146 Facts About Dan Fouts

Daniel Francis Fouts was born on June 10,1951 and is an American former professional football quarterback who played for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League throughout his 15-season career.

Dan Fouts was voted a Pro Bowler six times, first-team All-Pro twice, and in 1982 he was the Offensive Player of the Year.

Dan Fouts was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility.

Dan Fouts played college football for the Oregon Ducks, where he broke numerous records, and was later inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Oregon Hall of Fame.

Dan Fouts was a third-round draft pick by the Chargers in 1973.

Dan Fouts struggled during his first three seasons in the league.

Dan Fouts's form began to improve in 1976, but he was discontented over the direction of the team and the restrictions of the NFL's free agency rules so he refused to play during the majority of the 1977 season.

Early in 1978, Don Coryell became the head coach of the Chargers and he instituted the pass-oriented Air Coryell offensive scheme, allowing Dan Fouts to throw the ball with unprecedented frequency.

Dan Fouts led the NFL in passing yards for four straight years from 1979 to 1982, and he became the first player in league history to throw for 4,000 yards in three straight seasons, breaking the NFL single-season record for passing yards each time.

Dan Fouts' performance was rewarded by six Pro Bowl selections and four All-Pro selections.

Dan Fouts was the winning quarterback of the Epic in Miami, when he broke the league playoff single-game record by passing for 433 yards.

Dan Fouts was the first quarterback to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame without appearing in either the Super Bowl or an NFL championship game.

Dan Fouts is the son of Bay Area Radio Hall of Famer Bob Fouts.

Dan Fouts was born in San Francisco on June 10,1951, to Julie and Bob Fouts, the fourth of five children.

Dan Fouts's father was a sports broadcaster who commentated for the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL for over 20 years.

At the age of 11, when 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.

Dan Fouts played Pop Warner football for the Drake Junior Pirates, where his coach described him as an "outstanding quarterback" in 1964.

Dan Fouts attended Marin Catholic High School, located just north of San Francisco in Kentfield, California, for his first two years of high school football and had his first starts as a sophomore in 1966.

Dan Fouts temporarily lost his starting position after his play was described as "extremely jittery" by the local San Rafael Daily Independent Journal, but an end of season report from the same paper stated that he should improve with better protection.

Dan Fouts transferred to St Ignatius College Preparatory, in San Francisco, for his final two years of high school.

Dan Fouts nearly reversed his touchdown to interceptions ratio, with 16 touchdowns and two interceptions.

Dan Fouts was not a highly sought recruit when he accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Oregon to play for the Ducks in Eugene.

Dan Fouts did not play for the main Ducks team during his first year at Oregon ; instead he started for the freshman team, composed of first-year players.

Dan Fouts got his first chance to start two weeks later when Blanchard was out due to injury.

Dan Fouts went on to set Oregon single-game records for the most attempts, completions and yards, and single-season records for completions and touchdowns.

Dan Fouts entered the 1971 season as an established and highly rated starter.

The Capital Journal compared the two quarterbacks, stating that Dan Fouts faced "trying conditions" with a relative lack of support on offense.

Dan Fouts was named to the All-Pac-8 team as chosen by the conference's coaches, as well as the UPI All-Coast team and the Associated Press All-West Coast team.

At the time of his graduation, Dan Fouts' career passing yardage ranked No 1 in Oregon history, No 2 in the Pac-8 and No 7 in the NCAA.

Dan Fouts set 19 Oregon records, including career passing yardage and total offense, and he was inducted into the university's hall of fame as part of the inaugural 1992 class.

Dan Fouts was selected in the third round of the 1973 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers; he was the sixth quarterback taken in the draft and the 64th selection overall.

Dan Fouts was brought in to back up one of his childhood idols, Johnny Unitas, who had joined the Chargers during the off-season after 17 years with the Baltimore Colts.

Dan Fouts broke his collarbone in the Coaches All-America Game after he was drafted; the Chargers management had not wanted him to play in the game because of the risk of injury.

Dan Fouts missed the start of training camp while holding out for more money, then missed the first three preseason games while recovering from his injury.

Dan Fouts finished the season ranked 12th by passer rating in the 13-team American Football Conference.

Unitas announced his retirement before the 1974 season, leaving Dan Fouts to compete with rookie Jesse Freitas for the starting job.

New head coach Tommy Prothro singled out Dan Fouts as giving the only good performance during a preseason loss, and he began the regular season as the starter.

San Diego lost their first regular season game, but Dan Fouts got his first career win in week 2, leading a 98-yard 4th quarter drive for the winning touchdown.

Dan Fouts can yell, that's his privilege, but it was a bad pass.

Two weeks later, Dan Fouts was the only quarterback Prothro used against the Oakland Raiders.

San Diego went on to lose their first eleven games while Dan Fouts missed playing time with a sore ankle and a concussion.

Dan Fouts sustained a total of seven injuries during the course of the year.

Dan Fouts was the league's No 1 rated passer at that stage, though the defenses he had faced were not highly regarded.

Dan Fouts's performances worsened as the season went on, and fans were calling for backup Clint Longley to have more playing time entering the week 10 game with the Denver Broncos.

Longley did start one game late in the season, but was benched for Dan Fouts after failing to produce any points in the first half.

Dan Fouts finished with the eighth-best passer rating in the AFC, and led the conference in both pass attempts and completions.

Dan Fouts expressed a desire to leave San Diego, and complained about the new collective bargaining agreement which said that the Chargers had to only match the offer of another team to prevent him from leaving.

Dan Fouts was reportedly annoyed by Harris's acquisition by the Chargers, and by the size of Harris's contract, but Dan Fouts himself said that he wanted to play in a Super Bowl, and that the Chargers were not of that caliber.

Dan Fouts stated that he would retire if he was not allowed to leave San Diego.

Klein said that Dan Fouts had been given bad advice by his lawyer, and would be welcomed back to the team.

Dan Fouts declined to comment on his holdout to the press.

Chargers player representative Pat Curran stated that the team welcomed Dan Fouts back, suggesting that his criticisms of Prothro and the quality of his teammates were a "smoke-screen" to support his attempt to become a free agent.

Dan Fouts won praise from Prothro when he won his first two games back, and described the team as the best of his Chargers career.

Dan Fouts lost the next two games, struggling in both.

Dan Fouts signed a new five-year contract with the Chargers during the off-season, and was selected as the starter ahead of Harris.

Dan Fouts talked about fun, passing, moving the ball, flying around the field, hitting people.

Dan Fouts responded with a total of 917 yards and 9 touchdowns as the Chargers won all three, giving him seven consecutive victories as a starter.

Dan Fouts passed for 369 yards in the season finale, tying Tobin Rote's franchise record.

Dan Fouts finished with the third-best passer rating in the league and the fourth-most touchdown passes.

Dan Fouts had 2,999 passing yards, accounting for the bulk of San Diego's league-leading 3,375 yards.

Dan Fouts finished the season with 4,082 yards passing, breaking Joe Namath's NFL record of 4,007.

Dan Fouts set an NFL record with four consecutive 300-yard games, while his total of six such games tied Joe Namath's league record.

Dan Fouts's leading receivers, John Jefferson and Charlie Joiner, were the first pair of teammates to each surpass 1,000 receiving yards in a season since 1968.

Dan Fouts was named a Pro Bowler and an AP first-team All-Pro.

Dan Fouts completed 25 of 47 passes for 333 yards, no touchdowns, and five interceptions.

Dan Fouts broke the single-game passing yards franchise record he had shared with Rote in week 2, then improved on that total in weeks 6 and 7.

Dan Fouts improved on his NFL single-season record with 4,715 passing yards and he became the first quarterback with two 4,000 yard seasons.

Dan Fouts's passing produced an unprecedented three 1,000-yard receivers, with Jefferson, Joiner and tight end Kellen Winslow all achieving the feat.

Dan Fouts was again named to the Pro Bowl squad; he was a second-team AP All-Pro behind Brian Sipe of the Cleveland Browns.

Dan Fouts finished with two touchdowns and 314 yards against a Bills defense that was known for being strong against passing offenses.

Dan Fouts had a mixed first half, as he threw two touchdown passes to Joiner and two red zone interceptions.

Dan Fouts was described by a Gannett article as "deeply depressed" afterwards.

Dan Fouts had to overcome the loss of one of his leading receivers, as Jefferson was traded after holding out for more money; San Diego brought in Wes Chandler from the New Orleans Saints as a replacement and their offense continued to statistically dominate the league.

Dan Fouts had to overcome the fragility of the San Diego defense, which became much weaker after the trade of another holdout, defensive end Fred Dean.

Dan Fouts had not been a member of the NFLPA since 1976, when he left because of the Collective Bargaining Agreement that he had opposed in court in 1977.

Klein did not suspend Dan Fouts as requested and he claimed that NFLPA executive director Ed Garvey was making a grandstanding move before the Chargers' potentially crucial final game, accusing him of vindictiveness and incompetence.

Dan Fouts received an award from the National Right to Work Committee for his stance against compulsory union membership; he explained that he was a supporter of free enterprise and free association, and stated that he would continue to refuse to pay the union.

Dan Fouts improved on his own NFL records for passing yards with 4,802 while extending his record with a third 4,000 yard season.

Dan Fouts improved his own records for attempts and completions.

Dan Fouts's 33 passing touchdowns led the league and set a franchise record.

Dan Fouts again made the Pro Bowl, this time as a backup to Ken Anderson.

Dan Fouts threw a game-tying touchdown pass with 58 seconds to play, then set up Rolf Benirschke's winning field goal with a 39-yard completion to Joiner in overtime.

Dan Fouts set NFL playoff records for pass attempts, completions, and yards.

Dan Fouts described the Epic in Miami as the greatest game he'd played in.

Dan Fouts left the field with icicles having formed in his beard.

Dan Fouts couldn't get the words out of his frozen mouth.

Dan Fouts was again critical of the NFLPA when a players strike interrupted the 1982 season after two games.

Dan Fouts tied his career high with 444 passing yards and threw five touchdowns.

Dan Fouts passed for 2,883 yards, leading the league for the fourth year in a row; this streak remains an NFL record as of 2023.

Dan Fouts's average yards per game of 320.3 was an NFL record, and would have put him on pace for 5,125 yards in a standard 16-game season.

Dan Fouts won a league MVP award from the PFWA, as well as the player-awarded Jim Thorpe Trophy.

Dan Fouts was voted to another Pro Bowl and named an AP first-team All-Pro.

Dan Fouts threw three touchdowns in total and passed for 333 yards.

Dan Fouts was unable to get offers from other teams, in part because of a rule that would require potential teams to give the Chargers two first-round draft picks in compensation.

Dan Fouts continued to criticize the NFLPA for the state of NFL free agency, describing it as "another example of how the players have been misled and misguided by Garvey and his troops".

Dan Fouts only played in ten games but was still voted to his fifth straight Pro Bowl after finishing with the third best passer rating in the AFC.

Dan Fouts was shut out for his first time since 1979 in a week 9 game at the Seattle Seahawks, in which both Winslow and Chandler were unfit to play.

Dan Fouts started the first thirteen games of the season, before injuring his groin and missing the remaining three.

Dan Fouts entered the 1985 season leading all active players for passing yards and touchdowns.

Dan Fouts threw another touchdown on the Chargers' first possession of their week 4 game with the Cleveland Browns, but sustained knee ligament damage after hits on consecutive plays of their second series.

Dan Fouts underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair the injury later that day.

Dan Fouts passed for 3,686 yards despite the injuries, averaging over 300 yards per start.

Dan Fouts was voted a second-team AP All-Pro behind Marino and made his sixth Pro Bowl.

Dan Fouts continued to struggle as the season progressed, with 14 more interceptions in his next five games.

Raiders cornerback Lester Hayes remarked that the Charger offense was "not the Dan Fouts show anymore," and that running back Gary Anderson was now the key player.

Dan Fouts continued to pick up injuries and he missed three games due to a pair of concussions and one more with a sore shoulder.

San Diego's new head coach Al Saunders preferred a more conservative style of offense, with more emphasis on Anderson and less on the 36-year-old Dan Fouts attempting to throw long balls.

Dan Fouts has some success with the new system, with a higher completion percentage and fewer interceptions thrown late in the season.

Dan Fouts posted his sixth 3,000-yard season, breaking an NFL record that he had shared with Sonny Jurgensen, and overtook Unitas for second place on the career passing yardage list.

Dan Fouts was involved in a preseason dispute with Chargers owner Alex Spanos.

Dan Fouts stated that he would be forced to trade Fouts unless the player agreed to play for $750,000.

Dan Fouts, who did not have his agent with him during the meeting, denied that he had been negotiating.

Dan Fouts claimed that Spanos had "a PR campaign underway to set the stage for a trade", questioned the plausibility of him having refused a large pay rise and told the media that he intended to play for his contracted amount.

Dan Fouts led the Chargers in training five days each week with the sessions based on game plans prepared by San Diego's coaching staff for the opponents that the replacement Chargers were playing.

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.

Dan Fouts tended to pass over shorter distances in Saunders' offensive system.

Dan Fouts announced his retirement on March 24,1988, at his home in Rancho Santa Fe.

Dan Fouts cited the wear and tear on his body as the main reason.

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 having attempted 863 fewer passes.

Dan Fouts threw for a total 43,040 yards and 254 touchdowns while starting 171 games over fifteen seasons in San Diego; he rushed for 476 yards and 13 touchdowns.

At the time of his retirement, Dan Fouts was credited with 42 team records and 7 league records.

Dan Fouts is remembered as the quarterback of the Air Coryell offense, which led the league in passing yards seven times in an eight-season span.

Dan Fouts rarely used the shotgun formation; he felt that he was more able to read defenses at the line.

Dan Fouts took a lot of beatings, a lot of pounding, but continued to play, hurt or otherwise.

Dan Fouts was noted for his aggressive leadership, and he would often berate teammates who failed to perform.

Dan Fouts wore a hat that read "MFIC", which was already evident to the team.

Dan Fouts was further honored when the San Diego Hall of Champions placed him in the Breitbard Hall of Fame in 1989.

Dan Fouts was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility.

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.

In 2009, Dan Fouts received more votes than any other Charger during fan voting for their 50th anniversary team.

When Dan Fouts was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he chose Coryell to present him.

Dan Fouts considered strong line play to be another important factor in San Diego's offense and would buy his linemen dinner if they kept him from being sacked during a game.

Dan Fouts was the first quarterback to be inducted into the Hall of Fame with no appearances in a title game.

When he announced his retirement, Dan Fouts stated his desire to work as a commentator, starting with the 1988 season.

Dan Fouts had briefly worked as a journalist during his career, when he covered Super Bowl XX for USA Today and a San Diego television station.

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.

In 1997, Dan Fouts returned to network television as an analyst, this time working college football games for ABC Sports alongside play-by-play man Brent Musburger.

In 2000, Dan Fouts moved into a commentary role on ABC's Monday Night Football, alongside anchor Al Michaels and comedian Dennis Miller.

Dan Fouts had a three-year contract, but ABC dropped both Fouts and Miller from the show in 2002 after only two seasons.

Dan Fouts stayed with ABC, returning to college football and working alongside veteran announcer Keith Jackson.

Eagle and Dan Fouts were often called "The Bird and the Beard".

In 1998, Dan Fouts made his big-screen debut, portraying himself in the Frank Coraci-directed comedy The Waterboy, starring Adam Sandler.

Dan Fouts did color commentary for the football video game NFL GameDay 2004, released in 2003.

Dan Fouts married his first wife Julianne Mehl, a public health major, in 1977.

Dan Fouts has two children from his first marriage, and two from his second.

Dan Fouts is an avid golfer who has appeared at numerous charity events.