Larry Craig Morton was born on February 5,1943 and is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League for 18 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos.
33 Facts About Craig Morton
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Craig Morton played college football for the California Golden Bears, receiving All-American honors, and was selected by the Cowboys fifth overall in the 1965 NFL draft.
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Craig Morton spent his final six seasons as a member of the Broncos, winning NFL Comeback Player of the Year and AFC Offensive Player of the Year in 1977.
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Craig Morton is the first starting quarterback to appear in the Super Bowl with more than one franchise, having helped lead the Cowboys to Super Bowl V and the Broncos to Super Bowl XII.
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Craig Morton is the only quarterback to start for multiple franchises in their inaugural Super Bowl appearance.
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Craig Morton was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
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Craig Morton is a 1961 graduate of Campbell High School in Campbell, California, where he received All-state honors in football baseball and basketball.
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Craig Morton was voted Northern California high school athlete of the year as a quarterback and was selected to play in the annual California Shrine High School football game.
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Craig Morton played college football at the University of California, Berkeley, under head coach Marv Levy and assistant coach Bill Walsh, both future NFL head coaches and members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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Craig Morton became the starter in the sixth game of his sophomore season in 1962.
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Craig Morton received the W J Voit Memorial Trophy, given to the best player on the Pacific Coast and the Pop Warner Trophy, given to the best senior player.
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Craig Morton finished his college career with 4,501 passing yards, and most of Cal's All-time passing records, including:.
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Craig Morton was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame and the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame.
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Craig Morton was selected by the Dallas Cowboys fifth overall in the 1965 NFL draft.
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Craig Morton spent his first four seasons as the backup for Don Meredith, but still received opportunities to play due to periodic injuries suffered by Meredith.
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Craig Morton dislocated a right finger in preseason and had to miss the season opener.
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Craig Morton had surgery on his right shoulder during the offseason.
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Craig Morton had surgery on his right elbow during the offseason.
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In 1972, Staubach suffered a separated right shoulder in the third preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams and Craig Morton was named the starter.
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Craig Morton was replaced late in the third quarter of the first-round playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers.
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Craig Morton never played a down with them; he was traded to the New York Giants six games into the 1974 season, in exchange for their number-one draft choice in 1975 and a second-round draft choice in 1976.
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At age 34, Craig Morton revived his career with the Broncos, finishing the season as the second-rated passer in the AFC.
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Craig Morton was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year for 1977 and selected All-AFC by the Sporting News.
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Craig Morton is the only quarterback to have started for two different teams' inaugural Super Bowl appearances.
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Craig Morton threw a franchise playoff record four interceptions in Denver's defeat against his former team, the Cowboys, which led to him being pulled in favor of Norris Weese.
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Craig Morton was a downfield passer not known for his mobility, but is one of the all-time leaders in yards per completion.
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Craig Morton briefly held the record for the most consecutive passes completed.
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Craig Morton was sacked 54 times in 1981, a team record for 41 years and still among the highest amount of sacks suffered by any quarterback in one season past the age of 35 in NFL history.
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Craig Morton wore number 7 for the Broncos and retired just before the arrival of celebrated rookie John Elway in 1983, who wore the same number and in whose honor it was retired.
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Craig Morton remains the third all-time passing yards leader in franchise history with 11,895 and his regular-season record was 50 wins and 28 losses in five seasons.
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In 1986, Craig Morton was inducted to the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
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Craig Morton was inducted into the Denver Broncos' Ring of Fame in 1988.
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Craig Morton was a voter in the Harris Interactive College Football Poll, a component of college football's now-defunct Bowl Championship Series.