I have one of those day-by-day Jets calendars, got it for Christmas. So far it has been loaded with random facts and trivia, mostly about our stellar 2007 season and players and coaches that are no longer around. For July 15 it gives you a random Jets fact, one I never heard about or know of. Word for word, as follows: Exactly one week after signing Joe Namath in January 1965, the Jets signed Notre Dame quarterback John Huarte to a $200,000 (sic), thus giving the club $627,000 worth of quarterbacks on the roster. Aside from leaving out the word "contract" or "deal", it implies that we had no other QBs on the roster prior to signing Namath and Huarte, so I'm not sure if this is even accurate, but I'm guessing it is at least close in that we did sign this guy. So, old-timers, what ever happened to John Huarte? I've never heard of him. That Namath fellow did ok for himself, this much I know.
He was also drafted by the Eagles, but signed with the Jets. Namath beat him out in training camp. Huarte never played with the Jets. He played for Boston in '66 and '67. He played two games for the Eagles in '68 and started one of them. He appeared in two games total with the Chiefs in 1970 and '71. He appeared in two games with the Bears in '72. Huarte's NFL totals: 48 attempts, 19 completions, 230 yards, 1 touchdown, 5 interceptions. In 1974, he threw for 2416 yards (5th in league) and 23 touchdowns (tied for third in league) for Memphis Southmen of the World Football League.
Mike Taliaferro Started for the Jets in 65 and was the backup from 64 yo 67. Don't remeber Huarte at all. Namath didn't start opening day he came in later he didn't win the job in TC. Pretty good article from Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,842128-2,00.html Friday, Sep. 17, 1965 Battle of the QBs
Wasn't Babe Parilli on the team the same time as Namath? I thought I remember reading Namath say he was the second best QB in football.
Babe came to the Jets a couple of years later in 68 just in time to get a ring as a backup. He was pretty old by the time he came to the Jets. Mike Talliffaro who was our starter in 65 and Namath's backup ended up starting a few games for Boston. The Incest between the Jets and Pats goes back a long way.
How 'bout I just not bother with this anymore? I could have informed anyone reading the thread that Huarte was drafted by the Jets and an NFL team and that he later played for the Patriots and Southmen. That's what I could have provided without looking at reference materials. Do I really have to cite a source anytime I go beyond what is already stored in my memory? Do you realize how many people would have to cite sources here?
I think you took my post the wrong way. I enjoy reading the info you post, but you sound like some kind of robot when you type out some info from an almanac. rlax
Huarte was also scooped by the Eagles. He opted to write his John Hancock on a piece of paper adorned with the Jets logo. Like my dog attacking a woodchuck, Joe Namath beat out Huarte in training camp. Huarte would never play tackle football in a game that counted for the Jets. He moved on to play for the Boston Patriots in '66 and '67. Tits are always in style. He played two games for the Eagles in '68. One of those motherfuckers he started. He tossed some balls for the Chiefs and Bears from '70 to '72. Huarte's NFL totals: 48 throws, 19 times when his teammates caught the pass he done did throw, 230 yards through the air, 1 touchdown thrown, 5 passes picked off. In 1974, he threw for 2416 yards (5th in league) and 23 touchdowns (tied for third in league) for the Memphis Southmen of the World Football League. The Southmen did not have a human depicted on their logo. The logo was actually a bear. One might think a team with such a logo should have been called the Memphis Grizzlies or Memphis Bears or Memphis Southbears, but it was indeed Memphis Southmen.
I'm surprised no one mentioned a very important fact about Huarte - he was the 1964 Heisman Trophy winner. Namath finished 11th, which tells you all you need to know about the relationship between the Heisman and professional football performance.
Awesome info, thanks guys. Cakes and biggs especially, good stuff. I can't believe I'd never known about the Jets signing a Heisman winning QB from Notre Dame, you'd think that would come up more often than it does.
they also drafted archie roberts--columbia's 2nd best athelete--all star quarterback & shortstop--who signed with cleveland & went to medical school & eventually played in 1 game for the dolphins
Namath actually started about half of the games in 1965 and threw for over 2000 yards. He didn't start early in the season, but replaced Taliaferro in the middle of some early season games and got some starts after 4-5 games. Namath was the AFL rookie of the year in 1965.
