Kim McQuilken (born February 26, 1951) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins and the USFL with the Washington Federals. His business career includes over 20 years as a football color commentator on radio and TV and two decades as a senior sales and marketing executive with Ted Turner’s Turner Broadcasting System.[1]
No. 11 | |
---|---|
Position: | Quarterback |
Personal information | |
Born: | Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S. | February 26, 1951
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
Weight: | 206 lb (93 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | William Allen (Allentown, PA) |
College: | Lehigh |
NFL draft: | 1974 / Round: 3 / Pick: 69 |
Career history | |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Early life
editMcQuilken was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and attended William Allen High School. He started as quarterback during his junior and senior seasons. During his senior year, McQuilken suffered a fractured clavicle in a pre-season scrimmage and missed the first three games.
Lehigh University
editMcQuilken was offered only one football scholarship after high school. The offer was from Lehigh University and Head Coach Fred Dunlap. Lehigh had not had a winning season in the previous 10 years. Moreover, Lehigh employed a ground offensive attack not suited to McQuilken’s passing skills. But Fred Dunlap convinced McQuilken the passing game would open up if he enrolled at Lehigh. The coach was true to his word[1]
In 1971, McQuilken’s sophomore season the team posted its first winning record in over a decade going 8-3 and setting numerous offensive records. McQuilken passed for over 2,000 yards in ‘71 setting new Lehigh records for yardage, attempts, and completions. By the middle of his junior year (1972) McQuilken would own every Lehigh game, season, and career passing record. In his 1973 senior season, Lehigh went 7-3-1 and won the Lambert Cup.[1]
Lehigh was selected as one of 16 D-LL teams invited to the first-ever NCAA D-LL national playoffs. The 1973 seniors at Lehigh graduated with a 3-0 record vs archival Lafayette College. McQuilken was the first-ever two-time winner of the game’s MVP trophy.[2]
Professional career
editMcQuilken was drafted in the third round of the 1974 NFL draft by Atlanta, and installed as the Falcons' third-string quarterback, behind Bob Lee and Pat Sullivan. He got in five games his rookie season and started the last two, including a 10–3 win over Green Bay. With the season-ending 3-11 record, none of the Falcons QBs experienced much success.[3]
Statistically, McQuilken was one of the poorest passers in NFL history that actually received significant playing time; for his seven-year career, he had a 17.9 passer rating, second-worst ever among players with at least 200 attempts.[note 1] He won only two of his seven starts as a Falcon, reaching his arguable nadir in a 1975 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, when McQuilken made 26 attempts with only five completions – and five interceptions. For his career, McQuilken would throw 29 picks against just four touchdowns, also one of the worst ratios in NFL history. In 1978, he went to the Washington Redskins as Joe Theismann's backup, appearing in just three games in 1979.[citation needed]
Out of football for three years, McQuilken joined the Washington Federals of the United States Football League in their 1983 inaugural season and emerged as their opening-day starter. Ultimately, he would complete 188-for-334 passes for 1,912 yards, seven touchdowns, and 14 interceptions for the season. However, the Feds would finish just 4–14 in front of small crowds, and the 32-year-old McQuilken retired.[citation needed]
NFL career statistics
editYear | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Sacks | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Sck | Yds | Fum | Lost | ||
1974 | ATL | 5 | 2 | 1–1 | 34 | 79 | 43.0 | 373 | 4.7 | 0 | 9 | 18.0 | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 9 | 113 | 0 | 0 |
1975 | ATL | 3 | 2 | 0–2 | 20 | 61 | 32.8 | 253 | 3.1 | 1 | 9 | 12.6 | 4 | 26 | 6.5 | 0 | 5 | 45 | 3 | 0 |
1976 | ATL | 8 | 3 | 1–2 | 48 | 121 | 39.7 | 450 | 3.7 | 2 | 10 | 21.7 | 9 | 26 | 2.9 | 0 | 17 | 164 | 6 | 0 |
1977 | ATL | 7 | 0 | 0–0 | 5 | 7 | 71.4 | 47 | 6.7 | 1 | 0 | 129.2 | 2 | -1 | -0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1979 | WSH | 3 | 0 | 0–0 | 1 | 4 | 25.0 | 12 | 3.0 | 0 | 1 | 25.0 | 2 | -3 | -1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career | 26 | 7 | 2–5 | 108 | 272 | 39.7 | 1,135 | 4.2 | 4 | 29 | 17.9 | 19 | 49 | 2.6 | 0 | 31 | 322 | 9 | 0 |
After football
editMcQuilken went on to become executive vice president of Cartoon Network, before leaving the network in 2006 to set up his own sports and entertainment marketing and licensing consulting business.[4]
Notes
edit- ^ The worst score, 17.0, belongs to Hugh McCullough, who played in the less pass-oriented 1930s and 1940s.
References
edit- ^ a b c "Lehigh alumnus and NFL quarterback reflects on collegiate and professional career". The Brown and White. November 14, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ "LEHIGH DEFEATS LAFAYETTE, 14‐6". The New York Times. November 19, 1972. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ Reinhard, Paul (February 4, 2017). "For former Lehigh and Falcons QB Kim McQuilken and his wife, Super Bowl is serious business". The Morning Call. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ Eggerton, John. "McQuilken Exiting Cartoon". www.broadcastingcable.com. Retrieved February 1, 2013.