 Domres in 1975 | |||||||||||||||||||
| No. 14, 10 | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born: | (1947-04-17)April 17, 1947 (age 77) Ithaca, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||
| High school: | Christian Brothers Academy (DeWitt, New York) | ||||||||||||||||||
| College: | Columbia | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1969: 1st round, 9th pick | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
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Martin Francis Domres (/ˈdɒmrɛs/DOM-rehs;[1] born April 17, 1947) is an American former professionalfootball player in theAmerican Football League (AFL) andNational Football League (NFL). Domres playedquarterback in the AFL and NFL for nine seasons with theSan Diego Chargers,Baltimore Colts,San Francisco 49ers, and theNew York Jets. Domres played college football atColumbia.
Marty Domres was born on April 17, 1947 inIthaca, New York. He and his family moved toBinghamton, New York before settling inSyracuse, New York where he attendedChristian Brothers Academy.[2] Domres playedbaseball,basketball, and football at Christian Brothers. Domres received several football scholarship offers, but and chose to attendColumbia University in New York City.[3]
At Columbia, Domres joined a football team in the midst of a down period. The Lions went 2-7 in each of Domres' seasons, despite his record-breaking play. In 1966, he made his first start at quarterback as a sophomore againstIvy League opponentsYale. Domres set an Ivy League passing record in the game with 326 passing yards and went 18 for 31 with three touchdowns. However, his performance was overshadowed by the 44-21 loss and Yale's Pete Doherty throwing for five touchdowns.[4]
In 1967, Domres earned All-Eastern Honorable Mention and set Columbia school records in total offensive yards (1,752), number of plays on offense (404), and total pass completions (121).[5] He finished seventh overall in offensive yards and eighth overall in completions inNCAA Division I. His stats for the season were 121 completions on 229 attempts for 1,378 yards.[6]
As a senior in 1968, Domres led the Ivy League in passing yards with 1,868 and finished his collegiate career as the league's career passing yards leader with 4,492 yards from 1966-1968.[7] He was named to the1968 All-Eastern Second Team and was seen as one of the top quarterbacks available in that year's professional draft.
Domres was drafted with the ninth overall selection in the first round of the1969 NFL/AFL draft by theSan Diego Chargers of the AFL. He was the second quarterback taken in the draft after theCincinnati Bengals selectedGreg Cook fifth overall.[8]
In his lone season in the AFL with San Diego, Domres served as the backup to established quarterbackJohn Hadl. Domres replaced Hadl in fourth quarter the opening game of the season, a 27-9 loss to theKansas City Chiefs, where he completed six of 14 passes.[9] Domres earned his first professional start in a rematch with the Chiefs later that season after Hadl went down with an arm injury. He and the Chargers lost 27-3, with Domres throwing five interceptions.[10] He earned a second career start two weeks later, winning 45-24 against theDenver Broncos. Domres threw his first career touchdown, going 11-20 on passes with 235 yards and one touchdown.[11] He split time with Hadl the rest of the season, and the Chargers missed the AFL playoffs with an 8-6 record.[12]
In 1970, theAFL–NFL merger became official and the Chargers joined the newly formedAmerican Football Conference in the NFL. Domres continued to backup Hadl, and in two starts he went 28-55 with 491 yards and two touchdowns. The Chargers went 5-6-3 and again missed the playoffs.[13] The following season Domres only appeared in four games, with no starts, and threw one touchdown.[14]
With limited playing time behind Hadl, Domres requested a trade and was acquired by theBaltimore Colts forJohn Andrews and a1973 first-round pick (25th overall–Johnny Rodgers) on August 7, 1972.[15][16]
In Baltimore, Domres replacedJohnny Unitas as the Colts starting quarterback beginning in week six of the1972 season.John Sandusky had succeededDon McCafferty as head coach and was ordered by general managerJoe Thomas to bench the veterans in favor of the younger players.[17][18] Domres compiled his best professional season, with nine starts going 115-222 with 1,392 yards and 11 touchdown passes, adding 30 rushes for 137 yards and one touchdown.[14] Domres left the week 12 game of the 1972 season against theBuffalo Bills, appearing to be injured, but later claimed it was to allow Unitas to make his final appearance as a Colt. Unitas threw a 63-yard touchdown pass toEddie Hinton, his final scoring throw with the team. The Colts won 35-7, and despite Unitas's brief return, Domres was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Week with three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown in the game.[19][20]
Baltimore draftedBert Jones in the first round of the1973 NFL draft, leading to an offseason quarterback controversy. Jones was named the starter for the season opener against theCleveland Browns and remained at the helm for the first four weeks of the season.[21] After a poor start, Colts' head coachHoward Schnellenberger made the switch to Domres, who led the team for the remainder of the season. The Colts finished 4-10 on the season, and Domres went 93-191 with 1,153 yards and nine touchdowns.[14][22]
Domres spent the next two seasons as the backup to Jones. In the weeks before the 1976 season began, the Colts traded Domres to theSan Francisco 49ers for a 1978 draft choice (which becameErnie Hughes).[23] In San Francisco, Domres served as the third-choice quarterback behindJim Plunkett andScott Bull.
Joe Thomas, the former Colts general manager who had traded away Domres, took over in the same role for the 49ers prior to the 1977 season. Thomas cut Domres from the 49ers roster in June 1977 and he subsequently signed with theNew York Jets the next month.[24] Domres played with the Jets for one season where he served as the back up toRichard Todd.[14]
Domres settled in theBaltimore, Maryland area after his NFL career where he became a financial advisor. Despite only playing together for one year, he maintained a close relationship with Unitas until Unitas's death in 2002.[19]
Domres was inducted into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Christian Brothers Academy LaSallian Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.[25] He was inducted into the Columbia University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.[26]