| No. 19, 7 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1956-07-30)July 30, 1956 Cheverly, Maryland, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | March 14, 2009(2009-03-14) (aged 52) Athens, Greece | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | DeMatha Catholic(Hyattsville, Maryland) | ||||||||
| College | Delaware | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1979: 9th round, 231st overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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William Jeffrey Komlo (July 30, 1956 – March 14, 2009) was an American professionalfootballquarterback who played for theDetroit Lions, theAtlanta Falcons and theTampa Bay Buccaneers of theNational Football League (NFL). He was born inCheverly, Maryland.
Coming out of DeMatha High School inHyattsville, Maryland, Komlo was not heavily recruited. He had been a star for the football and baseball teams, where he played shortstop and served as the team's clean up hitter.
He aspired to be like his father William, who played college football forthe University of Maryland in the 1950s.
Komlo first attended Fork Hill Military Academy to sharpen his skills, and then transferred to Delaware, where Komlo was told byhead coachTubby Raymond he could try and make the team as a walk-on, which he did.[1] Komlo ledthe Blue Hens to a 10–4 record and a berth in the 1978NCAA Division II championship game, which they lost, 10–9, toEastern Illinois University. During his Delaware career, Komlo set eleven school records and passed for 5,256 yards.
Komlo was selected by the Detroit Lions in the ninth round (231st overall) of the1979 NFL draft, and was expected to be club's third-string quarterback. However, after a season-ending injury tostarting quarterbackGary Danielson in a pre-season contest, head coachMonte Clark tabbed Danielson's backup, veteranJoe Reed, to start the season opener in Tampa. Things promptly got worse for the Lions: not only were they thrashed, 31–16, but Reed went down with a leg injury in the fourth quarter, forcing Komlo into the game. With no better options, Detroit decided to start Komlo in the club's second game against Washington: a rare instance of such a low-drafted rookie QB being handed an NFL starting job. In his only full season as a pro signal-caller, Komlo started fourteen games and went 183-for-368 for 2,238 yards, 11 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. Favored by many to win theNFC Central, Detroit saw its 1979 season quickly turn into a disaster, as Komlo went 2–12 as a starting quarterback; his two victories (a 24–23 win overthe Atlanta Falcons and a 20–0 win overthe Chicago Bears) were the Lions' only wins all season, as they set a club record with 14 losses.
In 1980, Komlo threw only four passes all year, as Danielson returned; in 1981, Komlo was mainly the third-string quarterback, with Danielson being supplanted as starter byEric Hipple. He did start two games that season, including a 27–21 loss tothe Denver Broncos that marked his final appearance in a Detroit uniform.[2]
In 1982, Komlo went tothe Atlanta Falcons but did not se any on-field action.
In 1983, his final NFL season, Komlo played forthe Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but threw just eight passes in two games, stuck behindJack "The Throwin' Samoan" Thompson and ex-New York GiantJerry Golsteyn.
In May 2004, Komlo was involved in a domestic incident with his girlfriend, Jennifer Winters. After they got into an argument, Komlo shoved her out of the car, which, in a drunken state, he later crashed. He returned home, got his SUV, and later crashed that vehicle as well. He was later convicted inChester County, Pennsylvania on two drunk-driving charges, but didn't show up to be sentenced, which resulted in a bench warrant for his arrest.[1] In August 2005, Komlo was still on the run, and featured onAmerica's Most Wanted.[3] He was also facing charges ofcocaine possession and assault, and police wanted to question him about possiblearson at his homes inWest Palm Beach andChester Springs, Pennsylvania.
Fleeing the country, Komlo ended up inGreece, working for a hair implant clinic inAthens called NHI. The clinic caters mostly to Britons, who fly to the Greek capital for something called the Choi Method, which, according to the NHI website, is "a procedure far too labour-intensive to operate in the UK."
Komlo was killed in an automobile crash in southern Athens on March 14, 2009.[4] Pennsylvania law enforcement initially questioned whether he might havefaked his own death to avoid the charges.[5] Five days later, the Acting ChiefChester Countysheriff's detective, Jim Vito, stated that the authorities were satisfied that Komlo was in fact dead.[5]