Sonny Jurgensen Christian Adolph " Sonny " Jurgensen III ( born August 23 , 1934 ) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins . He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983 . Biography . Early life . Jurgensen was born in Wilmington , North Carolina . He became active in sports as early as elementary school , when he led his school to the city grammar school titles in baseball and basketball . He later captured the boys tennis championship of Wilmington and pitched for his local Civitan club , who won the city baseball title . Football career . High school . Jurgensen attended and played high school football at New Hanover High School . He played a number of positions for the team and as a junior was a backup quarterback on the state championship team . After a senior year where he scored three touchdowns and kicked nine extra points , he was chosen to start at quarterback for the North Carolina team in the annual North Carolina vs . South Carolina Shrine Bowl in Charlotte , North Carolina . Jurgensen also played basketball and baseball during high school . As a senior on the basketball team , he averaged twelve points per game as a guard and the team was the state title runner - up . That same year in baseball , he batted . 339 and played as a pitcher , infielder , and catcher . He also became a switch - hitter . College . Jurgensen attended and played college football at Duke University . He joined the varsity team in 1954 as a backup quarterback behind Jerry Barger and he completed 12 of 28 passes for 212 yards , with one touchdown and three interceptions . But Jurgensen made the biggest impact that season as a defensive back , when he tied a team record with interceptions in four consecutive games . and ended the season with five interceptions . Duke finished the campaign with a 7 – 2 – 1 regular season record and an Atlantic Coast Conference title . Then on New Year ' s Day , Duke beat the Nebraska 34 – 7 in the 1955 Orange Bowl . Jurgensen took over as starting quarterback in 1955 . He also retained a starting position in the defensive secondary . Duke ended the season with a 7 – 2 – 1 record along with an ACC co - championship , but did not go to a bowl because Maryland received the league ' s automatic bid to the Orange Bowl . That season Jurgensen completed 37 of 69 passes for 536 yards , three touchdowns and seven interceptions . He rushed 54 times for 48 yards and scored two touchdowns . He also punted four times for a 33 . 7 average and intercepted four passes for 17 yards . Jurgensen ' s senior season in 1956 did not start well , when Duke lost to South Carolina , 7 – 0 , in the season opener . This game marked Duke ' s first ACC loss , coming in the fourth year of the conference ' s existence . Duke finished the season with a 5 – 4 – 1 mark and Jurgensen ended up 28 – 59 for 371 yards . He threw six interceptions and two touchdown passes and rushed 25 times for 51 yards with three touchdowns . Jurgensen ' s final career stats included 77 – 156 passes for 1 , 119 yards , 16 career interceptions and six touchdowns . He also rushed for 109 yards and intercepted 10 passes . Jurgensen also played baseball briefly at Duke , but turned down an invitation to try out for the basketball team . NFL . Philadelphia Eagles ( 1957 – 1963 ) . Jurgensen was drafted in the fourth round of the 1957 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles . He was Philadelphia ' s backup quarterback , behind Bobby Thomason in 1957 and Norm Van Brocklin , from 1958 through 1960 . It was during this time as a backup that Jurgensen won his only championship , when the Eagles won the 1960 NFL Championship . After Van Brocklin retired in 1961 , Jurgensen took over as Philadelphia ' s starter and had a successful year , passing for an NFL record 3 , 723 yards , tying the NFL record with 32 touchdown passes , and was named All - Pro . Following an injury - plagued 1963 season , Jurgensen was traded to the Washington Redskins on April 1 , 1964 in exchange for quarterback Norm Snead and cornerback Claude Crabb . Washington Redskins ( 1964 – 1974 ) . Jurgensen took over play - calling for the Redskins during the 1964 season . He was then selected to play in the Pro Bowl following the season and was also named second Team All - Pro . One of Jurgensen ' s most memorable games was during the 1965 season , when the Cowboys took a 21 – 0 lead at DC Stadium . Jurgensen then threw for 411 yards , leading the team back to win 34 – 31 . He rushed for a touchdown on a quarterback sneak and threw a game - winning 35 - yard pass to Bobby Mitchell . In 1967 , Jurgensen broke his own record by passing for 3 , 747 yards and also set NFL single - season records for attempts ( 508 ) and completions ( 288 ) . He missed much of the 1968 season because of broken ribs and elbow surgery . He did , however , tie an NFL record early in the 1968 season for the longest pass play in NFL history . The 99 - yard pass play to Jerry Allen occurred September 15 , 1968 during the Redskins ' game against the Chicago Bears . Coincidentally , Redskins ' quarterback s had three of the first four occurrences of a 99 - yard pass play ( Frank Filchock to Andy Farkas in 1939 and George Izo to Bobby Mitchell in 1963 were the other two occurrences of the play ) . Since Jurgensen ' s feat , no other Redskins ' quarterback has completed a 99 - yard pass . In 1969 , Vince Lombardi took over as the Redskins ' head coach . That season , Jurgensen led the NFL in attempts ( 442 ) , completions ( 274 ) , completion percentage ( 62 % ) and passing yards ( 3 , 102 ) . The Redskins went 7 – 5 – 2 and had their best season since 1955 ( which kept Lombardi ' s record of never having coached a losing NFL team intact ) . Sadly , Lombardi died of cancer shortly before the start of the 1970 season . Jurgensen would later say that , of the nine head coaches he played for during his NFL career , Lombardi was his favorite . The Redskins enjoyed a resurgence in the early 1970s under coach George Allen and made it as far as Super Bowl VII , losing to the Miami Dolphins . However , Billy Kilmer started in place of Jurgensen , who was again bothered by injuries in 1971 and 1972 . During this period , a quarterback controversy developed between the two , complete with fans sporting " I Love Billy " or " I Love Sonny " bumper stickers on their vehicles . The defensive - minded Allen preferred Kilmer ' s conservative , ball - control style of play to Jurgensen ' s more high - risk approach . Despite the controversy , Jurgensen was helpful to his rival . Even to this day , Kilmer still stays at Jurgensen ' s house when he is in town . In 1974 , at the age of 40 and in his final season , Jurgensen won his third NFL passing crown even though he was still splitting time with Kilmer . In what would be the final game of his NFL career , Jurgensen made his first and only appearance in an NFL postseason game in the Redskins ' 19 – 10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the first round of the 1974 NFC playoffs . He came off the bench in relief of Kilmer and completed six of 12 passes but also threw three interceptions . Jurgensen is recognized as the finest pure passer of his time . A five - time Pro Bowl selection , he earned three NFL individual passing titles . He exceeded 400 yards passing in a single game five times , and threw five touchdown passes in a game twice . With a career rating of 82 . 6 , his stats include 2 , 433 completions for 32 , 224 yards and 255 touchdowns . He also rushed for 493 yards and 15 touchdowns . Jurgensen ' s 82 . 62 career passer rating is the highest for any player in the " Dead Ball Era " ( pre - 1978 ) . After football . Broadcasting career . After retiring from the Redskins ' following the 1974 season , Jurgensen began another career as a color commentator , initially with CBS television . Later teaming with Hall of Fame linebacker Sam Huff , Jurgensen continues to cover the Washington Redskins on radio . On a 2006 NBC 4 broadcast with George Michael , Jurgensen said in his prime he was able to throw the ball 80 yards . He covered the team for NBC 4 from 1994 until December 2008 , when " Redskins Report " was canceled due to budget cuts . He served as a game analyst at preseason games and as studio analyst at training camp , making weekly picks , and other assignments . Honors . Jurgensen was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1971 and the Duke Sports Hall of Fame in 1979 . He was then inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983 . In 1999 , Jurgensen was ranked the ninth best sports figure from North Carolina by " Sports Illustrated " and became a member of Wilmington ' s Walk of Fame in 2004 .