| No. 10, 16, 14 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1944-03-12)March 12, 1944 (age 81) Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | W. B. Ray(Corpus Christi) |
| College | TCU |
| NFL draft | 1966: undrafted |
| Career history | |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Stats atPro Football Reference | |
Alvin Kent Nix (born March 12, 1944) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aquarterback in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theTCU Horned Frogs. Nix is the son ofEmery Nix, who played for theNew York Giants in 1943 and 1946.[1][2]
Nix helped TCU to an upset ofBaylor University in October 1964. He passed 4 yards to Joe Ball for the first score in a 17–14 win atFort Worth, Texas.[3] He led theHorned Frogs on four long scoring drives as a senior quarterback to defeat Baylor inWaco, Texas, the following October. Nix hit on five consecutive passes during a 79-yard drive for a touchdown, in the second quarter. TCU won on afield goal byBruce Alford in the third period.[4] Nix tied aSouthwest Conference record with 4 touchdown passes of 31, 24, 12, and 15 yards, versusRice University, in November 1965. He also scored on a one-yard plunge to give Texas Christian a 42-14 halftime lead. His first two touchdown passes came in the first ninety-three seconds following Ricefumbles.[5] Nix was bothered for much of his collegiate career by a knee injury. While at TCU, he was a member ofDelta Tau Delta fraternity.
Nix was cut by theGreen Bay Packers on August 2, 1966.[6] He passed through waivers but was retained on the Packers'taxi squad[1] for the remainder of the 1966 season.[7] After clearing waivers Nix became afree agent.[1]Nix was back in the Packers' training camp in 1967, but trailed three other quarterbacks on the depth chart:Bart Starr,Zeke Bratkowski andDon Horn. On July 30, 1967, the Packers traded Nix to thePittsburgh Steelers, in exchange for the Steelers' fifth round draft pick in 1968. This wound up being the 9th pick in the 5th round, and the Packers used it in the 1968 draft to select offensive linemanSteve Duich.[8]
Nix got his first chance to play in the NFL with thePittsburgh Steelers in September 1967. The Steelers' regular quarterback,Bill Nelsen, had an injury to his right knee. Nix was the only other quarterback on the roster.[9] He made his debut against thePhiladelphia Eagles.[10] Nix connected on an 18-yard pass toJ.R. Wilburn to tie the score, 24–24, midway through the fourth quarter. The Steelers lost inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, 34–24.[11] Nix completed 23 of 34 passes against theCleveland Browns for 218 yards and one touchdown, in October 1967. Split end Dick Compton caught ten of his passes.[12] Nix hit rookie Steelers' running back,Don Shy, for a 27-yard touchdown in a loss to the Giants at Pittsburgh, on October 15.[13]
Tom Landry called Nix the bestrookie quarterback he had seen inten years.[14] Nix guided the Steelers to a 24–14 triumph against theDetroit Lions on December 3. He handed off to Shy for two one-yard touchdowns to cap drives of 80 and 64 yards in the first and second quarters. He fooled the Lions' defense by passing often on first and second down. Most significantly Nix found swift J.R. Wilburn for a 67-yard touchdown with 1:49 remaining in the second quarter.[15] Heled the Steelers on a 78-yard drive, completed by a Nix toJohn Hilton 3-yard touchdown pass, which gave Pittsburgh a temporary 10–9 lead against theWashington Redskins. During the drive at Pittsburgh on December 10, Wilburn caught four passes for fifty-five yards.[16]
Upon the team drafting futureHall of Fame quarterbackTerry Bradshaw first overall in the1970 NFL draft, the Steelers traded Nix during the 1970 preseason to the Minnesota Vikings, but he failed to make their roster and signed with theBears before the season started.[17]
Nix signed with theChicago Bears and spent the1970 season on the taxi squad.[17] He rallied the Bears in the fourth quarter for a second straight week, coming from behind to upset the Vikings, 20–17, in September 1971. He threw touchdown passes of 36 and 26 yards toDick Gordon atMetropolitan Stadium inBloomington, MN The latter pass found Gordon in theend zone with 1:42 remaining in the game. Bears starting quarterback,Jack Concannon, was knocked out of the game on a hit byCarl Eller.[18]
Nix started his first game since 1968 in a 35–14 beating of theNew Orleans Saints atSoldier Field. He threw touchdown passes of 25 and 35 yards to Bob Wallace and Gordon. Overall, he completed 14 of 24 passes for 242 yards.[19]
The Bears, who fired coachJim Dooley after the 1971 season and replaced him withAbe Gibron, waived Nix on September 13, 1972, four days before the start of the regular season.[20] In March 1974 Nix filed suit against the Bears, charging they had misdiagnosed a November 1971 hand injury as asprained wrist. He asked for more than $10,000. Nix had continued playing following the preliminary diagnosis. In his lawsuit he claimed that the injury was aggravated. A later diagnosis stated that the injury wasa rupture of both tendons of the index finger of the right hand.[21]
TheHouston Oilers signed him to their taxi squad on September 21.[22] Nix appeared in 12 games for the Oilers, two of them starts.[23] Houston traded Nix along withRon Billingsley to the New Orleans Saints forDave Parks,Tom Stincic, andEdd Hargett in March 1973.[24]
Nix found himself in a four-way competition for three quarterback slots with the Saints, vying for a job withArchie Manning, second year QB Bobby Scott, and former Jets and Oilers backup QBBob Davis. The Saints' 1973 pre-season media guide listed Nix third on the quarterback depth chart, behind Manning and Scott but ahead of Davis.[25] The other three quarterbacks all appeared for the Saints in the 1973 regular season, but Nix never did.[26]
Nix returned to TCU to finish his business degree, and went into business with his wife Susan, who also attended TCU. She was named "Miss TCU" during her senior year.[27][28] They went on to own a dry cleaning business, which they later sold, and then went into the florist business. Now retired, he serves on the Colonial County Club Board of Directors, and continues to follow TCU football closely.[29] Susan Nix died in November 2020 fromCOVID-19 related complications.[30]