Sonny Jurgensen
Sonny Jurgensen
Quarterback

Sonny Jurgensen

"There's only one difference between Otto and me: He likes candy bars and milk shakes, I like women and scotch." - Sonny Jurgenson

Christian Adolph Jurgensen III, more commonly known as Sonny, was a Hall of Fame quarterback who played for the Eagles and Redskins over 18 seasons during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. A pot-bellied redhead who admittedly enjoyed nightlife, women, and scotch, Jurgensen had a long, unorthodox throwing motion but was a deadly accurate passer – “a magician with that ball,” as a teammate once said of him. (“You don’t throw the ball with your stomach,” Jurgensen explained to an interviewer about his physique. “You throw with your arm.”) Born in North Carolina in 1934, he played at Duke before getting picked 43rd overall by the Eagles in the 1957 Draft. Five times, the 5-foot-11 Jurgensen made a Pro Bowl and led the NFL in passing yards, including in 1961, his first season as a starter, when he threw for 3,723 yards, an all-time record. But despite big numbers, Jurgensen had a losing overall record with Philadelphia, whose fans booed him, and he was traded to Washington, whom he similarly never led to a title. After retiring at age 40, he smoked cigars, drove a Rolls-Royce, and worked for several decades as a broadcaster before leaving the booth this year at age 84.