There’s a corny joke that goes: Quarterbacks don’t die; they pass. And Ken Stabler did a lot of passing before he died 10 years ago today. On July 8, 2015, colon cancer claimed Stabler’s life.

Seven months later, Stabler was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Before getting the ultimate stamp of approval for his football career, “Snake” had starred in three sports at Foley High School, made his mark in the quarterback legacy of the Alabama Crimson Tide, played championship football for the Oakland Raiders and become one of Coastal Alabama’s favorite sons.

On the 10th anniversary of his death, here are 10 numbers about Stabler’s football career:

1 Million dollars was the amount offered by the Memphis Showboats of the original USFL to Ken Stabler for the 1984 season.

Showboats owner Logan Young said the Memphis offer had “everything” Stabler wanted in a contract. But the quarterback turned it down after being paid $600,000 by the New Orleans Saints in 1983, when he battled through a knee injury that required surgery after the season. Henry Pitts, Stabler’s attorney, said while the Memphis contract certainly would have “enhanced his financial future … Kenny is extremely loyal to the entire Saints organization. Something has started there, something good and exciting. He didn’t feel he’d do right by his teammates, the organization or the fans to leave at this time.” But it turned out Stabler had only three games remaining in his NFL career.

Stabler already had signed with a rival league in his career. In 1974, the Birmingham Americans of the World Football League signed Stabler to a three-year, contract, even though his contract with the Raiders wouldn’t allow him to play for Birmingham until 1976. By that time, the WFL had folded, and Stabler’s contract had been voided by an Alabama court. That occurred on Jan. 6, 1975, after the Americans didn’t deliver on the first installment on their deal with Stabler, which called for him to be paid $100,000 in 1974 and 1975 before arriving in Birmingham to complete the contract on the field in 1976 for $135,000.

3 Of the 29 greatest plays in NFL history feature Ken Stabler as the quarterback, according to the NFL, which in 2019 assembled a “blue-ribbon” committee to select the 100 greatest plays for the league’s centennial celebration. Each of Stabler’s greatest plays has a name.

Play No. 17 is the Sea of Hands. While being tackled from behind by Miami defensive end Vern Den Herder, a scrambling Stabler flipped a pass to running back Clarence Davis, who pulled the football out of a sea of hands for an 8-yard touchdown with 26 seconds left to lift Oakland to a 28-26 victory over the Dolphins in the AFC playoffs on Dec. 21, 1974.

Play No. 26 is the Holy Roller (sometimes called the Immaculate Deception by San Diego Chargers fans). The Raiders had the football at the San Diego 14-yard line facing a six-point deficit with 10 seconds to play on Sept. 10, 1978. Stabler nearly was sacked by another former Alabama standout, Chargers linebacker Woodrow Lowe, 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage, but the quarterback “fumbled” the ball forward. Raiders fullback Pete Banaszak got his hands on the loose football, but somehow managed only to keep it moving toward the end zone. Finally, Oakland tight end Dave Casper chased the football down in the end zone (after kicking it), where he recovered it for a touchdown in a 21-20 victory. After the 1978 season, the NFL changed its rules to restrict fumble advances by the offense.

No. 29 is the Ghost to the Post. Stabler connected with Casper, nicknamed “The Ghost,” on a high, arcing pass for a 42-yard gain that set up a field goal with 29 seconds left in the fourth quarter of an AFC playoff game against the Baltimore Colts on Dec. 24, 1977. The Raiders went on to take a 37-31 victory when Stabler threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Casper 43 seconds into the second overtime period.

3 Major League Baseball teams drafted pitcher Ken Stabler.

The big leagues’ interest in Stabler preceded the draft. Baseball held its inaugural First-Year Player Draft on June 8-9, 1965. Before that, amateur players could sign with the team of their choice. Stabler had nine pitching victories as a senior for Foley in 1964, when he tossed five shutouts and struck out 125. “When I was 17,” Stabler told Sports Illustrated in 1977, “the Pittsburgh Pirates offered me $50,000 to sign. But by then I’d gotten to like football. And I wanted to play for coach (Bear) Bryant.”

Stabler first appeared in the draft in 1966, when, in baseball’s second summer draft, the New York Yankees chose him with the 190th pick in June. When drafted by the Yankees, Stabler also was coming off his only appearances for the Alabama baseball team. He went 1-1 in four games with a 1.44 earned-run average and 21 strikeouts in 25 innings in the 1966 season.

When Stabler didn’t leave Alabama for the Yankees, the New York Mets picked the left-hander with the 155th choice in the January 1967 draft. (The big leagues drafted in January and June through 1986.) But Stabler again returned to play football for the Crimson Tide.

On Jan. 27, 1968, the Houston Astros used the 24th choice in the MLB draft on pitcher Ken Stabler. Three days later, the Raiders used the 52nd choice in the NFL/AFL Draft on quarterback Ken Stabler. “The club understands Stabler has not made up his mind whether to play professional football or professional baseball,” Astros general manager Spec Richardson said at the time. “We’re hoping, of course, he chooses baseball. He told us, frankly, that whoever offered the most money would get him.”

4 Alabama alumni have been chosen as the NFL Most Valuable Player, including Ken Stabler in the 1974 season.

In The Associated Press balloting for its NFL MVP Award in 1974, Stabler received 36 of the 52 votes to 10 for runner-up Terry Metcalf, a St. Louis Cardinals running back. Stabler also won the other NFL MVP honor presented that season – the Jim Thorpe Award of the Newspaper Enterprise Association.

Stabler followed Alabama alumni Don Hutson and Bart Starr and preceded Shaun Alexander as NFL MVP winners. Hutson won in 1941 and 1942 as a Green Bay Packers end, Starr won in 1966 as the Green Bay quarterback and Alexander won in 2005 as the NFL’s rushing leader for the Seattle Seahawks.

For the 1976 season, when the Raiders won Super Bowl XI, Stabler finished third in the balloting for the AP MVP Award with 16 votes, behind the 41 of Baltimore Colts quarterback Bert Jones and the 19 of Pittsburgh Steelers middle linebacker Jack Lambert. Stabler did win the Maxwell Football Club’s Bert Bell Award as the NFL Player of the Year in 1976. Since then, two other former Alabama players have received the Bert Bell Award – Alexander in 2005 and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in 2022.

5 Consecutive appearances in the AFC Championship Game were made by the Oakland Raiders from 1973 through 1977 with Ken Stabler as the starting quarterback.

The Raiders’ run was the longest conference-championship streak in the NFL’s AFC/NFC era until the New England Patriots played in eight AFC Championship games in a row from 2011 through 2018. The Kansas City Chiefs have played in the past seven AFC Championship games.

On Dec. 30, 1973, the Raiders lost 27-10 to the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship Game. On Dec. 29, 1974, the Raiders lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-13 in the AFC Championship Game. On Jan. 4, 1976, the Raiders lost to the Steelers 16-10 in the AFC Championship Game. On Jan. 9, 1977, the Raiders defeated the Steelers 24-7 in the AFC Championship Game. On Jan. 1, 1978, the Raiders lost to the Denver Broncos 20-17 in the AFC Championship Game.

Stabler completed 79-of-152 passes for 949 yards with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions in the five games.

10 Consecutive Oakland Raiders playoff games included a touchdown pass by quarterback Ken Stabler, the longest streak in NFL history at the time.

Stabler’s streak started in the Raiders’ 27-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship Game on Dec. 30, 1973, and ended in the Houston Oilers’ 27-7 loss to Oakland in an AFC wild-card game on Dec. 28, 1980, when Stabler threw for 243 yards but no touchdowns against his former team.

Stabler threw 19 touchdown passes in the 10-game streak, which had broken the record of six consecutive playoff games with a touchdown pass. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw had established that mark in playoff games after the 1972, 1973 and 1974 seasons.

12 Was the number that Stabler wore on his jersey with Foley High School, Alabama, the Oakland Raiders and the Houston Oilers.

The Alabama football program and the Raiders do not retire jersey numbers, and Stabler played only two seasons with the Oilers. But Foley has retired Stabler’s No. 12, doing so during a game against Highway 59 rival Robertsdale on Aug. 19, 2016.

For his final 25 NFL games, Stabler wore No. 16 for the New Orleans Saints. When Stabler arrived in New Orleans in 1982, quarterback Bobby Scott had No. 12. Scott had been with the Saints for nine seasons and had started 14 games during that span as Archie Manning’s backup. Eight of those starts came in 1976, when Manning missed the entire season.

Scott got hurt before the 1982 season and spent the year on injured reserve. In 1983, Scott played in the USFL for the New Jersey Generals and Chicago Blitz, but Stabler stayed in No. 16.

17 Players from Alabama high schools and colleges have been selected by the Pro Football Hall of Fame for its NFL All-Decade teams, including Ken Stabler.

Stabler made the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-Decade team for the 1970s at quarterback, along with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach.

Even with that honor, though, Stabler had to wait until his 27th year of eligibility before being enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the Class of 2016. Bradshaw and Staubach were inducted in their first year of eligibility.

Other players with Alabama football roots selected for NFL All-Decade teams by the Pro Football Hall of Fame have been end Don Hutson (Alabama) and tackle Bill Lee (Greene County, Alabama) for the 1930s, quarterback Bart Starr (Sidney Lanier, Alabama) for the 1960s, outside linebacker Robert Brazile (Vigor), guard John Hannah (Albertville, Alabama) and punter Jerrel Wilson (Murphy) for the 1970s, Hannah, tight end Ozzie Newsome (Colbert County, Alabama) and center Dwight Stephenson (Alabama) for the 1980s, outside linebacker Kevin Greene (Auburn) and Derrick Thomas (Alabama) for the 1990s, running back Shaun Alexander (Alabama), offensive tackle Walter Jones (Aliceville), wide receiver Terrell Owens (Benjamin Russell) and outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware (Auburn High, Troy) for the 2000s and wide receiver Julio Jones (Foley, Alabama) and punt returner Tyreek Hill (West Alabama) for the 2010s.

59.8 Percent of Ken Stabler’s passes were completions during his NFL career.

When Stabler played his last game in 1984, he left the NFL with the highest completion percentage in the league’s history, for any player with at least 2,500 passes. Stabler completed 2,270-of-3,793 passes in 184 NFL regular-season games.

While with the Raiders, Stabler had ascended to the top of the NFL’s accuracy ratings by surpassing another Alabama alumnus, Bart Starr. Starr had held the record for the best completion rate for any player with 2,000 passes at 57.4 percent until Stabler completed 59.9 percent of his 2,481 passes for Oakland.

The current NFL completion-rate record for a player with at least 2,500 passes is 68.6 percent by Joe Burrow. Stabler’s former record now ranks 58th in league history.

103 Games were won by NFL teams with Ken Stabler as their starting quarterback.

Stabler had a 96-49-1 regular-season record and a 7-5 playoff mark, including a 32-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI on Jan. 9, 1977. Twenty-six of the victories came after game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime led by Stabler.

Stabler was the fifth NFL quarterback to start a combined 100 victories in regular-season and postseason play. He followed Johnny Unitas, Bart Starr, Fran Tarkenton and Terry Bradshaw.

Thirty quarterbacks are now on the list of 100 NFL victories. Among the 30, only Steve Young, with 102 wins in 157 starts, has fewer starts than Stabler’s 158.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.