Charles Carroll "Tony" Eason IV was born on October 8,1959 and is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League for eight seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots.
30 Facts About Tony Eason
1.
2.
Tony Eason played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini, receiving third-team All-American and two first-team All-Big Ten selections.
3.
Tony Eason spent his final two seasons as a backup with the New York Jets.
4.
Tony Eason grew up in Walnut Grove, California, and attended Delta High School in Clarksburg, California, a school with only 250 students at the time.
5.
Tony Eason's brother is former professional NFL player Bo Eason.
6.
Tony Eason spent two years playing football at American River in 1978 and 1979.
7.
Tony Eason transferred to the University of Illinois and sat out the 1980 season.
8.
Tony Eason completed 248 of 406 passes for 3,360 yards and 20 touchdowns.
9.
The Illini ranked third in the nation in passing in 1981, as Tony Eason led the Big Ten in passing efficiency and total offense and set nine conference records, including records for total offense, completions, passing yardage, and passing touchdowns.
10.
Tony Eason edged out Art Schlichter as the quarterback on the Associated Press' All Big-Ten football team.
11.
Tony Eason broke five NCAA passing records in 1982 and tied four more.
12.
Tony Eason finished second in the voting behind Michigan's Anthony Carter for the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the Most Valuable Player in the Big Ten.
13.
Tony Eason threw four of the Illini's seven interceptions in the game.
14.
Tony Eason completed 21 of 34 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns in the game.
15.
Tony Eason still holds many of the school's all-time passing records, including the following:.
16.
Tony Eason was selected by the New England Patriots in the first round of the 1983 NFL draft.
17.
Tony Eason was one of six quarterbacks picked in the first round of the 1983 Draft along with John Elway, Todd Blackledge, Jim Kelly, Ken O'Brien, and Dan Marino.
18.
Tony Eason would appear in 72 games for the Patriots between 1983 and 1989.
19.
In 1984, Grogan was named the starter, but Week 3 saw Tony Eason be tapped in to replace Grogan midway against the Seattle Seahawks.
20.
Tony Eason set an undesirable record in 1984 by being sacked 59 times for a loss of 409 yards; his 59 sacks were the most in NFL history at the time and currently stands as the ninth highest single season total.
21.
In total, Tony Eason threw for 2,156 yards but had 11 touchdowns to 17 interceptions.
22.
Tony Eason became the first and so far only starting quarterback in Super Bowl history to not have a pass completion, finishing 0-for-6 with no interceptions for a passer rating of 39.6, and was sacked three times.
23.
Tony Eason missed the opening game of the 1987 season due to a groin injury, which opened the door for Grogan to play.
24.
Tony Eason was the starter in the Week 7 game versus the Raiders, throwing just three passes before a tackle by Stacey Toran saw Eason suffer a separated shoulder that ended up knocking him out for the remainder of the season.
25.
Tony Eason did not see the field for the 1988 season until Week 15.
26.
Tony Eason won on opening day with a 15-of-23 performance for 273 yards with two touchdowns and interceptions each.
27.
Tony Eason reported to the team in order to not give up the remainder of his salary.
28.
Tony Eason started the last two games of the 1989 season for the Jets, which resulted in him throwing an interception in losses each time.
29.
Tony Eason retired after the season ended at the age of 31.
30.
In 2002, Tony Eason was coaching basketball in the Sacramento area.