Daniel Francis Fouts was born on June 10,1951 and is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League throughout his 15-season career.
124 Facts About Dan Fouts
2.
Dan Fouts was voted a Pro Bowler six times, first-team All-Pro twice, and Offensive Player of the Year in 1982.
3.
Dan Fouts was named a member of the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team, and elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility.
4.
Dan Fouts played for the Oregon Ducks in college, breaking numerous records and later being inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Oregon Hall of Fame.
5.
Dan Fouts was a third-round draft pick of the Chargers in 1973, brought in to back up veteran Johnny Unitas.
6.
Dan Fouts struggled during his first three season in the league while playing for losing teams.
7.
Dan Fouts's form began to improve in 1976, when Bill Walsh spent a year in San Diego as his offensive coordinator, but discontentment over the direction of the team and the restrictions of the NFL's free agency rules led Fouts to refuse to play through the majority of 1977.
8.
Dan Fouts, given license to throw with an unprecedented frequency, produced record-breaking numbers during the rest of his career.
9.
Dan Fouts led the NFL in passing yards four straight years from 1979 to 1982, and became the first player in history to throw for 4,000 yards in three consecutive seasons, breaking the NFL single-season record for passing yards each time.
10.
Dan Fouts set career records for the most 300-yard games and 400-yard games.
11.
Dan Fouts was rewarded with six Pro Bowl selections and four All-Pro selections.
12.
Dan Fouts led the Chargers to three consecutive AFC West division titles and a further playoff appearance in 1982.
13.
Dan Fouts was the winning quarterback in the Epic in Miami game, breaking a playoff record with 433 passing yards.
14.
Dan Fouts is widely considered among the best quarterbacks in NFL history to never reach a Super Bowl.
15.
Dan Fouts was a color analyst for NFL games on CBS television and Westwood One radio.
16.
Dan Fouts was born in San Francisco on June 10,1951, to Julie and Bob Fouts, the fourth of five children.
17.
Dan Fouts's father was a sports broadcaster who commentated on games for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League for over 20 years.
18.
When, at the age of 11, Dan Fouts asked his parents' permission to play football, they told him that he would have to be a quarterback, as he had shown a good throwing arm while playing Little League baseball.
19.
Dan Fouts played Pop Warner football for the Drake Junior Pirates, where his coach described him as an "outstanding quarterback" in 1964.
20.
Dan Fouts attended Marin Catholic High School, located just north of San Francisco in Kentfield, California, for his two first years, and started some games as a sophomore in the fall of 1966.
21.
Dan Fouts transferred to St Ignatius College Preparatory for his final two years of high school.
22.
Dan Fouts nearly reversed his touchdown to interceptions ratio, with 16 touchdowns and two interceptions.
23.
Dan Fouts was somewhat of an unknown when he accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Oregon to play for the Ducks in Eugene.
24.
Dan Fouts started for the freshman team during his first year there.
25.
In Week 5, Dan Fouts tied a school record with four touchdowns in an easy win over Idaho; he repeated the feat against Air Force three weeks later, while setting an Oregon single-game passing yards record that would last until 1989.
26.
Dan Fouts finished the season ranked second in the Pacific-8 Conference for completions, completion percentage and passing touchdowns and third in passing yards, though his 24 interceptions were tied for most in the conference.
27.
Dan Fouts passed for 16 touchdowns while running for 4 more, and his season total of 2,390 passing yards was an Oregon record that stood until 1986.
28.
Dan Fouts entered his junior year as an established and highly-rated starter.
29.
Dan Fouts was third in the conference in attempts, completions and passing yards.
30.
In 1972, with Rashad having graduated, Dan Fouts again became the main focus of the offense.
31.
Dan Fouts was named to the All-Pac-8 team, and finished second in the conference behind Stanford's Mike Boryla in attempts, completions, touchdowns and interceptions.
32.
Dan Fouts had less help up front, and his passing to receiver Greg Sprecht accounted for most of the Ducks offense during a trying season.
33.
At the time, Dan Fouts ranked second in conference history in career passing and total offense behind Plunkett.
34.
Dan Fouts set 19 Oregon records, including those for career passing yardage and total offense, and was inducted into the university's hall of fame in 1992.
35.
Dan Fouts was selected in the third round of the 1973 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers, using the 64th overall pick.
36.
Dan Fouts broke his collarbone playing in the Coaches All-America Game, and then held out for more money before signing with the Chargers.
37.
Dan Fouts missed the first three preseason games while still recovering from his injury.
38.
Dan Fouts started the first eleven games, before a broken thumb ended his season.
39.
Dan Fouts was booed when he was announced at the start of that game, and struggled with injuries throughout the season, though his replacements struggled.
40.
Dan Fouts stayed in the post for a season before moving on to be the head coach at Stanford.
41.
Dan Fouts gained a new wide receiver when the Chargers traded for seven-year veteran Charlie Joiner.
42.
Dan Fouts began the 1976 season by throwing six touchdown and no interceptions in the first three games, all wins.
43.
Dan Fouts was the league's No 1 rated passer at that stage, though the defenses he had faced were not highly rated.
44.
Dan Fouts finished with a passer rating of 75.4 for the season, above the league average of 67.0.
45.
Dan Fouts expressed a desire to leave San Diego, and complained at a new collective bargaining agreement; the agreement meant the Chargers had only to match the offer of another team to prevent him from leaving.
46.
Chargers Owner Gene Klein said that Dan Fouts had been given bad advice by his lawyer, and would be welcomed back to the team.
47.
Dan Fouts threw 4 touchdowns and 1 interception in the first two games, both wins, then no touchdowns and five interceptions in the following two, both defeats.
48.
Dan Fouts installed the explosive offensive system that would become known as Air Coryell during an eight-year reign as Chargers head coach, led on the field by Fouts.
49.
Dan Fouts missed the return match with the Chiefs through injury, and the Chargers were shut out.
50.
Dan Fouts returned for the final three games, winning all of them to give him seven consecutive victories as a starter; he passed frequently during these three games, throwing for over 900 yards and 9 touchdowns, while the Chargers averaged over 40 points per game.
51.
Dan Fouts earned praise for his performances during the strong finish.
52.
Dan Fouts himself was sixth in the NFL with 2,999 passing yards, first in yards per attempt, fourth in completion percentage and touchdowns, and third in passer rating.
53.
Dan Fouts threw more touchdowns than interceptions for the first time in his career, and combined frequently with Jefferson, who led the league with 13 touchdown receptions.
54.
Dan Fouts later posted three consecutive passer ratings of over 100.
55.
San Diego ended the regular season as both their AFC West champions and the No 1 seed in the AFC, as Dan Fouts reached the playoffs for the first time, seven years into his career.
56.
Dan Fouts finished the season with 4,082 yards passing, breaking Joe Namath's record of 4,007, albeit from two extra games.
57.
Dan Fouts posted an even ratio of touchdowns to interceptions.
58.
Dan Fouts tied another Namath record with six total 300-yard games.
59.
Dan Fouts completed 25 of 47 passes for 333 yards, no touchdowns and five interceptions.
60.
Dan Fouts had an eventful game in the Week 2 matchup with Oakland.
61.
Dan Fouts finished the game with 29 completions from 44 attempts for 387 yards, with 3 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.
62.
Dan Fouts had eight 300+ yard passing games, breaking a record he'd tied the previous season.
63.
Dan Fouts was voted a 2nd-team All-Pro, and made his second Pro Bowl.
64.
Dan Fouts then found little-used wide receiver Ron Smith for what would prove to be the game-winning touchdown.
65.
Dan Fouts finished 22 of 37, for 314 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.
66.
Dan Fouts had a mixed first half, as he threw two touchdown passes to Joiner and two red zone interceptions.
67.
Dan Fouts finished the game having completed 22 of 45 passes for 336 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
68.
Dan Fouts threw touchdown passes on six consecutive drives, including four to Winslow in a ten minute-period sandwiching halftime.
69.
Dan Fouts was consistent, passing for between 252 and 352 yards in every regular season game bar the finale.
70.
Dan Fouts posted the best touchdown to interception ratio of his career, led the league in touchdown passes for the first time, and made his third Pro Bowl.
71.
At this point, Dan Fouts was responsible for over half of the five 4,000-yard passing seasons in NFL history, posting his third in a row.
72.
Dan Fouts again had three 1,000-yard receivers, with Joiner, Chandler and Winslow all crossing the mark.
73.
Miami scored 24 points of their own to tie the score in the 3rd quarter, before Dan Fouts restored the lead with a 25-yard touchdown to Winslow.
74.
Dan Fouts completed 7 of 8 passes for 75 yards on the ensuing drive, ending with a 9-yard touchdown pass that was intended for Winslow but caught instead by Brooks, with 58 seconds to play.
75.
The game went into overtime, where Dan Fouts completed back-to-back passes of 20 yards to Chandler and 39 yards to Joiner, and Benirschke won the game with a 29-yard field goal nearly 14 minutes into the extra period.
76.
Dan Fouts, who described the game as the best he'd ever played in, finished with 33 completions from 53 attempts for 433 yards, with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception.
77.
Dan Fouts did not support the strike action before it began, but trained extensively with his teammates while it was ongoing.
78.
Dan Fouts went 25 of 40 for 435 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.
79.
Dan Fouts become the first player in NFL history to post back-to-back 400-yard games.
80.
Dan Fouts led the league in passing yards, touchdowns, and yards per attempt.
81.
Dan Fouts won the Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year Award with 43 of the available 80 votes, but finished runner-up in NFL MVP voting with 33, two behind Washington kicker Mark Moseley.
82.
Dan Fouts did win a league MVP award from the PFWA, as well as the player-awarded Jim Thorpe Trophy.
83.
Dan Fouts was again well protected by the same quintet of offensive linemen as the previous year.
84.
Dan Fouts completed 27 of 43 passes for 333 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions, producing a passer rating of 112.5, his best in a playoff game.
85.
Dan Fouts completed 15 of 34 passes for 191 yards, 1 touchdown and 5 interceptions.
86.
Ultimately, Dan Fouts opted to sign a six-year contract with the Chargers, stating that he wanted to win a Super Bowl.
87.
Dan Fouts played for five more seasons, but missed time through injury in each of those, and would not return to the playoffs.
88.
Dan Fouts started the first seven games, throwing for at least 300 yards in five of them, but was kept out of the next five by a shoulder injury, ending a run of consecutive starts that stretched back to 1978.
89.
Dan Fouts threw 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions and produced a career-high 8.8 yards per attempt, while his completion percentage and passer rating were both the second best marks of his career.
90.
Dan Fouts had his fourth career 400-yard game in a Week 8 loss to the Raiders.
91.
Dan Fouts started the first thirteen games of the season, before injuring his groin and missing the remaining three.
92.
Dan Fouts still averaged 287.7 yards per game, but was eclipsed by Marino, who surpassed Dan Fouts' single-season record with 5,084 passing yards and his run of five straight Pro Bowl appearances came to an end.
93.
Dan Fouts was knocked out of a Week 4 game in Cleveland with knee ligament damage, and underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair it.
94.
Dan Fouts started the final game on the bench with a cracked fibula, though he did have a one-play cameo appearance, coming on to hand the ball off while Herrmann was winded.
95.
Dan Fouts nearly had three 1,000 receivers again, as Chandler and running back Lionel James both reached the mark, while Joiner was short by 68 yards.
96.
The Chargers lost their next seven games, with Dan Fouts throwing 6 touchdowns and 19 interceptions before being sidelined by a pair of concussions.
97.
Dan Fouts entered 1987 without his longest serving receiver, Joiner retiring as the record-holder in career receptions and yards.
98.
Dan Fouts played only briefly in the first of these defeats due to a calf injury, and missed the finale with a slightly torn rotator cuff.
99.
Dan Fouts completed 22 of 37 passes for 257 yards, no touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
100.
Dan Fouts scored the only Chargers touchdown of the game himself, on a 1-yard run.
101.
Statistically, Dan Fouts had a similar campaign to the previous year.
102.
Dan Fouts announced his retirement on March 24,1988, at his home in Rancho Santa Fe.
103.
Dan Fouts cited the wear and tear on his body as the main reason.
104.
Dan Fouts was 36 years old at the time, and second only to Fran Tarkenton in terms of NFL career passing yards, trailing by about 4,000 yards despite attempting 863 fewer passes.
105.
Dan Fouts threw for 43,040 yards and 254 touchdowns while starting 171 games over fifteen seasons in San Diego.
106.
At the time of his retirement, Dan Fouts was credited with 42 team records, as well as seven league records.
107.
When Dan Fouts was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, he chose Coryell to present him, and stated during his acceptance speech that he would not have become a Hall of Fame quarterback without his former coach.
108.
Dan Fouts took a lot of beatings, a lot of pounding, but continued to play, hurt or otherwise.
109.
Dan Fouts rarely used the shotgun, feeling more able to read defenses at the line.
110.
Dan Fouts frequently appears on lists of the best quarterbacks not to win a Super Bowl or play in one.
111.
Dan Fouts has been inducted into numerous halls of fame in the years following his retirement.
112.
Dan Fouts was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility.
113.
Dan Fouts was named the 2nd-team quarterback for the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team in 1990, receiving 1 full vote out of 26.
114.
Dan Fouts was one of the twenty quarterbacks listed as finalists for the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, though he was not among the ten who made the team.
115.
In 2009, Dan Fouts was named by fans as the "Greatest Charger Of All Time" in voting for the Chargers 50th anniversary team.
116.
Dan Fouts then switched to the CBS-affiliated KPIX-TV in his hometown of San Francisco, where he worked as the sports director and a sports anchor.
117.
In 2000, Dan Fouts moved into a commentary role on ABC's Monday Night Football, alongside MNF anchor Al Michaels and comedian Dennis Miller.
118.
Dan Fouts had a three-year contract, but ABC dropped both Fouts and Miller from the show in 2002, after only two seasons.
119.
Dan Fouts stayed with ABC, returning to college football and working alongside acclaimed veteran announcer Keith Jackson.
120.
In 1998, Dan Fouts made his big-screen debut, portraying himself in the football comedy The Waterboy, starring Adam Sandler.
121.
Dan Fouts did color commentary for the football video game NFL GameDay 2004, released in 2003.
122.
Dan Fouts married his first wife, public health major Julianne Mehl, in 1977.
123.
Dan Fouts had two children from the first marriage and two from the second.
124.
Dan Fouts is a keen golfer, who has appeared at numerous charity events.