Posted on 05/15/2006 10:40:54 AM PDT by 300magnum
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Doug Flutie retired Monday, ending a 21-year career in which the undersized Heisman Trophy winner threw one of college football's most famous passes and went on to play a dozen seasons in the NFL.
The decision by the 43-year-old Flutie was announced by the New England Patriots, for whom he played five games last season.
Flutie spent 12 seasons in the NFL and also played in the USFL and the Canadian Football League. He won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player award six times and the league's Grey Cup championship three times.
Flutie finishes with 14,715 passing yards and 86 touchdowns in the NFL, spending most of his time as a backup. Last season, he attempted just 10 passes and converted the league's first drop kick for an extra point since the 1941 NFL title game.
"If that ends up being my last play, it wouldn't be bad," Flutie said after the game, a mostly meaningless regular season-ending loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Flutie said this month he had spoken to many teams, as well as to networks about broadcasting.
"I still have that passion but you've got to make that decision if you can stay healthy through the year," he said at an appearance at a Boston high school, where he demonstrated drop kicks.
A resident of nearby Natick, Flutie won the 1984 Heisman Trophy at Boston College after connecting with Gerard Phelan on a desperation 48-yard touchdown pass to beat Miami as time expired. His signature play, it remains one of the most memorable in the sport.
Flutie left BC as the school's passing leader with 10,579 yards, and he remains a hero on campus; his Heisman is the centerpiece of the school's new Hall of Fame. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the 11th round in 1985 but chose to play for the USFL's New Jersey Generals, owned by Donald Trump.
When that league failed, he joined the NFL, but his freewheeling style and short stature — the Patriots generously listed him at 5-foot-10 — were a poor fit for its conservative schemes. He played five games for Chicago the next two seasons and 17 for New England from 1987-89.
Only in the CFL, with its wide-open game, did he truly find success, throwing for 41,355 yards and 270 touchdowns in eight seasons with British Columbia, Calgary and Toronto.
He joined Buffalo in 1998 and played more regularly — 39 games over three years. He started all 16 games for San Diego in 2001 then spent the next three years as backup to Drew Brees.
Last April, he signed with the hometown Patriots for a second time and played sparingly, making his biggest splash on special teams with his drop kick.
"I think Doug deserves it," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, sensing that the play would be Flutie's football finale. "He is a guy that adds a lot to this game of football, has added a lot through his great career — running, passing and now kicking."
Yep!
Hillary Supporter - PUKE!
Drop kick extra point - Awesome!
Yeah.. My most most striking image of him is striding out of the fog after the Fog Bowl. Phildelphia was such an exciting team that year, and it looked like Randall and Buddy Ryan would finally take the Bears out. Randall threw for about a billion yards, but McMahon didn't make any mistakes and took the Bears to a win in the most surreal game I've ever seen.
That pass saved me from being in a 60 car pile-up.
I lived in Syracuse & was leaving had to do some Christmas shopping. One section of the interstate was frozen solid. Had I not run back into the house to watch the end of the game I would have been smack in the middle of it.
In fairness to Flutie, Chicago is a rough place to be a QB. The Bears have had only a handful of really great quarterbacks in their long history. And McMahon was utterly wild and uncontrollable - Ditka didn't call him "Mad Mac" for nothing.
"He even took on Roselle with his headband endorsements."
Don't forget "PLUTO"!
Tomczak was so incredibly inconsistent. When he was on, he was truly superb. I recall the first game of the '87 season against the Giants, he was brilliant. But unfortunately that was the exception. I always liked him. He was a walk-on after his OSU career, not exactly a QB factory.
Very true,especially passing wise, but he did have very good running ability.
How can anyone not like a walk-on?:)
I jumped off his band wagon when he campaigned for Hillary when he was with the Buffalo Bills.
Come on, guys like massgopguy are really unusual. Massholes are raised to be Democrats. Fighting that tide and recognizing how similar that is to being raised to "milk bulls" ala the movie Kingpin is a reason to admire someone from there, but how can you blame someone who doesn't see through the crap who's from there?
Good points. Does anyone remember how long or good a career in the CFL his brother had? I seem to rememver Darren being pretty good as a WR.
I remember all the publicity he brought to that with Futie Flakes. DEFINITELY a classy guy.
Izzo's son's middle name is "Mateen." I remember the annoucement when I was in grad school at MSU. His daughter went to Spartan Village elementary school -- the local school for the on-campus-with-kids students. Izzo's a decent guy, although I wouldn't call the MSU basketball program squeaky clean by any measure.
DY -- I'm a native of NC and UNC graduate with a PhD from Michigan State who loved "Escanaba in 'da Moonlight" and still remembers how to play Euchre. Feel free to drop me a line with NCAA Hoops questions...
I always thought (although I'm way too young to have watched it) one of the great feats of college basketball history was when North Carolina beat MSU with the great Jumping Johnny Green and then Kansas with the awesome Wilt Chamberlin, both in triple overtime. http://www.fansonly.com/schools//unc/genrel/032299aaa.html
What do you think John L. Smith should have to do to stay on? Do you want Steve Mariucci to become coach at MSU?
That's amazing!
Too bad. Flutie was a class act.
I for one am sure going to miss him. Lots of exciting moments when he is in uniform.
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