Neil Graff (born January 12, 1950) 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 ...

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). He was selected by 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 ...

in the sixteenth round of the

1972 NFL draft The 1972 NFL draft was the 37th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft was held on February 1 and 2 at the Essex House in New York City, New York. With the first overal ...

. He later played two seasons for 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 ...

, making his first appearance in 1974 during a Patriots blowout win. Backup quarterback

Dick Shiner Richard Earl Shiner (born July 18, 1942) is a former professional American football quarterback who played in eleven National Football League (NFL) seasons from 1964 to 1974 for the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, New ...

came in and led an 80-yard touchdown drive when the game was already out of hand and Graff came in thereafter to finish the game. In 1975 the Patriots struggled as they had for most of the early seventies finishing 3–11. Graff made his only two NFL starts for the Patriots throwing two touchdowns and three interceptions. Later he was selected in the

1976 NFL expansion draft The 1976 National Football League (NFL) expansion draft was held March 30–31, 1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime ...

by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

and split that season as a member of the Seahawks and 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 ...

, though he did not see any playing time in a regular season game with Seattle. He played the following year with the Steelers appearing in four games and being dressed for their playoff appearance against eventual AFC champion Denver. In

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

he played for the

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 ...

but did not make an appearance during the regular season. Graff is one of two NFL quarterbacks born in the state of

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

, the other being

Norm Van Brocklin Norman Mack Van Brocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983), nicknamed "the Dutchman", was an American professional football player, coach and executive. He played as a quarterback and punter in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. ...

. Graff is an inductee in the

South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame The South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame is a sports hall of fame honoring individuals associated with the U.S. state of South Dakota. It is "dedicated to the preservation, documentation and display of South Dakota's sports history." As of 2017, the ha ...

References

Players of American football from Sioux Falls, South Dakota New England Patriots players Seattle Seahawks players Pittsburgh Steelers players Green Bay Packers players American football quarterbacks Wisconsin Badgers football players 1950 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen {{quarterback-1950s-stub