Tom Kennedy (November 27, 1938 – March 15, 2006) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

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 ...

. He played for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in 1966.

Pre-NFL career

After playing high school football at Pasadena High School, and college football at Los Angeles State, Kennedy played quarterback for multiple minor league professional teams. These included the

Wheeling Ironmen The Wheeling Ironmen were a professional American football team based in Wheeling, West Virginia, and played their home games at Wheeling Island Stadium. The team began play in 1962 as a member of the United Football League, where they played fo ...

of the United Football League from 1962–63; the Providence Steamrollers of the ACFL in 1964; the

Rhode Island Indians The Rhode Island Indians were a professional American football team based in Providence, Rhode Island. The team was formed in 1965 as a charter member of the Continental Football League. The team (sometimes referred to as the Providence Indians) c ...

of the

Continental Football League The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Fo ...

in 1965; and the Brooklyn Dodgers, also of the Continental Football League, in 1966. In 1963, he was voted as the quarterback on the All-United Football League team. He was playing for the Dodgers when the Giants, needing quarterback help due to injuries, signed him on November 7, 1966.

NFL career

Kennedy appeared in 6 games for the

in 1966, and was one of three quarterbacks who saw playing time for them, along with

Gary Wood Gary Fay Wood (July 9, 1942 – March 3, 1994) was an American football quarterback who played 63 games in the National Football League (NFL), for the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints, from 1964 until 1969. The quarterback was drafted ...

and

Earl Morrall Earl Edwin Morrall (; May 17, 1934 – April 25, 2014) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons, both a starter and reserve. He was the last remaining player from t ...

. Kennedy joined the Giants after mid-season injuries to Morrall and Wood. Kennedy's first NFL game came in relief of Wood in a 55–14 road loss to the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

. Kennedy's only NFL start came in a most memorable contest two weeks later: the highest scoring regular season game in NFL history. It took place in Washington on November 27, 1966, and the Washington Redskins beat the Giants 72–41. Kennedy was pulled by Giants head coach

Allie Sherman Alex "Allie" Sherman (February 10, 1923 – January 3, 2015) was an American football player and coach who played 51 games in six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as a quarterback and defensive back, and afterward served as head coa ...

after losing a fumble (which was returned 62 yards by

Brig Owens Brigman P. Owens (February 16, 1943 – June 21, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. He played college football at the Universi ...

for a Washington touchdown), and throwing three interceptions, all in the first half. Sherman did put Kennedy back in to the game in the second half. Kennedy's final stats for the game were 13 of 21 passes completed for 165 yards, with one touchdown pass and three interceptions. He also had one 8 yard run and was sacked four times. The 1966 Giants went 1–12–1, their worst record ever, and sought to improve their quarterback play. Their quarterbacks threw the most interceptions in the NFL in 1966 (31 in just 14 games), completed just under half of their passes, and were sacked 62 times, second only to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

who took 66 sacks. On March 7, 1967, the Giants traded two first round and two second round draft picks to the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

for their famously mobile, future Hall of Fame quarterback

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 ...

. Tarkenton became the Giants' starter, with Morrall as his backup. Gary Wood moved on to the expansion

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, but Tom Kennedy never appeared in an NFL game again.

Post-NFL career

Kennedy continued his professional career in minor league football after his NFL days. He did not play in 1967, but returned to play in the

for the

Sacramento Capitols The Sacramento Capitols were a professional American football team based in Sacramento, California. Formed as the Sacramento Buccaneers, the team's inclusion in the Pacific Division of the Continental Football League was announced in May 1967. Th ...

in 1968 and the

Seattle Rangers The Seattle Rangers were a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. The team was founded in 1967 as a member of the Continental Football League and played in the Western Division. The original franchise name of Jets was ...

in 1969. His professional career ended with the

Bridgeport Jets The Bridgeport Jets were a minor league American football team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They began play in the Atlantic Coast Football League in 1966 as the Waterbury Orbits. The Orbits, already officially affiliated with the New York Je ...

of the

Atlantic Coast Football League The Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) was a professional American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with National Football Leagu ...

in 1970.

Life outside of football

Kennedy served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

.Pro Football Archives, ''ibid.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Tom 1938 births 2006 deaths American football quarterbacks Cal State Los Angeles Diablos football players New York Giants players