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Ken Stabler
Position(s): Quarterback	Jersey #(s): 12
Born: December 25, 1945 (1945-12-25) (age 61) Foley, Alabama
Career Information
Year(s): 1970-1984
NFL Draft: 1968 / Round: 2 / Pick:
College: Alabama
Professional Teams
Oakland Raiders (1970-1979) Houston Oilers (1980-1981) New Orleans Saints (1982-1984)
Career Stats
TD-INT	194-222
Yards	27,938
QB Rating	75.3
Stats at NFL.com
Career Highlights and Awards
4x Pro Bowl (1973, 1974, 1976, 1977) NFL 1970s All-Decade Team 1974 NFL MVP 1976 Bert Bell Award Led NFL in Passing Touchdowns in 1974 and 1976

Kenneth "Kenny" Michael Stabler (born December 25, 1945 in Foley, Alabama) is a former American football quarterback in the NFL for the Oakland Raiders (1970-1979), the Houston Oilers (1980-1981), and the New Orleans Saints (1982-1984). He played college football at the University of Alabama.

Contents 1 High school and college career 2 NFL career 3 Broadcasting career 4 Video game appearances 5 Pop culture references 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Stabler became a highly touted football player at Foley High School. He led Foley to a won-loss record of 29-1 over his high school career - the only loss coming against arch-rival Fairhope, Alabama. He was an all-around athlete in high school, averaging 29 points a game in basketball and excelling enough as a left-handed pitcher in baseball to receive minor-league contract offers from the Houston Astros and New York Yankees.

He was recruited by Alabama's Paul "Bear" Bryant and joined the team in 1964. At the time, freshman were ineligible, and were not allowed to play in accordance with NCAA regulations, so Stabler did not participate in the 1964 season. As Stabler sat out the 1964 season, he watched his Crimson Tide win its second national championship under Bryant. In 1965, with Joe Namath having graduated and Stabler becoming eligible to participate, he split time with Steve Sloan at quarterback, and combined they led Alabama to a national championship with a thrilling 39-28 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Orange Bowl. In 1966, as a junior, Stabler took over the starting job full-time, and led Alabama to a perfect 11-0 season, capped by a blowout of Nebraska, this time in the Sugar Bowl. The Tide, coming off of back-to-back national championships, and having gone undefeated in 1966, was nevertheless snubbed at the polls, finishing third in the nation behind Notre Dame and Michigan State. In 1967, expectations were high for the team as Stabler was finally a senior, but it turned into a lackluster year. The offense, with Stabler at the helm, struggled at times, and the defense's performance slipped too. Alabama finished 8-2-1, its worst season since Stabler was a freshman in high school, 1960. The 1967 season, however, is particularly memorable for Stabler, with his game-winning touchdown run against rival Auburn. Trailing 3-0 in a game that was mired by a horrendous rain, Stabler scampered around right end for a 47-yard touchdown run, giving the Tide a 7-3 victory over hated rival Auburn. This run has been dubbed, "The Run in the Mud" in Alabama football lore, and has been captured twice in the paintings of famed sports artist Daniel Moore.

All told, Stabler finished his career with the Crimson Tide in 1967, having compiled a 28-3-2 record as a starter.

Stabler was drafted in the second round of the 1968 NFL Draft. Stabler first made his mark in the NFL in a 1972 playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. After entering the game in relief of Daryle Lamonica, he scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a 30-yard scramble. The Steelers, however, came back to win on a controversial, deflected pass from Terry Bradshaw to Franco Harris, known in football lore as The Immaculate Reception. His scrambling abilities gave him the nickname "The Snake".

After suffering severe knee injuries, Stabler became less a scrambling quarterback and more a classic, drop-back passer, known for deadly-accurate passes in the 10-to-20 yard range and an uncanny ability to lead late, come-from-behind drives. During the peak of his career he had an impressive receiving corps consisting of sprinter Cliff Branch, sure-handed possession receiver Fred Biletnikoff, and Hall-of-Fame tight end Dave Casper. As a starter in Oakland, Stabler was named AFC player of the year in 1974 and 1976, and was the NFL's passing champion in 1976. In January 1977 he guided the Raiders to their first Super Bowl victory, after a narrow playoff victory over the New England Patriots in which he scored the winning touchdown on a quarterback keeper. In the 1977 AFC Playoffs against the Baltimore Colts he threw a crucial 4th quarter pass to Dave Casper that set up a game tying field goal that sent into overtime in which the Raiders eventually won; the 4th quarter pass was dubbed the Ghost to the Post.

In 1980, he was traded to the Houston Oilers for Dan Pastorini, whom Raiders' owner Al Davis regarded as a more effective deep passer. Stabler left the Raiders as their all-time leader in completions (1,486), passing yards (19,078), and touchdown passes (150). The Oilers in turn saw Stabler as the missing ingredient that could finally get them past the Steelers and into the Super Bowl. Pastorini lost the starting job in Oakland to Jim Plunkett after an injury, and Plunkett then led the Raiders over Stabler and the Oilers in the playoffs. Stabler played one more season with Houston and then finished his NFL career with a three-year stint with the New Orleans Saints.

He currently provides color commentary alongside Eli Gold for broadcasts of Alabama football.

• Stabler is an unlockable character in the first NFL Street.

• Ken Stabler is one of the featured quarterbacks in All-Pro Football 2K8.

• Ken Stabler was featured on a SNL skit as the spokesman for a fictional product called the ^[1] Lung Brush.

• Professional wrestler Jake "The Snake" Roberts adapted his nickname "The Snake" as a tribute to Stabler.

• Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
• Mobile Sports Hall of Fame

• Ken Stabler and the Oakland Raiders by Lou Sahadi
• Snake by Ken Stabler

• Homepage
• Stats
• Ken Stabler - RaidersOnline.org

Preceded by O.J. Simpson

NFL Most Valuable Player 1974 season

Succeeded by Fran Tarkenton

v • d • e Oakland Raiders Super Bowl XI Champions

8 Ray Guy | 11 David Humm | 12 Ken Stabler | 14 Errol Mann | 15 Mike Rae | 20 Neal Colzie | 21 Cliff Branch | 24 Willie Brown | 25 Fred Biletnikoff | 26 Skip Thomas | 28 Clarence Davis | 29 Hubert Ginn | 30 Mark van Eeghen | 31 Carl Garrett | 32 Jack Tatum | 36 Manfred Moore | 39 Willie Hall | 40 Pete Banaszak | 41 Phil Villapiano | 43 George Atkinson | 46 Warren Bankston | 47 Charles Phillips | 49 Mike Siani | 50 Dave Dalby | 51 Rodrigo Barnes | 52 Floyd Rice | 54 Rik Bonness | 58 Monte Johnson | 60 Otis Sistrunk | 61 Herb McMath | 63 Gene Upshaw | 64 George Buehler | 66 Steve Sylvester | 70 Henry Lawrence | 72 John Matuszak | 74 Dave Rowe | 75 John Vella | 77 Charles Philyaw | 78 Art Shell | 79 Dan Medlin | 81 Morris Bradshaw | 83 Ted Hendricks | 87 Dave Casper Head Coach John Madden Coaches Tom Dahms | Lew Erber | Tom Flores | Joe Scannella | Don Shinnick | Oliver Spencer | Bob Zeman

v • d • e NFL MVP Award from the Associated Press

1957: J. Brown | 1958: J. Brown | 1959: Conerly | 1960: Van Brocklin & Schmidt | 1961: Hornung | 1962: J. Taylor | 1963: Tittle | 1964: Unitas | 1965: J. Brown | 1966: Starr | 1967: Unitas | 1968: Morrall | 1969: Gabriel | 1970: Brodie | 1971: Page | 1972: L. Brown | 1973: Simpson | 1974: Stabler | 1975: Tarkenton | 1976: Jones | 1977: Payton | 1978: Bradshaw | 1979: Campbell | 1980: Sipe | 1981: Anderson | 1982: Moseley | 1983: Theismann | 1984: Marino | 1985: Allen | 1986: L. Taylor | 1987: Elway | 1988: Esiason | 1989: Montana | 1990: Montana | 1991: Thomas | 1992: Young | 1993: Smith | 1994: Young | 1995: Favre | 1996: Favre | 1997: Favre & Sanders | 1998: Davis | 1999: Warner | 2000: Faulk | 2001: Warner | 2002: Gannon | 2003: Manning & McNair | 2004: Manning | 2005: Alexander | 2006: Tomlinson

v • d • e National Football League | NFL's 1970s All-Decade Team

Terry Bradshaw | Ken Stabler | Roger Staubach | Earl Campbell | Franco Harris | Walter Payton | O. J. Simpson | Harold Carmichael | Drew Pearson | Lynn Swann | Paul Warfield | Dave Casper | Charlie Sanders | Dan Dierdorf | Art Shell | Rayfield Wright | Ron Yary | Joe DeLamielleure | John Hannah | Larry Little | Gene Upshaw | Jim Langer | Mike Webster | Carl Eller | L.C. Greenwood | Harvey Martin | Jack Youngblood | Joe Greene | Bob Lilly | Merlin Olsen | Alan Page | Bobby Bell | Robert Brazile | Dick Butkus | Jack Ham | Ted Hendricks | Jack Lambert | Willie Brown | Jimmy Johnson | Roger Wehrli | Louis Wright | Dick Anderson | Cliff Harris | Ken Houston | Larry Wilson | Garo Yepremian | Jim Bakken | Ray Guy