Greg Landry
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Gregory Paul Landry (December 18, 1946 – October 4, 2024) was an American professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who was a
quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) and
United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
(USFL) from 1968 to 1984. He played
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the
UMass Minutemen The UMass Minutemen are the athletic teams that represent the University of Massachusetts Amherst; strictly speaking, the ''Minutemen'' nickname applies to men's teams and athletes only — women's teams and athletes are known as ...
from
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
to
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...
and was selected in the first round of the
1968 NFL draft The 1968 NFL/AFL draft was part of the common draft, in the second year in which the National Football League, NFL and American Football League, AFL held a joint draft of college players. It took place at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City ...
with the 11th overall pick. Landry played in the NFL for the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
,
Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...
and
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
. He became an assistant coach after his playing career. Landry is considered a forerunner of the dual threat quarterback.


Early life

Landry was born on December 18, 1946, in
Nashua, New Hampshire Nashua () is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester. It is on ...
to Alvin and Felixa "Fannie" (Worsowicz) Landry, both of whom were factory workers. Fannie's parents had emigrated from
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. He attended Nashua High School, where he played on the football team, graduating in 1964. In 1962, as a junior he was selected to the ''Nashua Telegraph'''s New Hampshire All-Scholastic football team. He was co-captain of the football team in his senior year, and received the Buddy Harvey trophy after his teammates selected him as most valuable player. He also starred in baseball and was named the school's athlete of the year in 1964. Landry also played shortstop in
American Legion baseball American Legion Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played by 13-to-19-year-olds in fifty states in the U.S. and Canada. More than 3,500 teams participate each year. The American Legion Department of South Dakota established the program in 1 ...
. He was considered a fine major league prospect in baseball.


College

Landry earned a scholarship to the
University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the Public university, public university system of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes six campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, University of Massachusetts Lowell ...
(UMass). The UMass team won two
Yankee Conference The Yankee Conference was a collegiate sports conference in the eastern United States. From 1947 to 1976, it sponsored competition in many sports, but was a football-only league from mid-1976 until its dissolution in 1996. It is essentially the a ...
championships, with Landry leading the conference in both rushing and passing twice. Landry still has the school record for quarterback efficiency rating, 145.4, set in 1965. The team's record with Landry was 20-7, and 14-1 in the Yankee Conference. In December 1967, he played in the North-South Shrine Game before the 1968 draft, and drew attention for playing well in the game against other college all stars. He was in the 1968 Chicago Charities All Star Game, playing with the collegians against the NFL champion
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
. Landry threw a touchdown pass to future Lions teammate Earl McCullough. He was selected All-Yankee Conference for two seasons. In 1967, he received the George Bulger Lowe Award from the Gridiron Club of Boston as the outstanding college football player in
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
. In 1980, he was inducted into the UMass Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was named to the Yankee Conference 50th Anniversary team.


Playing career


Detroit Lions

Landry was selected in the first round of the
1968 NFL/AFL draft The 1968 NFL/AFL draft was part of the common draft, in the second year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players. It took place at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City on January 30–31, 1968. The Minnesota Vikings ac ...
( eleventh overall) by the Detroit Lions, and was the first quarterback taken in that draft. No UMass player has ever been taken higher in the draft. With the Lions in
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
, he passed for 2,237 yards and 16
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...
s, was named first team
All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...
, and went to his only
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...
that year. In
1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
, Landry passed for 2,191 yards and 17 touchdowns and was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year. He was benched by Lions head coach
Tommy Hudspeth Tommy Joe Hudspeth (September 14, 1931 – June 23, 2015) was an American and Canadian football coach and executive at both the collegiate and professional levels. He was the head coach at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1964 to 1971, and t ...
late in
1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
and supplanted by
Gary Danielson Gary Dennis Danielson (born September 10, 1951) is an American college football commentator and former football quarterback. Danielson played college football for Purdue from 1969 to 1972. He led the Big Ten Conference in 1971 with a 57.8% ...
as the starting quarterback the following year.Saylor, Jack. "Greg Landry gets his wish–Lions trade him," ''Detroit Free Press'', Monday, April 30, 1979.
Retrieved November 3, 2020
Landry's request to be traded was granted when he was acquired by the Colts from the Lions for fourth- and fifth-round selections in
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
(88th and 131st overall– Ulysses Norris and
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
center Walt Brown respectively) and a
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
third-round pick (62nd overall– Mike Friede) on April 29, 1979. During his 11 years with the Lions, he had a 40-41-3 record, and passed for 12,451 yards and 80 touchdowns. He ranked second in quarterback wins for the Lions to
Bobby Layne Robert Lawrence Layne (December 19, 1926 – December 1, 1986) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns before ...
and has been passed by just
Matthew Stafford John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs football, Georg ...
.


Baltimore Colts, USFL, and Chicago Bears

During his three seasons with the Colts, he played brilliantly in
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
despite a 5–11 record, after a season-ending injury to starting quarterback
Bert Jones Bertram Hays Jones (born September 7, 1951) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts and Los Angeles Rams. He was named the NFL Most Valuable Player ...
. Landry passed for a career best 2,932 yards and 15 touchdowns that season. He then played for George Allen on the
Chicago Blitz The Chicago Blitz was a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) in the mid-1980s. They played at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. Team history The Blitz were one of the twelve charter ...
and
Arizona Wranglers The Arizona Wranglers were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) that existed from late 1982 to mid-1985. They played at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. ...
in the
United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
(USFL) in 1983 and 1984. He started one game as an emergency quarterback for the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
in
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
before retiring as a player.


Dual threat quarterback

Landry was also notable as a rusher; in the
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
opener at Green Bay, he ran for 76 yards on a
quarterback sneak A quarterback sneak is a play in gridiron football in which the quarterback, upon taking the center snap, runs forward or dives ahead while the offensive line is also surging forward. Despite the "sneak" moniker, this version of a quarterback dra ...
, which was for a time the longest rush by a quarterback in NFL history. Over his entire career, Landry passed for 16,052 yards, had 98 touchdown passes and 103 interceptions; and he rushed for another 2,655 yards and 21 touchdowns. He exceeded 500 yards on the ground in both
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
and
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
, as well as averaging ten yards per carry in 1970, and scoring 9 touchdowns in 1972. He ranks fifth on the all-time Lions career passing yardage list (12,451), and ranks fourth in touchdown passes with 80. Landry is considered a forerunner of the modern dual threat quarterbacks, who are both runners and passers. There were running quarterbacks in his era who could scramble and run when a play broke down, such as
Fran Tarkenton Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940), nicknamed "the Scrambler", is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He is wi ...
; but unlike those quarterbacks, the Lions designed running plays for the 6 ft 4 in physically imposing Landry. The Lions even ran option plays with his Lions running backs Steve Owens and Altie Taylor. In 1971, Sports Illustrated writer
Tex Maule Hamilton Prieleaux Bee Maule, commonly known as Tex Maule (May 19, 1915 in Texas – May 16, 1981 in New York City) was the lead American football writer for ''Sports Illustrated'' in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Early life Born and raised in Texa ...
said Landry "probably has ... the pro offense of the future, only he has it right now."


Coaching career

Landry began his coaching career in 1985 handling the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
quarterbacks, and later joined
Mike Ditka Michael Keller Ditka ( ; born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former professional American football, football player, coach, and television commentator. During his playing career, he was UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year, UPI NFL R ...
's staff as quarterback coach in 1986, following the Bears' rout of the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
in
Super Bowl XX Super Bowl XX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...
. With the Bears, he was also the
wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
s and
tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
s coach before taking over as
offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...
from 1988 to 1992. Following the 1992 season, Landry was hired as the offensive coordinator at the
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...
for two seasons. The 1994 Illinois Fighting Illini had the second-best passing offense in the
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
, which carried the team to a 30–0 win in the
Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic Cit ...
over
East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...
. The following year, Landry returned to the Lions as quarterback coach, helping them to become the top offensive unit in the NFL and guiding Scott Mitchell to record-setting passing numbers that season. He retired from coaching after the 1996 season to become a local radio host.


Personal life

Landry met his wife Jeannine Burger at UMass. She was a gymnast and led UMass to a national gymnastics title in 1973. She was a two time All-American and the first female All-American at UMass. In 1981, she was the first female inducted into the UMass Hall of Fame. They had been married 47 years at the time of his death. They have five children and 18 grandchildren. From 2000 to 2021, Landry and his son Greg Jr. operated a manufacturer's representative business for automotive suppliers.


Death

Landry died in Detroit on October 4, 2024, at the age of 77.


NFL career statistics


Regular season


Honors

In 2012, Landry was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame, with former Lions teammate and Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Charlie Sanders giving the induction speech.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Landry, Greg 1946 births 2024 deaths American people of Polish descent Sportspeople from Nashua, New Hampshire Players of American football from New Hampshire American football quarterbacks UMass Minutemen football players Detroit Lions players Baltimore Colts players Chicago Blitz players Arizona Wranglers players Chicago Bears players National Conference Pro Bowl players Coaches of American football from New Hampshire Cleveland Browns coaches Chicago Bears coaches Illinois Fighting Illini football coaches Detroit Lions coaches 20th-century American sportsmen NFL Comeback Player of the Year winners