Before the NFL and AFL merged, and then into the Super Bowl era, Norm Snead ranked among professional football’s top quarterbacks. A multiple ACC-record-setting prospect out of Wake Forest University, Snead was drafted by Washington’s NFL team as the no. 2 pick in the 1961 draft, and he’d finish in fifth place in the Rookie of the Year vote at the beginning of a career where he’d be named to four Pro Bowls.
Year after year, he put up huge numbers in touchdowns and total yardage, but unfortunately for Snead, he had a knack for landing the starting quarterback position on some of the era’s worst teams. His squads compiled a record of 52-100-7, and he never took Washington, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Minnesota Vikings, or the New York Giants to the playoffs. But in 1965, he recorded 15 touchdowns and 2,346 yards, and in 1972, he’d amass 17 touchdowns and 2,307 yards. Snead played in every game of his 16-season career, including a 61-to-10 win for the Giants over the Philadelphia Eagles in 1972 — still the franchise’s biggest win ever.
On January 14, 2024, Snead died in Naples, Florida. The football legend was 84 years old.
