The epitome of cool in the 1960s, Joe Namath turns 80 years old today.

Originally from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, Namath was the starting quarterback in all three of his varsity seasons for coach Paul “Bear” Bryant at Alabama, where he was a signal-caller unlike any the Crimson Tide had previously had.

From Alabama, Namath went on to become one of the pivotal sports figures of the 20th century on and off the field with the New York Jets.

Here’s a look at Namath’s football career in 20 numbers:

1 SEC title was won by Alabama and one national championship was awarded to the Crimson Tide during Joe Namath’s three seasons. In 1964, Alabama became the second team in SEC history with an 8-0 league record, joining Tulane’s 1934 team. The Tide finished atop the final AP and UPI polls that season after posting a 10-0 regular-season record. At the time, the final polls came out before the bowl season. Alabama had a 20-3 SEC record and 29-4 overall mark during Namath’s three seasons.

2 Times Georgia Tech’s Billy Lothridge was the All-SEC quarterback while Joe Namath was at Alabama. Lothridge was a first-team selection for the All-SEC team picked by the AP and UPI in 1962 and 1963, with Namath on both All-SEC second teams in 1962 and the AP third team and UPI second team in 1963. During those two regular seasons, Lothridge threw for 2,033 yards and 16 TDs and ran for 701 yards and 12 TDs and Namath threw for 1,957 yards and 20 TDs and ran for 522 yards and nine TDs. The 73rd player picked in the 1964 NFL Draft, Lothridge threw 12 passes in nine NFL seasons, but he punted 532 times. He also started seven games at safety for the Atlanta Falcons in 1968, when he intercepted three passes. Namath was the All-SEC quarterback in 1964.

3 TD passes for Joe Namath in his Alabama varsity debut. In the Crimson Tide’s opener for the 1962 season, Namath completed 10-of-14 passes for 179 yards with no interceptions in a 35-0 victory over Georgia at Legion Field in Birmingham. Namath had TD passes of 52 yards to Richard Williamson and 10 and 12 yards to Cotton Clark before leaving the game during the third quarter with Alabama routing the Bulldogs. The next Alabama quarterback to throw for three TDs in his first start was Mac Jones in a 48-7 victory over Arkansas in 2019. Bryce Young had four TD passes in the Tide’s 44-13 victory over Miami (Fla.) in 2021 in his first start. Both Jones and Young had played previously for Alabama before making their first starts.

4 Games were played by Joe Namath with the Los Angeles Rams in 1977. Namath spent the first 12 seasons of his career with the New York Jets, but they decided to go with another Alabama quarterback, Richard Todd, the sixth pick in the 1976 NFL Draft. After being waived by New York, Namath signed with Los Angeles, which he’d already indicated was the only team he would play for in 1977. Namath started the first four games of the 1977 season but was knocked out of a 24-23 loss to the Chicago Bears in the fourth quarter by a big hit from outside linebacker Waymond Bryant, who got a roughing-the-passer penalty and a punch to the head from Rams guard Dennis Harrah for his effort. Pat Haden took over at quarterback for Los Angeles, and Namath never played again, ending his career with a four-interception game.

5 Selections for the AFL All-Star Game and NFL Pro Bowl for Joe Namath while the quarterback of the New York Jets. Namath was an AFL All-Star in 1965 (when he also was the league’s Rookie of the Year), 1967, 1968 (when he also was the AP AFL Player of the Year and The Sporting News Player of the Year, an award that included the NFL, too) and 1969 and a Pro Bowler in 1972. Since Namath left the New York after the 1976 season, four Jets quarterbacks have been selected for five Pro Bowls – Ken O’Brien in 1985 and 1991, Boomer Esiason in 1993, Vinny Testaverde in 1998 and Brett Favre in 2008.

8 Seasons were played by Joe Namath after he announced his retirement on June 6, 1969. Namath said he was leaving football because of pressure from NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle over his ownership stake in the Manhattan bar/restaurant Bachelors III. Rozelle objected to some of the establishment’s patrons, described as mobsters and mafia members. Namath objected to Rozelle interfering in his off-the-field life. But after the New York Jets started training camp without him the next month, the quarterback sold his interest in the bar.

9 Episodes were made of “The Waverly Wonders,” an NBC television show that aired in the fall of 1978 and starred Joe Namath. Namath played former pro basketball player Joe Casey, who taught history and coached the basketball team at Waverly High School in Eastville, Wisconsin. Namath has a long line of acting credits, including 11 movies, with star billing in “C.C. and Company” in 1970 and “The Last Rebel” in 1971.

11 Quarterbacks were members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame when Joe Namath was inducted in 1985 in his third year of eligibility. Namath had been a finalist for enshrinement in 1983 and 1984. QB Roger Staubach also was a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 1985, which was the 23rd in the football shrine’s history. Sixteen quarterbacks have been inducted in the 38 classes since. The quarterbacks who preceded Namath into the Pro Football Hall of Fame were Sammy Baugh, Bob Waterfield, Sid Luckman, Otto Graham, Bobby Layne, Norm Van Brocklin, Y.A. Tittle, Bart Starr, Johnny Unitas, George Blanda and Sonny Jurgensen.

11 Players were chosen before Joe Namath in the 1965 NFL Draft, including two who also are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Chicago Bears chose Illinois LB Dick Butkus at No. 3 and Kansas RB Gale Sayers at No. 4 in 1965. The New York Giants took Auburn RB Tucker Frederickson with the first choice in the 1965 NFL Draft, with the San Francisco 49ers taking North Carolina RB Ken Willard at No. 2. California’s Craig Morton was the first quarterback picked at No. 5 by the Dallas Cowboys. Then came Tennessee defensive lineman Steve DeLong to the Bears at No. 6, Texas Tech RB Donny Anderson to the Green Bay Packers at No. 7, Notre Dame WR Jack Snow to the Minnesota Vikings at No. 8, Washington State DB Clancy Williams to the Los Angeles Rams at No. 9, Baylor WR Larry Elkins to the Packers at No. 10 and Indiana FB Tom Nowatzke to the Detroit Lions at No. 11. The St. Louis Cardinals chose Namath at No. 12. In the 1965 AFL Draft, the New York Jets took Namath at No. 1.

18 Points was the betting spread on Super Bowl III, with the NFL champion Baltimore Colts favored to defeat the AFL champion New York Jets. The Jets defeated the Colts 16-7 on Jan. 12, 1969, despite being the biggest underdog in the 57 Super Bowls. New York QB Joe Namath won the game’s MVP Award after guaranteeing that the Jets would beat Baltimore. Namath followed another former Alabama quarterback, Bart Starr, in winning the award. Starr had been the MVP in each of the first two AFL-NFL World Championship games as the Green Bay Packers’ signal-caller.

39 Rushing yards were the most in one game for Joe Namath with the New York Jets, and the total came on a single carry in a 28-28 tie with the Oakland Raiders on Dec. 3, 1966. Namath finished his NFL career with 140 rushing yards and seven rushing TDs. At Alabama, Namath’s regular-season rushing totals showed 655 yards and 15 TDs on 190 carries plus three 2-point conversions. Namath suffered his first knee injury during his senior season with the Crimson Tide, and he sustained another debilitating knee injury during a 1971 NFL preseason game.

42 Years after leaving the University of Alabama, Namath completed the requirements for his undergraduate degree and participated in commencement in Tuscaloosa on Dec. 15, 2007.

53 Seasons of the NFL’s “Monday Night Football” began on Sept. 21, 1970, when the Cleveland Browns defeated the New York Jets 31-21. Jets QB Joe Namath completed 18-of-31 passes for 298 yards with one TD and three interceptions, one of which was returned 25 yards by Cleveland LB Billy Andrews for the final TD of the game and the only one of his 11-year NFL career. In 1985, Namath worked as an analyst on ABC’s broadcast team for “Monday Night Football.”

197.6 Passing yards per game for Joe Namath during his career, which was the highest in NFL history when he retired in 1977. That figure now ranks 47th in NFL history for players with at least 100 games. Namath compiled 27,663 passing yards during his AFL/NFL career, which ranked 10th in history when he retired. At that time, Fran Tarkenton held the NFL career record with 43,535 passing yards. Between Tarkenton and Namath were Johnny Unitas, John Hadl, Y.A. Tittle, Sonny Jurgensen, John Brodie, Norm Snead, Roman Gabriel and Len Dawson. Namath now ranks 67th in NFL history in career passing yards, although he remains the New York Jets’ all-time leader.

255 Passing yards for Joe Namath in Alabama’s 21-17 loss to Texas in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 1965. Namath entered the game at the 9:41 mark of the second quarter with the Tide trailing 14-0, and he ended up winning the game’s MVP Award as he completed 18-of-37 passes with two touchdowns and two interceptions. In his final appearance for Alabama, Namath set a Crimson Tide single-game record by surpassing the 207 yards posted by Clell Hobson when he completed 14-of-22 passes for two touchdowns and two interceptions in a 61-6 victory over Syracuse in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 1953. Before his record-breaking performance, Namath had Alabama’s only other 200-yard passing game in a 36-3 victory over Miami (Fla.) on Nov. 10, 1962, when he completed 10-of-19 passes for 206 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

496 Passing yards for Joe Namath in the New York Jets’ 44-34 victory over the Baltimore Colts on Sept. 24, 1972. At that time, only two players had more passing yards in an NFL game – Norm Van Brocklin with 554 in the Los Angeles Rams’ 54-14 victory over the New York Yankees on Sept. 28, 1951, and Y.A. Tittle with 505 in the New York Giants’ 49-34 victory over the Washington Redskins on Oct. 28, 1962. No player reached Namath’s total again until Vince Ferragamo had 509 passing yards in the Rams’ 34-26 loss to the Chicago Bears on Dec. 26, 1982. Since then, 23 players have exceeded Namath’s top passing total in one game. Against the Colts, Namath completed 15-of-28 passes with a career-high six TDs and no interceptions. For Baltimore, Johnny Unitas threw for 376 yards and two TDs.

1,192 Passing yards for Joe Namath as an Alabama sophomore in 1962 to set a school record. Including two bowls, which did not count in the official stats at the time, Namath completed 230-of-428 passes for 3,054 yards with 28 touchdowns and 22 interceptions during his three seasons with the Crimson Tide.

4,007 Passing yards by New York Jets QB Joe Namath in 1967 – the most in one season in U.S. pro football history at the time. In that same season, Washington Redskins QB Sonny Jurgensen passed for 3,747 yards to break the NFL single-season record of 3,723 he had set in 1961, which before 1967 was the only time a passer had topped 3,500 yards in a season. Namath had the only 4,000-yard season until San Diego Chargers QB Dan Fouts threw for 4,082 in 1979. Since then, there have been 215 4,000-yard passing seasons, but Namath remains the only Jets quarterback to have one. Namath is the only player to do so during the 14-game schedule.

50,000 Dollars was the Chicago Cubs’ offer to Joe Namath to sign with the Major League Baseball team in the days before the baseball draft. The offer came after Namath led Beaver Falls to the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League championship at the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Forbes Field in 1961.

427,000 Dollars was the value of the three-year contract that Joe Namath signed with the New York Jets on Jan. 2, 1965, the most lucrative contract in pro football history to that point. The highest-paid player in the NFL in the 1964 season had been Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown at $60,000, as reported by The Associated Press. According to the New York Times, Namath’s contract included annual salaries of $25,000 in 1965, 1966 and 1967, a $200,000 signing bonus and a car, a green Lincoln. Namath signed pro football’s most lucrative contract with the Jets again on July 30, 1975 – a two-year, $900,000 deal.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

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