick High School , both of which are located in East San Jose , California . Plunkett showed his talent for tossing the football by winning a throwing contest at the age of 14 with a heave of over 60 yards . Once he arrived at the school , he played quarterback and defensive end for the football team , with his athletic ability also helping him compete in basketball , baseball , track and wrestling . He is on the hall of fame wall in the James Lick gymnasium . College . Upon entering Stanford University , Jim Plunkett endured a rough freshman campaign after being weakened by a thyroid operation . His performance originally caused head coach John Ralston to switch him to defensive end , but Plunkett was adamant in remaining at quarterback , throwing 500 to 1 , 000 passes every day to polish his arm . He earned the opportunity to start in 1968 , and in his first game , completed ten of thirteen passes for 277 yards and four touchdowns , and never relinquished his hold on the starting spot . Plunkett ' s arrival ushered in an era of wide - open passing , pro - style offenses in the Pac - 8 , a trend that has continued to the present . His successful junior campaign saw him set league records for touchdown passes ( 20 ) , passing yards ( 2 , 673 ) and total offense ( 2 , 786 ) . This display of offensive firepower led Washington State coach Jim Sweeney to call Plunkett " The best college football player I ' ve ever seen . " After his junior year , Plunkett became eligible to enter the NFL draft , which would have given him a chance to earn a large roster bonus for himself and his mother . He passed up the chance at a paycheck , however , so that he could set a good example to the Chicano youth he had tutored . In his senior year , 1970 , he led Stanford to their first Rose Bowl appearance since 1952 , a game that ended with a 27 - 17 Stanford victory over the favored Ohio State Buckeyes . With eighteen passing and three rushing touchdowns added to his 2 , 715 passing yards on the year ( which broke his own conference record ) , Plunkett was awarded the 1970 Heisman Trophy , the award given annually to the top college football player in the country . Though he had set so many records on the season , 1970 had been the " Year of the Quarterback , " and Plunkett beat out Notre Dame ' s Joe Theismann and Archie Manning of Ole Miss to win the award . He was the first Latino to win the Heisman Trophy . Aside from the Heisman , he captured the Maxwell Award for the nation ' s best quarterback and was named player of the year by United Press International , " The Sporting News " , and " SPORT " magazine . In addition , the American College Football Coaches Association designated him as their Offensive Player of the Year . He became the second multiple recipient of the W . J . Voit Memorial Trophy , awarded each year to the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast . Plunkett received the Voit Trophy in both 1969 and 1970 . While at Stanford he joined Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity . NFL career . UCLA coach Tommy Prothro had called Plunkett the " best pro quarterback prospect I ' ve ever seen " , echoing Sweeney ' s words from the year prior . His excellent arm strength and precision made him attractive to pro teams that relied much more heavily on the passing game than most college teams of the late 1960s . In 1971 , he was drafted with the first overall pick in the NFL draft by the New England Patriots ( the team was still known as the Boston Patriots at the time of the draft ; the name change to New England did not become official until March 21 of that year ) . Plunkett owns the distinction of being the only player of Hispanic heritage to be drafted with the first overall pick in the NFL draft . The Patriots finished the season at 6 - 8 , fourth place in the AFC East . Plunkett ' s first game was a 20 - 6 victory over the Oakland Raiders , the Patriots ' first regular - season contest at Schaefer Stadium . New England also influenced the AFC East championship race , as Plunkett ' s 88 - yard fourth - quarter touchdown pass to former Stanford teammate Randy Vataha on the final day of the season dropped the Baltimore Colts to a 10 - 4 - 0 record and into second place in the division behind the 10 - 3 - 1 Miami Dolphins . Two weeks before the Patriots defeated the Colts , Plunkett engineered a 34 - 13 victory over the Dolphins . Plunkett ' s touchdowns dropped and his interceptions rose in the following seasons , however , and he struggled with injuries and a shaky offensive line for the rest of his tenure in New England . By 1975 , the Patriots drafted Steve Grogan , who would become a fixture with the club for 16 seasons , and under the leadership of coach Chuck Fairbanks , New England ' s offense became more run - oriented , led by Sam Cunningham . Prior to the 1976 NFL Draft , Plunkett was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for QB Tom Owen , two first round picks in 1976 , and a first and second round pick in 1977 . He led the team to a 6 - 1 start before faltering to an 8 - 6 record . After a 5 - 9 season in 1977 , the 49ers released him during the 1978 preseason . Plunkett then joined the Oakland Raiders in 1978 , serving in a reserve capacity over the next two years , throwing no passes in 1978 and just 15 passes in 1979 . However , five weeks into the 1980 NFL season , his career took a major turn when starting QB Dan Pastorini fractured his leg in a game against the Kansas City Chiefs . The 33 - year - old Plunkett came off the bench to relieve Pastorini , throwing five interceptions in a 31 - 17 loss . The Raiders , however , believing that Marc Wilson did not have the experience they wanted , called on Plunkett to start for the remainder of the year . In his first game as a starter , he completed eleven of fourteen passes with a touchdown and no interceptions . Plunkett guided Oakland to nine victories in eleven games and a playoff berth as a wild card . Plunkett led the Raiders to four playoff victories , including the first - ever victory by a wild card team in the Super Bowl , defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 27 – 10 in Super Bowl XV . Throwing for 261 yards and three touchdowns , Plunkett was named the game ' s MVP ; subsequently , Plunkett has the distinction of being the first minority to quarterback a team to a Super Bowl victory and the only Latino to be named Super Bowl MVP . In addition to this , he became the second of four players to win the Heisman Trophy and Super Bowl MVP , Roger Staubach before him , and Marcus Allen and Desmond Howard after him . After returning to the backup role in 1983 , Plunkett again assumed starting duties , this time after an injury to Wilson . The Los Angeles Raiders advanced to Super Bowl XVIII , where they defeated the Washington Redskins , 38 - 9 . Plunkett completed 16 of 25 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown in the game . Plunkett spent most of his last three seasons either injured or as a backup . He retired after the 1986 season , and is currently the fourth - leading passer in Raiders history . He currently holds the Oakland Raiders record , as well as tied for the league record , for the longest career pass . The 99 - yard pass play occurred during an October 2 , 1983 game against the Washington Redskins . A curious quirk in Plunkett ' s career is that he never once played against the New England Patriots , the team that drafted him ; he was injured early in 1985 and did not play in the Raiders ' playoff run ending in a 27 - 20 Divisional Round loss to New England . Currently , Plunkett does a post - game radio show of Raiders games , and is a co - host of several Raiders TV shows .