.jpg) Bratkowski in 2008 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 12 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1931-10-20)October 20, 1931 Danville, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died | November 11, 2019(2019-11-11) (aged 88) Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 210 lb (95 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Schlarman Academy (Danville, Illinois) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Georgia | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1953: 2nd round, 17th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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| Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference | |||||||||||||||
Edmund Raymond "Zeke"Bratkowski (October 20, 1931 − November 11, 2019) was an American professionalfootball player who was aquarterback in theNational Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with theChicago Bears,Los Angeles Rams, andGreen Bay Packers.[1]
Bratkowski was anAll-American playingcollege football with theGeorgia Bulldogs, and later was an assistant coach in the NFL for over two decades. He was the father of formerJacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinatorBob Bratkowski.[2]
Born and raised inWestville, Illinois, Bratkowski playedhigh school football atSchlarman Academy in Danville and graduated in 1949. The nickname by which he commonly went had its origins in his boyhood years, when he frequently wore a baseball jersey emblazoned with the name of Major LeaguerZeke Bonura across the front.[3]
Bratkowski came to national prominence in his sophomore season at theUniversity of Georgia inAthens in1951,[4] and was twice theSEC passing leader under head coachWally Butts. During his three-year career with the Bulldogs, he completed 360 passes for 4,863 yards.
Bratkowski was considered one of college football's greatest quarterbacks of his day and was the NCAA's all-time leading passer until 1961. Today, he still ranks eighth on Georgia's list of career passing leaders. Bratkowski also led the NCAA in punting his senior year in1953 with a 42.6 yard average. He was selected for the North–South All-Star Game inMiami, Florida, in December, and led the South to a 20–0 victory.[5]
Bratkowski was selected 17th overall in the second round of the1953 NFL draft[6] by theChicago Bears as a "future choice" after hisredshirtjunior season,[7] then played his fifth-year senior season at Georgia in1953.[8] He joined the Bears as a rookie in1954.[8] He started the first game of the season with a 64-yard touchdown pass, but was benched after completing just one of his next 11 passes with four interceptions.[9] AfterGeorge Blanda was lost for the season with a separated shoulder in mid-November,[10] Bratkowski entered the game and threw three more interceptions in the loss. However, he started and won the last four games of the season, despite ten interceptions in those games for a franchise rookie record 17 on the season.[11]
Bratkowski then served in theU.S. Air Force for two years, missing the1955 and1956 seasons.[12] He returned in1957 and shared time at quarterback withEd Brown,[13] and played five seasons in Chicago, through1960. His seven interceptions in an October 2, 1960, loss to Baltimore remains a franchise record.[14]
Bratkowski was traded to theLos Angeles Rams in March1961,[15][16] and played in Los Angeles for2+1⁄2 seasons before being signed in October1963 byVince Lombardi for the $100 waiver fee to become the "super sub" toBart Starr.[7][17][18]
In Green Bay, Bratkowski was nicknamed "Uncle Zekie", and became an ideal backup and spot starter during the Lombardi championship era.[1][19][20] In a 15-year NFL career, he passed for 10,345 yards and 65 touchdowns.[21]
In the Western Conferenceplayoff game versus theBaltimore Colts in1965, Bratkowski relieved the injured Starr early in the game and led the Packers to a 13–10 overtime victory on December 26 atLambeau Field.[22][23][24] The Packers went on to win theNFL championship game against theCleveland Browns on January 2, 1966.[25][26][27] This was the first ofthree consecutive NFL titles for the Packers, unprecedented in the playoff era (since1933).[28]
After coaching underPhil Bengtson in1969 and1970, Bratkowski came out of retirement to play again for the Packers in1971 under first-year head coachDan Devine,[1] and appeared in six games, with one start.[29]
The following year, Bratkowski became an assistant coach for theChicago Bears, a position he would hold for three seasons (1972–74);[30] in 1973, the Bears activated Zeke as an emergency back-up quarterback for eight games, but he did not actually appear in any of them.
A well-conditioned athlete, Bratkowski was an early advocate ofaerobic training for professional football players.
Bratkowski ended his career with an official NFL playoff record of 5–0, the best playoff record by a quarterback (minimum 5 playoff games played) in NFL history.[31] However, due to 5 playoff games being a relatively small number, as well as his limited playing time in these games, he is seldom recognized or mentioned in conservations regarding the best playoff quarterback of all time.
After his playing career, Bratkowski became quarterback coach/offensive coordinator for Chicago, Baltimore / Indianapolis, Philadelphia, andNew York Jets. He was also a quarterbacks coach with Cleveland and the Jets and worked two stints as a Green Bay assistant coach.
While Bratkowski was coaching the Chicago Bears quarterbacks during the1973 season, head coachAbe Gibron abruptly promoted him to offensive coordinator, then pressed him into service as a back-up quarterback (see above).
Bratkowski died at his home inSanta Rosa Beach, Florida, on November 11, 2019, of aheart attack at the age of 88.[32]
Bratkowski is a member of numerous halls of fame. In 1980, he was inducted into the State of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. Nine years later (in 1989), Bratkowski was inducted into theGreen Bay Packers Hall of Fame.[33][34] He also was elected to theNational Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. Bratkowski was inducted into theUniversity of Georgia's Circle of Honor in 2006,[35] and was the first member of his high school's Hall of Fame in 1974.[36]