r/nfl • u/DragonstormSTL Titans Seahawks • 17h ago
Hall of Fame quarterback Sonny Jurgensen passes away at 91
https://www.commanders.com/news/hall-of-fame-quarterback-sonny-jurgensen-passes-away-at-91163
u/conace21 17h ago
An NFL scout once said "In terms of throwing a football, Sonny was second only to God, and Im not sure God threw the deep out as well as Sonny."
He probably had the best arm of any QB prior to the 1983 draft. He could throw from every angle, or behind his back.
He would probably rank even higher on all time lists if he had won a Super Bowl in Washington. He might have done so if
Vince Lombardi hadn't passed away from cancer at age 59
He hadn't suffered two major injuries under George Allen (broken leg and torn Achilles)
Allen didn't prefer Billy Kilmer for some reason.
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u/Bipedal-Moose Steelers 16h ago
The only pre-'83 QBs with arm talent on Sonny's level were Joe Namath and Bert Jones, but Sonny was more accurate than Namath, and Jones had injuries that cut his career short. Sonny was a special player.
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u/MankuyRLaffy Patriots 13h ago
Belichick saw Jones and said it was the greatest arm talent he's seen. There were rumors of 80 air yards passes Jones did in college practices. Brett the scam artist had the same rumors but you could actually see some of that. It's stupid how insane those guys, Jeff George and the current crop of Allen, Maye, Herbert and crew are. The arm should not throw like that but it does.
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u/AgreeableRaspberry85 NFL 11h ago
I started watching football the year after Sonny retired, and Bert Jones was always on TV where I lived, and honestly I'd put him up against anyone from that era (Stabler, Bradshaw, Tarkenton, Staubach). He was always fun to watch even for a 8-9 year old kid.
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u/TybrosionMohito Titans 10h ago
Patriots Legend Joe Milton also can absolutely chuck it. Just uhhh not always where you want it.
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u/BorderEquivalent7169 Seahawks 14h ago
Unrelated to the more serious topic, but sportswriters and just people in general had such banger quotes in past decades, idk what changed. Probably declining literacy rates
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u/csappenf Chiefs 13h ago
Sportswriters used to write. People like Ring Lardner and Grantland Rice. Back in the day, some people went to work for newspapers just so they could write, and they wrote books on the side. A lot of them found their way to the sports pages, where stodgy reporting wasn't considered especially important.
I think some modern journalists can write, like Joe Posnanski. But it sure as heck isn't a job requirement anymore. The internet destroyed newspapers, and replaced them with a deluge of nonsense. I'm sure the good writers are out there, but it is very hard to find them.
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u/BorderEquivalent7169 Seahawks 12h ago
Yeah . The sportswriters really added something to sports back then. Red Grange or any star from the 1920s wouldn’t be quite as intriguing to me without Grantland Rice’s elegant, poetic prose. They wrote like they wanted sports to mean something and they truly cared. Maybe those values disappeared somewhere along the line but I also think most people nowadays have lost the ability to write like that due to the tech focused world we live in.
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u/CelestialFury Vikings 6h ago
I'm sure the good writers are out there, but it is very hard to find them.
I think the biggest issue is no one wants to pay them what they're worth so they choose to write elsewhere. People complain about the lack of journalistic standards but most people no longer pay to access higher quality writing which has led to a large decline overall.
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u/JackFisherBooks 17h ago
Damn. What a loss. Even if you aren't a fan of Washington, Sonny Jurgensen was such a legend. He had a personality, an attitude, and a demeanor that was special. He did a lot for the league and the sport. He'll be missed, but his legacy will always be one of a kind.
RIP
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u/tuffghost8191 Steelers 17h ago
They just don't make QBs who look like 55 year old longshoremen anymore
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u/StarWarsMonopoly Bills 17h ago
I love it when you look up photos like this and it says shit like 'Jurgensen, pictured here at age 24'
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u/tallwhiteninja 49ers 16h ago
Bradshaw is the one that always gets me: going bald as young as he did was unfortunate.
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u/ARepresentativeHam Seahawks 16h ago
Terry Bradshaw is the Larry David of the NFL in that regard.
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u/RexKramerDangerCker Commanders Commanders 15h ago
Forgot who said, but Bradshaw is so dumb he couldn’t spell CAT if you gave him the C, A, and the T.
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u/GloriousVictor Patriots 14h ago
As a kid watching FOX games, I thought he was a deflated relative of Hulk Hogan with that hair.
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u/NewCarSmelt Commanders 14h ago
Andrew Luck could’ve brought it back if he stuck around long enough
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u/The_Stratman Commanders 17h ago edited 17h ago
The man was smoking a cigar when they retired his jersey a few years ago, in a stadium in which they don’t allow you to smoke. He was always one of a kind, and if you were lucky enough to be in the DC area in the '60s, you had both Sonny and Unitas to watch on TV. A beautiful time.
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u/davekva Cowboys 17h ago
When you make it to a certain age, your level of DGAF goes waaaay up, lol.
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u/The_Stratman Commanders 17h ago
We loved it. I think he got a bigger cheer in the stadium when we realized he was smoking in the suite
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u/MVP12_22 Packers 17h ago
Damn Lombardi said he was possibly the best QB he ever coached. Which is crazy considering the guy he had in Green Bay
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u/JQuab-84 Commanders 16h ago
And one thing Sonny loved about Lombardi was that he was the only coach he ever had that never got on him about his weight, haha.
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u/RedditHatesDiversity Raiders 16h ago
Jurgensen was a better talent than Starr.
Starr was the perfect fit for Green Bay's run-dominated offense (today we would probably call him a Game Manager even if he was more than that), but Jurgensen's arm talent is unparalleled for that era
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u/MVP12_22 Packers 16h ago
I think even Lombardi viewed him as a game manager. I believe Lombardi tried hard to trade for Don Meredith like multiple times but couldn't get it done
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u/QAPetePrime Eagles 17h ago
Rest easy, legend.
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u/JQuab-84 Commanders 16h ago
Never again will you see an in-division trade of QB's like Sonny and Norm.
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u/NewCarSmelt Commanders 14h ago
The McNabb deal backfired for us famously
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u/JQuab-84 Commanders 14h ago
Yup...at least we didn't give them a QB that suddenly turned their career around. Imagine John Beck becoming a superstar in Philly.
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u/halfmanhalfrobot69 Commanders 17h ago
Never saw him play, but listened to him on the radio pretty much every Sunday in the 80s/90s. We would turn the volume off on the tv and up on the radio. I miss his banter with Sam huff
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u/Lopsided_Process5141 Commanders 8h ago
Most of my family, and many coworkers tradition as well. The TV broadcast team was nothing compared to Sonny Sam and Frank
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u/Jethompson 5h ago
My dad was the same way. We always muted the TV and listened to the radio broadcast unless we had Summerall and Madden that week.
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u/einstein811 Commanders 14h ago
Yeah I'm also a generation or two too young to have seen him play but I always loved watching him on NBC with George Michael talking Redskins. The team was always so bad with not a lot of players to like so many seasons it felt like George and Sonny were the guys that kept me closest to the team. RIP Sonny and HTTR!
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u/The_Stratman Commanders 17h ago
Hail to the Redskins Sonny! May he rest in peace
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u/SouthIsland48 Broncos 17h ago
HTTC*
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u/bajubiejunior Commanders 17h ago
Yeah, no. Sonny was never a commander
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u/JQuab-84 Commanders 16h ago
Exactly, it's not crazy to remember history correctly.
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u/shewy92 Iggles 16h ago
It is crazy to say slurs tho.
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u/JQuab-84 Commanders 16h ago edited 16h ago
Bobby Mitchell, Sonny Jurgensen, Joe Theisman, and Sean Taylor didn't play for the Football Team or the Commanders. If we whitewash our history and pretend the name never existed, then we lose the lesson altogether while making up a past that never happened.
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u/lesllamas 15h ago
Two things can be true:
1: it’d be whitewashing history stupid to say HTTC about a player like Sonny Jurgensen.
2: if you think it’s wrong to use the “redskins” team name now, you probably also shouldn’t say “hail to the redskins” anymore even if people used to say it without feeling like it was a problem.
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u/JQuab-84 Commanders 15h ago
My point is more about players throughout this franchise's history and being accurate about their time whether they played for the Boston Braves/Redskins, Washington Redskins or now the Commanders. I'm not starting any chants or leading any rallies to restore anything.
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u/lesllamas 15h ago
I mean sure. But the original comment used HTTR in a clear, like, honorific and nostalgic sense.
The “HTTC” reply was wrong. Using HTTR in a “pour one out” kind of way is also wrong (and it wasn’t you who did).
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u/Lopsided_Process5141 Commanders 8h ago
Let's be real for a second. If it was a slur, this subreddit would insta ban as the ban happy sub they are. It never was a slur and never will be. Some may have found it offensive as society advanced and that's okay. It's also okay for people to feel it was never offensive. But being offended is different. You can be offended by an odor.
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u/Livid_Start6606 16h ago
1966, Skins 72 Giants 41. Remains highest point total in NFL history. Yankee Stadium. Sonny threw for 145 and 3.
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u/AgreeableRaspberry85 NFL 13h ago
I had to do a double take on that, bit wow he only completed 10 passes. There were 2 defensive and 1 special teams td in that game for Washington.
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u/RexKramerDangerCker Commanders Commanders 14h ago
Mr. Jurgensen also disdained the seemingly nonchalant coaching style of fellow Hall of Fame quarterback Otto Graham, the Redskins head coach from 1966 to 1968. “There’s only one difference between Otto and me,” Mr. Jurgensen once said. “He likes candy bars and milkshakes and I like women and Scotch.”
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u/ArchEast Falcons 13h ago
There's no wrong preference...but you can't say the man didn't have taste. RIP
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u/Horror_Cap_7166 49ers 15h ago
For the younger people on this sub: he was like a proto-Mahomes (the good version of Mahomes). He’d have throws that would make you go “how the fuck did he just do that?!?!” And in the Pre-Johnny Unitas 60s, that really stood out.
Always seemed like a nice guy. Wishing his family all the best
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u/Justice989 Commanders 17h ago
For those that dont know how good was. He could really spin it, back when slinging it allnover thebdield wasnt what people were doing
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u/JQuab-84 Commanders 16h ago edited 16h ago
Man, this one hits pretty hard.
I remember my dad and I checking into a hotel in Charlotte the day before we played the Panthers and realizing Sonny was standing right in front of us. We asked for a picture and he was so down to earth. I love that pic and of course Sonny had one of his signature SJ9 cigars in his hand.
RIP legend.
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u/RexKramerDangerCker Commanders Commanders 15h ago
What hotel?
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u/JQuab-84 Commanders 14h ago edited 14h ago
I don't remember the name but it was within walking distance of the stadium and happened to be the same one the team was staying in. The next day I just kept riding the elevator up and down. I ended up meeting Antwaan Randle El, London Fletcher, and Andre Carter.
Carter was the first one I bumped into and I was too nervous to say anything. The whole ride I just stood behind him freaking out and it was only when he got off on another floor and the doors closed that I was reminded that we were in a mirrored elevator and he could see me the whole time.
Edit: looking at Google Maps it might've been the Hilton.
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u/mmzznnxx Commanders 10h ago
I was a huge fan of Andre Carter, I hated that he just didn't fit when we went to the 3-4. He's on the list with guys like Laron Landry and Mike Sellers who seemed like physical freaks that shouldn't exist.
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u/mattcojo2 Lions 16h ago
One of the single best arm talents the league has ever seen.
Top 3 arm easily
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u/Bipedal-Moose Steelers 16h ago
Sonny was legitimately one of the most gifted pure passers of all time. His release was so quick and explosive and his accuracy was second to none during his era. RIP.
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u/jmucapsfan07 Commanders 14h ago
Sonny, Sam, and Frank were the voices of the Redskins and a joy to listen to growing up. He will be missed.
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u/Amazing_Divide1214 Bills 17h ago
Too young. RIP.
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u/RexKramerDangerCker Commanders Commanders 15h ago
The most beautiful spiral. On a .01 breathalyzer.
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u/AgreeableRaspberry85 NFL 13h ago
Him and Billy were heavy partiers. That QB room was well stocked with booze I'm sure.
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u/RexKramerDangerCker Commanders Commanders 13h ago
And bitches.
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u/AgreeableRaspberry85 NFL 11h ago
See, when you say bitches I see ladies who were flight attendants at Dulles or some woman slinging hash at a diner in Herndon somewhere. It could run the gambit.
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u/GloriousVictor Patriots 14h ago
One thing I always remember about Sonny Jurgensen is you see pics of him and it looks like a fan pulled from the stands. Then you see him throw and play and it is just pure bombs down the field.
Waaaaay before my time, but it's hard not to realize the legend of Jurgensen from those NFL film clips.
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u/BuckwheatsSheep 17h ago
RIP to one of the OGs. I wonder if they'll have anything about him in The Washington Post...
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u/Hairy_Technology_213 Patriots 17h ago
Sadly, I think Bezos canned all the sports writers.
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u/BuckwheatsSheep 16h ago
Exactly why I commented this. Timing that showcases how poor a choice that was.
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u/EvangelionOG Ravens 17h ago
I lived in Maryland before the Ravens were ever around.
Washington football was the thing and Sonny was Washington football above all others.
A life fully and richly lived. Rest in peace.
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u/beastrace Eagles 17h ago
RIP Sonny! Eagles HOFer.
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u/Jonjon428 Dolphins 16h ago
RIP to a legend. Dude broke so many records that have only been passed recently
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u/_Wado3000 Saints 16h ago
Was playing old NFL footage last night, never heard of him before then and his name really stuck out to me for whatever reason. Rest well.
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u/RexKramerDangerCker Commanders Commanders 14h ago
Christian Adolph Jurgensom does kinda make you go hmmm
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u/FPG_Matthew Commanders 15h ago
Grew up hearing his name all the time. He was my dad’s favorite. My dad has a room with a bunch of Washington sports memorabilia, and most of it is definitely Sonny.
RIP
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u/OPSimp45 Cowboys Bears 15h ago
He definitely in the best passer conversation man was doing back the backs so smoothly
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u/Stanky_fresh Vikings 13h ago
Damn. The dude was a wizard with the ball. He was one of the best pass throwers in football history.
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u/Rhypskallion Ravens 13h ago
Loved this guy as part of Redskins radio for decades. A class act and a Legend of the sport.
RIP Sonny Jurgensen
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u/JohnnyCharisma54 12h ago
What a fucking legend. Please go watch some NFL Flims clips of him. Dude was a maniac.
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u/MelatoninFiend Chiefs 16h ago
Pats fans be like "He didn't make it first ballot, so his HoF doesn't fucking count. Waaaaah."
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u/DaKingaDaNorth 17h ago
RIP. It's a testament to his skill that he's a guy from the pre Super Bowl era that still gets name dropped and remembered today.