.jpg) Pastorini with the Oilers in 1978 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 7, 10, 6 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | (1949-05-26)May 26, 1949 (age 75) San Francisco, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 208 lb (94 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Bellarmine College Prep (San Jose, California) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Santa Clara | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1971: 1st round, 3rd pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Dante Anthony Pastorini (born May 26, 1949) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aquarterback in theNational Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with theHouston Oilers. He playedcollege football for theSanta Clara Broncos and was selected third overall by the Oilers in the1971 NFL draft. APro Bowl selection during his Oilers tenure, he was also part of theOakland Raiders team that won aSuper Bowl title inSuper Bowl XV alongside fellow 1971 pickJim Plunkett. Pastorini spent his final three seasons in sparse appearances for theLos Angeles Rams andPhiladelphia Eagles. After retiring from the NFL, Pastorini pursued a career asTop Fueldragster driver in theNational Hot Rod Association (NHRA).
He played college football atSanta Clara University and received second-team honors on the1970 Little All-America college football team.[1]
Pastorini also played college baseball and was drafted straight out of high school by theNew York Mets in the 32nd round of1967 MLB draft (599 overall)[2] along with future Saints quarterbackArchie Manning, but ultimately decided to play football.
Pastorini wasdrafted by theHouston Oilers in the first round (third overall) of the1971 NFL draft out ofSanta Clara University. The draft was dubbed "The Year of the Quarterback" with Pastorini taken third behindJim Plunkett (first) andArchie Manning (second).
Pastorini was known as a tough quarterback throughout his career.[citation needed] From 1971 through 1979, Pastorini missed only five regular season games, playing through broken ribs and even a punctured lung at times. He was the first player to wear the now ubiquitous "flak jacket" under his uniform to protect broken ribs. He did not play behind what would be considered a quality offensive line until 1977, when the Oilers hiredJoe Bugel as offensive line coach and brought in players like Greg Sampson and, later, Leon Gray. By 1978, the Oilers had a running game with the drafting of futureHall of FamerEarl Campbell.
.jpg)
Pastorini was also named to the 1975 AFC Pro Bowl Team. Pastorini's best season came in 1978 when he threw for a career-high 2,473 yards and 16 touchdowns.In the 1978 playoffs, Pastorini fared very well, helping lead the Oilers to wins over theMiami Dolphins and AFC East division championNew England Patriots.
Pastorini's last game as a Houston Oiler was the 1979 AFC championship game against thePittsburgh Steelers, a game which many Oilers fans contended was decided when the officials blew a call on aMike Renfro touchdown reception. Instant replay rules were not in effect at the time, so the play could not be reviewed as it would be in the present day. The best replay angles NBC could provide of the play show Renfro clearly catching the ball and getting both feet in the endzone with no juggling. It was not clear to the referees but was clear to some viewers of the game that Renfro had complete control of the ball when he hit the ground. His feet according to the replays were both in bounds when he had possession of the ball. The play was a major turning point in the momentum of the game, which resulted in a Steeler victory.
Later in 1980, Oilers owner,Bud Adams, traded Pastorini to theOakland Raiders in exchange for an agingKen Stabler who was 3 years Pastorini's senior.
Five weeks into the 1980 season with Oakland, after posting a 2–2 record, Pastorini broke his leg against the Kansas City Chiefs. The fans, who had been unhappy with his performance and wanted to see backupJim Plunkett, cheered when they realized he was hurt. Plunkett, aHeisman Trophy winner out of Stanford, and former starting quarterback for the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers, had been with the Raiders as a backup quarterback since 1978. He took over and led the Raiders to a Super Bowl victory over thePhiladelphia Eagles in January 1981.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| Pro Bowl selection | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Punting | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Lng | Rtg | Pnt | Yds | Y/P | Lng | TB | ||
| 1971 | HOU | 14 | 8 | 4–4 | 127 | 270 | 47.0 | 1,702 | 6.3 | 7 | 21 | 62 | 43.8 | 75 | 3,044 | 35.5 | 62 | 4 |
| 1972 | HOU | 14 | 12 | 1–11 | 144 | 299 | 48.2 | 1,711 | 5.7 | 7 | 12 | 82 | 57.1 | 82 | 3,381 | 41.2 | 63 | 4 |
| 1973 | HOU | 14 | 10 | 0–10 | 154 | 290 | 53.1 | 1,482 | 5.1 | 5 | 17 | 50 | 49.0 | 27 | 1,087 | 40.3 | 59 | 1 |
| 1974 | HOU | 11 | 10 | 6–4 | 140 | 247 | 56.7 | 1,571 | 6.4 | 10 | 10 | 65 | 72.4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1975 | HOU | 14 | 14 | 10–4 | 163 | 342 | 47.7 | 2,053 | 6.0 | 14 | 16 | 77 | 61.0 | 62 | 2,447 | 39.5 | 68 | 6 |
| 1976 | HOU | 13 | 10 | 4–6 | 167 | 309 | 54.0 | 1,795 | 5.8 | 10 | 10 | 67 | 68.6 | 70 | 2,571 | 36.7 | 74 | 3 |
| 1977 | HOU | 14 | 12 | 8–4 | 169 | 319 | 53.0 | 1,987 | 6.2 | 13 | 18 | 85 | 62.3 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1978 | HOU | 16 | 16 | 10–6 | 199 | 368 | 54.1 | 2,473 | 6.7 | 16 | 17 | 80 | 70.4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1979 | HOU | 15 | 15 | 10–5 | 163 | 324 | 50.3 | 2,090 | 6.5 | 14 | 18 | 55 | 62.1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1980 | OAK | 5 | 5 | 2–3 | 66 | 130 | 50.8 | 932 | 7.2 | 5 | 8 | 56 | 61.4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1981 | LA Rams | 7 | 5 | 1–4 | 64 | 152 | 42.1 | 719 | 4.7 | 2 | 14 | 46 | 22.9 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1982 | PHI | Did not play | ||||||||||||||||
| 1983 | PHI | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | 140 | 117 | 56–61 | 1,556 | 3,055 | 50.9 | 18,515 | 6.1 | 103 | 161 | 85 | 59.1 | 316 | 12,530 | 39.7 | 74 | 18 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Lng | Rtg | ||
| 1978 | HOU | 3 | 3 | 2–1 | 44 | 70 | 62.9 | 602 | 8.6 | 4 | 6 | 71 | 73.6 |
| 1979 | HOU | 2 | 2 | 1–1 | 27 | 46 | 58.7 | 352 | 7.7 | 0 | 2 | 41 | 64.8 |
| Career | 5 | 5 | 3–2 | 71 | 116 | 61.2 | 954 | 8.2 | 4 | 8 | 71 | 70.1 | |
Pastorini racedhydroplanes,drag-raced cars, judgedwet T-shirt contests, starred in a 1975 movie calledWeed: The Florida Connection (with then wife June Wilkinson), and co-starred in a 1979Lee Majors movieKiller Fish. He also played a role in the TV seriesVoyagers! as a gladiator, and posed nude in 1980 forPlaygirl magazine.Dian Hanson reported that Pastorini frequentedPlato's Retreat at the height of his career in the 1970s.[3]
Pastorini drove aTop Fueldragster as part of theNHRA Winston Drag Racing Series in the mid-1980s. He won many individual races at national events, but claimed only one event championship in 1986 at the NHRA Southern Nationals in Atlanta, finishing 7th in NHRA Championship Points that year. He was the third man to break the 270-mph barrier in a Top Fuel Dragster.[4] He also participated in the 2009 Lamborghini Race located atSebring International Raceway.[5]
Pastorini met glamor modelJune Wilkinson in 1972. She is British and nine years older, and appeared inPlayboy magazine in the 1960s. They married in 1973, had one child, a daughter named Brahna, and divorced in 1982.
An April 2013 resolution by theTexas State Legislature declared Pastorini an Honorary Texan.[6] In January 2012, onThe Jim Rome Radio Show, Pastorini recalled a story how then-Raider ownerAl Davis completely blew him off in the locker room after a game. "He sneered at me" said Pastorini. Pastorini then went on to say that, "when he (Davis) passed away, I wasn't sad to see him go."[7][8] Pastorini currently lives and works inHouston. His autobiography,Taking Flak: My Life in the Fast Lane, was released in November 2011.[9]
(key)Bold – Pole Position. (Overall Finish/Class Finish).
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The Racer's Group | DAY | HOM | CAL | LGA (41/19) | MON | WGL | DAY | BAR | WGL | MOH | PHO | WGL | VIR | MEX | 146th | 12 |