In hindsight, Joe Namath was a good football player, not a great one.

The great players are inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH. 

The good players are relatively forgotten. 

In 1985, Namath was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but why?   

The “why” is relatively simple, yet dumbfounding.  He is largely in the Hall of Fame due to one football game, Super Bowl III, and because of his “Broadway Joe” persona, perpetuated by himself, fans and media. 

Super Bowl III was arguably the greatest upset in the history of the NFL.  It was billed as the NFL-AFL Championship between the Baltimore Colts and New York Jets. 

The Baltimore Colts, coached by Don Shula, were billed as unbeatable.  Namath and his New York Jets were not given a chance. 

Prior to the game, Namath boldly made the statement, “We’ll win the game.  I guarantee you.”  He made good on his promise and the image of Namath wagging his right index finger running off the field is forever etched into our brains.

The “Broadway Joe” persona, on the other hand, was unrelated to football. 

Namath was in the middle of the largest media market in the United States in New York, and he was constantly in the media for reasons other than football that mostly centered around his playboy lifestyle. 

He opened a bar in New York called Bachelors III that brought in all kinds of celebrities and socialites.  He popularized the Fu Manchu mustache. 

He wore white shoes on the field when his teammates wore black.  He wore a full length fur coat on the sidelines.  He tried anything to attract attention.  Also, he was constantly in print and TV.  He loved the media and the media loved him.  

Namath’s career spanned 13 seasons. He played from 1965 to 1976 for the New York Jets and with the Los Angeles Rams in 1977.  Using the term mediocre to describe Namath’s career numbers is essentially a compliment because they are generally sub-par. 

Namath finished his career with 173 TDs, 220 INTs and a 65.5 quarterback rating.  By comparison, Rex Grossman, Tim Couch, Quincy Carter and David Carr all have superior quarterback ratings for their careers. 

Namath also had a 50.1 percent career completion rate.  In 2007, all 32 NFL quarterbacks who qualified statistically had a completion percentage of 52 percent or higher.       

Leading his team to a Super Bowl III victory would tend to make you assume he was a consummate winner, but that is largely untrue.  During his career he won 77 football games, lost 108 and had three ties.     

His statistics and his ability to win football games, arguably the two most important criteria for being inducted into the Hall of Fame, are simply not Hall of Fame worthy.

Namath has been overblown, over hyped, and his lack of achievement has been overlooked by fans and media for years.