John Booker Walton (born October 4, 1947) is an American former 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 and coach. He played professionally as 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

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 ...

(CFL),

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

(WFL),

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). Walton 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 ...

Elizabeth City State University Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) is a public historically Black university in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It enrolls nearly 2,500 students in 28 undergraduate programs and 4 graduate programs and is a member-school of the Thurgood Ma ...

. He served two stints at the head football coach at Elizabeth City State, from 1980 to 1982 and 1989 to 1990, compiling a record of 25–24–2. In 1969 Walton became the first African-American quarterback to lead a professional football team to a title, when the

Indianapolis Capitols The Indianapolis Capitols were a professional American football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They played in the Continental Football League from 1968 to 1969 and Midwest Football League from 1972 to 1974 and 1977 to 1978. History The t ...

defeated the San Antonio Toros 44–38 (OT) in the

final.

College career

Walton played

in the

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (originally and through 1950 known as the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association — CIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NC ...

(CIAA) for four seasons (1965–1968). During his senior year (1968) he completed 114 of 204 passes for 1,400 yards and 16 touchdowns and led the Vikings to an 8–1 record. Walton was honored for his performance by being named to the All-CIAA football team. Walton graduated from

in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in physical education.

Professional playing career

National Football League (1969-1972)

Walton was not drafted coming out of college but was signed as a free agent by 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 ...

of the

in March 1969. He participated in several preseason games with the Rams in 1969–1972 but was never able to make the active roster during the season and spent most of his time on the taxi squad (practice team).

Continental Football League (1969)

In 1969, after not making the Los Angeles Rams team, Walton played for the

of the

. His first pro football start came on September 2, 1969, when he led the Capitals to a 28–27 victory over the Norfolk Neptunes. Walton led the Capitals to the 1969 Continental Football League championship game (December 13, 1969) where he completed 14 of 30 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns as Indianapolis defeated the San Antonio Toros in overtime 44–38 to become the 1969 Continental Football League champions. Walton was named to the ALL-CFL team and the MVP of the Capitals team. During the season Walton completed 109 of 234 passes for 1,713 yards and 17 touchdowns.

World Football League (1974–1975)

In 1974, he served as a backup quarterback for the Chicago Fire of the

. In 1975, he was the starting quarterback for the

San Antonio Wings The San Antonio Wings were an American football team who played a single season in the World Football League in 1975. The team started as the Florida Blazers in 1974, then moved to San Antonio, Texas in 1975, becoming the San Antonio Wings. Hi ...

of the

where he led the league in passing yards and touchdowns. Walton was named to the WFL All-Pro team. The World Football League officially suspended operations on October 22, 1975.

National Football League (1976–1979)

Based on his success in the World Football League, Walton was recruited by new

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

head coach

Dick Vermeil Richard Albert Vermeil ( ; born October 30, 1936) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for seven seasons, the St. L ...

to try out for the Eagles. Coincidentally, Vermeil was a coach for the Los Angeles Rams when Walton had first attempted to make the NFL. Walton was signed to a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, and from 1976 to 1979 he would serve as a backup quarterback for the Eagles, playing in fifteen games over four seasons before leaving the NFL, at the age of 32, following the conclusion of the 1979 season.

United States Football League (1983–1984)

In 1983, Walton was convinced by

Dick Coury Richard P. Coury (September 29, 1929 – August 15, 2020) was an American football coach. In a career that spanned across five decades, Coury coached with distinction on the high school, college, and professional levels. His most prominent post ...

, the head coach of the

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional women's soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defu ...

of the newly formed

(USFL), to give quarterbacking one more chance. Coury was familiar with Walton and his talent as Coury had been a coach on the Philadelphia Eagles staff during Walton's time there. Despite being 35 years old, and not having played a down of pro football since 1979, Walton agreed to join the USFL and become the starting quarterback for the 1983 Boston Breakers and the 1984 New Orleans Breakers, after the team moved to New Orleans following the 1983 season. Walton was one of the top passers in the USFL finishing second in the league in 1983 with 3,772 yards passing and third in the league with 20 touchdowns while leading the Breakers to an 11–7 record and a second-place finish in the USFL's Atlantic Division. In 1984, he finished fifth in the league in passing yards with 3,554. Walton owns the USFL record for most passing attempts in a season (589) which was set during the 1983 season.

Coaching career

After leaving the NFL, Walton become head football coach at his alma mater,

, on January 15, 1980. He was the head coach from 1980 to 1982 compiling a 20–10–1 overall record (14–7 in the CIAA) He left Elizabeth City State in 1983 to return to pro football as the quarterback of the Boston Breakers. Walton return to Elizabeth City State as head coach in 1989 and remained in that post through the 1990 season. In 1991, Walton was the

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 ...

for the

Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, the region ...

of the

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

(WLAF) under head coach

Roman Gabriel Roman Ildonzo Gabriel Jr. (August 5, 1940 – April 20, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the NC State Wolfpack, twice earning first- ...

, who played with Walton on the Rams and Eagles teams in the NFL and was his offensive coordinator for the Portland Breakers in 1985.

Post-football career

Following his retirement from pro football, he returned to Elizabeth City, where he has served as a teacher and a member of the city council.

ECSU Hall of Fame

Walton was elected to the Elizabeth City State University Hall of Fame on October 25, 1985.

Career statistics

World Football League (WFL) Year Team GP ATT. Comp. Yards TD Int. 1975 San Antonio Wings 12 338 167 2405 19 22 National Football League (NFL) Year Team GP ATT. Comp. Yards TD Int. 1976 Philadelphia Eagles 3 28 12 125 0 2 1978 Philadelphia Eagles 4 1 0 0 0 0 1979 Philadelphia Eagles 8 36 19 213 3 1 United States Football League (USFL) Year Team GP ATT. Comp. Yards TD Int. 1983 Boston Breakers 18 589 330 3772 20 18 1984 New Orleans Breakers 18 512 280 3554 17 19

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, John 1947 births Living people American football quarterbacks Boston/New Orleans/Portland Breakers players Continental Football League players Elizabeth City State Vikings football coaches Elizabeth City State Vikings football players NFL Europe (WLAF) coaches Philadelphia Eagles players San Antonio Wings players Sportspeople from Elizabeth City, North Carolina Coaches of American football from North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina African-American coaches of American football 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen

College career

Professional playing career

National Football League (1969-1972)

Continental Football League (1969)

World Football League (1974–1975)

National Football League (1976–1979)

United States Football League (1983–1984)

Coaching career

Post-football career

ECSU Hall of Fame

Career statistics

Head coaching record

See also

References

External links