George Izo George William Izo ( born September 20 , 1937 ) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins , as well as the St . Louis Cardinals , Detroit Lions , and the Pittsburgh Steelers . He played college football at the University of Notre Dame . Early life . Izo was born in Barberton , Ohio and attended Barberton High School , where he played high school football . During his junior and senior seasons he was honored as an All - American and All - State selection , and was named Player of the Year by the Akron Beacon Journal . Izo still holds the school record for the most yards per completion . He also played defensive back and caught six interception s during his senior year . College career . Izo attended and played college football at the University of Notre Dame . His father , George Izo Sr . , also played at Notre Dame under coach Knute Rockne . During his college career , he threw for 2 , 095 yards and 18 touchdowns , and led the Irish to a 20 - 19 upset of the University of Iowa in his next to last game . Izo earned his varsity letter during his sophomore year , but during the off - season he sprained his ankle during initiation into the Monogram Club . He missed spring practice and did not return to the field until mid - season of his junior year . The off - season before Izo ' s senior year , coach Joe Kuharich decided to install a T formation offense . The week before the first game of his senior season , he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated . However , the Tuesday before the game he hurt his knee in practice and missed the first two games of that season ( an early example of the Sports Illustrated cover jinx urban legend . ) Still , that year he was named to the Coaches All - American Team , started in the Chicago College All - Star Game against the Baltimore Colts , and played in the East – West Shrine Game . Izo graduated with a degree in Business Administration . Professional career . Izo played in a total of 26 games and completed 132 passes in 317 attempts for 1 , 791 , 12 touchdowns and 32 interceptions . NFL & AFL Drafts . Izo was drafted in the first round ( second overall ) of the 1960 NFL Draft by the Chicago Cardinals . He was also chosen in the 1960 American Football League Draft as a " territorial selection " by the Titans of New York ( now New York Jets ) . To begin the draft , each of the eight AFL teams received one territorial / bonus selection to help ensure every team had a regional draw to help the financial success of each franchise . These regional picks did not occur in any order . Instead , they were unanimously agreed upon by the other teams . St . Louis Cardinals . Izo chose the Cardinals over the AFL , and signed his $ 15 , 000 contract at Soldier Field in Chicago during a game against the Chicago Bears game . The franchise moved to St . Louis , Missouri one month after Izo signed his contract . In 1960 , he won the starting job for the Cardinals by the third game of the season . But , he re - injured the same knee that he hurt in college and underwent surgery . Izo was traded at the end of training camp in 1961 . Washington Redskins . On September 12 , 1961 , Izo was traded to the Washington Redskins for quarterback Ralph Guglielmi . The Redskins wanted him as a back up to Norm Snead , the Wake Forest quarterback the Redskins drafted second overall in the 1961 NFL Draft . On September 15 , 1963 , stepping in for Snead , he threw a 99 - yard touchdown pass to Bobby Mitchell , which tied a franchise and league record . Coincidentally , the first two occurrences of a 99 yard pass play featured Redskins ' quarterbacks . In 1964 , the Redskins traded Snead to the Philadelphia Eagles for quarterback Sonny Jurgensen and after backing him up for one year , Izo asked to be traded . Detroit Lions . In 1965 , the Detroit Lions traded guard Darrell Dess to the Redskins for Izo and guard Ted Karras . During his only year in Detroit , Izo backed up Milt Plum and the Lions won six games . He was released by the Lions on September 5 , 1966 . Pittsburgh Steelers . After his release from the Lions , Izo worked out for and was signed to the Pittsburgh Steelers ' roster on September 24 , 1966 . He played in four games during his time in Pittsburgh and was released on November 2 , 1966 . Personal life . After retiring from football in 1967 , Izo moved to the Bahamas and participated in a business venture that built condominium s . While living there , he coached high school football at Freeport Anglican High School . He moved back to Washington , D . C . five years later and became a partner in a wholesale food company ; he has worked in the food industry regularly ever since . In 2012 , Izo joined the Knights of Columbus . Izo has two children from his first marriage . George now lives in Alexandria , VA with his wife Anita . Military tours . Starting in the late 1990s after moving to California , Izo took former NFL stars to military bases in South Korea , Japan and Guam in his role as business development manager for California Sunshine milk , which had a contract with the U . S . government . He has made tours with Billy Kilmer , Ken Stabler , Paul Hornung and Earl Morrall , among others .