April 1, 1964, 60 years ago: The Philadelphia Eagles trade quarterback Sonny Jurgensen to the Washington Redskins, for quarterback Norm Snead. This was the dumbest trade in NFL history.
Christian Adolph Jurgensen III was not only a quarterback at Duke, but a fine defensive back, and led them to the 1954 ACC title and a win over Nebraska in the 1955 Orange Bowl. He became Norm Van Brocklin's backup on the Philadelphia Eagles, winning the 1960 NFL Championship. Van Brocklin retired, and Sonny became the starter in 1961, making the 1st of 5 Pro Bowl teams, leading the NFL in passing yards 5 times and in touchdown passes twice.
But in 1964, the Eagles named Joe Kuharich as head coach. Kuharich was a massive prude, and Sonny liked the nightlife, so Joe traded Sonny to the Washington Redskins for their starting quarterback of the time, Norm Snead.
But in 1964, the Eagles named Joe Kuharich as head coach. Kuharich was a massive prude, and Sonny liked the nightlife, so Joe traded Sonny to the Washington Redskins for their starting quarterback of the time, Norm Snead.
This trade was so dumb! How dumb was it? Over the rest of the decade, the Eagles floundered, while the Redskins got better, eventually becoming the team (albeit quarterbacked by Billy Kilmer, with Sonny as an aging backup) that won the 1972 NFC Championship.
Sonny Jurgensen had the highest career "quarterback rating" of any player before the 1978 rule changes that opened up the passing game: 82.6. Vince Lombardi, who coached the Redskins in the last season of his life, 1969, said, "If we would have had Sonny Jurgensen in Green Bay, we'd never have lost a game." And this is a man who had Bart Starr, the only man to quarterback 5 NFL Championship teams without cheating. Although the thought of Sonny Jurgensen and Paul Hornung playing together on Saturday night before they played together on Sunday afternoon is a scary thought.
Sonny also threw more touchdown passes in the 1960s than any other quarterback -- more than Starr, more than Johnny Unitas, more than Joe Namath. Guess which quarterback threw more interceptions in the 1960s than any other. Did I telegraph the punch enough? It was Norm Snead. And Joe Kuharich traded Sonny for Norm.
Sonny Jurgensen had the highest career "quarterback rating" of any player before the 1978 rule changes that opened up the passing game: 82.6. Vince Lombardi, who coached the Redskins in the last season of his life, 1969, said, "If we would have had Sonny Jurgensen in Green Bay, we'd never have lost a game." And this is a man who had Bart Starr, the only man to quarterback 5 NFL Championship teams without cheating. Although the thought of Sonny Jurgensen and Paul Hornung playing together on Saturday night before they played together on Sunday afternoon is a scary thought.
Sonny also threw more touchdown passes in the 1960s than any other quarterback -- more than Starr, more than Johnny Unitas, more than Joe Namath. Guess which quarterback threw more interceptions in the 1960s than any other. Did I telegraph the punch enough? It was Norm Snead. And Joe Kuharich traded Sonny for Norm.
Norm didn't seem to have a clue about the trade.
Or about much else.
Snead was named to 5 Pro Bowls, but bounced around. The Eagles let him go after the 1970 season. He played for the Minnesota Vikings in 1971; the New York Giants in 1972, '73 and '74; the San Francisco 49ers in 1974 and '75; and 1 more season with the Giants, in 1976.
His Number 16 was retired -- by Wake Forest University, not by any of the pro teams for which he played. (Okay, the Giants did retire Number 16, but for Frank Gifford. And the 49ers retired it, but for Joe Montana.) He later served as head coach for a vocational-and-technical high school in his hometown of Newport News, Virginia.
Sonny was named to the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame, the NFL's 1960s All-Decade Team, the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame and the Washington Redskins Ring of Fame. He retired after the 1974 season. The next season, he and Hall of Fame linebacker Sam Huff formed a beloved broadcasting team for the Redskins. Sam retired from this role in after the 2012 season, Sonny after 2018.
For most of their history, the team now known as the Washington Commanders did not officially retire uniform numbers, with Sammy Baugh's 33 being the lone exception. But Sonny Jurgensen's Number 9 has only been given out once since he retired after the 1974 season.
That was in 2002, by new head coach Steve Spurrier, to one of his former University of Florida quarterbacks, Shane Matthews. He also gave Number 7, worn by Joe Theismann, to another of his Florida quarterbacks, Danny Wuerffel. Redskin fans were so angry that, before the regular season started, Spurrier got the message, and switched Wuerffel to 17 (there was no outcry over getting him Kilmer's number) and Matthews to 6.
Joe Kuharich died on January 25, 1981 -- by a strange coincidence, the day in which the Eagles played in their 1st NFL championship game since refusing to hire Norm Van Brocklin as head coach. It was Super Bowl XV, and they lost to the Oakland Raiders. He was 63. Sam Huff died on November 13, 2021, at 87. In 2022, at the age of 88, Sonny Jurgensen finally got his Number 9 officially retired by the Washington Commanders. Norm Snead died on January 14, 2024, at 84.
April 1, 1964 was also the day that Scott Stevens was born in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. A tough-guy defenseman for the Washington Capitals, he captained the New Jersey Devils to 3 Stanley Cup wins: In 1995, 2000 and 2003. His Number 4 became the 1st number retired by the Devils.