Ranking History’s Most Clutch Quarterbacks

George Blanda was a folk hero when I was a kid. The Raiders backup quarterback/kicker of the early 1970s was a throwback to a different era, a man of the 1950s still taking the field in the era of bell bottoms. Blanda was still kicking field goals and taking occasional snaps at quarterback when he was 48 years old. And man, the sportswriters of the time made sure we all knew about it.

When Blanda threw a touchdown pass in relief of Ken Stabler to preserve a Raiders win against the Cowboys late in the 1974 season, you would have thought astronauts found life on the moon from the columns written the next day. Stabler was a middle-aged wish-fulfillment fantasy, and columnists swoon when we see an athlete who looks like us still accomplishing something on the field. Blanda was Doug Flutie mixed with Arnold Palmer and a dash of Tim Tebow, as portrayed by Sam Elliot.

As with most folk heroes, the reality doesn’t match the mythmaking. Blanda relieved Daryle Lamonica to lead a few late-game rallies in 1970 and 1971, when he was already in his mid 40s,  but he threw just 235 passes in nine years with the Raiders. He was good, but based on his reputation and fame, a 1970s fan might have thought he invented the forward pass. And his rambling early career, from long undistinguished years with the Bears to a star turn with the Oilers in the wacky early days of the AFL, wasn’t quite the stuff of legend. Blanda, to be blunt, was better copy than quarterback.

But c’mon: Blanda was still taking meaningful quarterback snaps at age 48. I’m not even 48 yet and my back hurts when I mow the lawn. That Blanda was able to make any contribution to the championship-caliber Raiders of the 1970s is nothing short of remarkable.

“Clutch” reputations are often a mix of fact, fiction and selective memory. When we love a player, we remember the big wins and overlook the big mistakes or missed opportunities. Blanda benefited from the narrative more than most of the quarterbacks on this countdown. But there was still a great deal of truth behind the legend.