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Post by Prince Hal on Jun 10, 2020 14:39:48 GMT -5
Definitely a generational difference at play there. As far as sports figures go, I'd say he wasn't far off from being as famous as Muhammad Ali at the time, though his fame wouldn't have been world-wide the way Ali's was. I was completely oblivious to American football as we didn't get it on our channels in Canada back then, at least not in Nfld, but I knew who he was from the general ambience of American pop culture we were surrounded by. Namath became well-known because he guaranteed a victory for his Jets over the heavily-favored Colts in Super Bowl 3 (or III if you prefer) in Jan. 1969...and the Jets won! He was also charismatic, outspoken, and considered good-looking, with his tousled black hair and light green eyes. The press spent a lot of ink covering his "swingin' '60s" lifestyle including what models and actresses he was dating; for example (and probably for publicity purposes) he escorted Raquel Welch to an Oscars ceremony in the early 1970s. He showed up on TV a lot and appeared in a (terrible) movie with Ann-Margret called "CC and Company." And yes, he became infamous for those pantyhose ads!  Here's another TV commercial he did in the early 1970s, alongside someone whose greatest fame was still ahead  Wait. I thought you grew up in New York City. When did you go to Canada? Pardon either my nosiness or my senility.  |
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Post by Farrar on Jun 10, 2020 14:47:12 GMT -5
Btw Esquire magazine did a Namath cover story (actually several Namath stories within) for its October 1969 issue, with cover and interior illustrations by none other than Marie Severin! I bought a copy of this a couple of years ago from eBay.  Namath also had an autobiography back in 1969, co-written with famed sportswriter Dick Schaap. My father was one of the copy editors on this book. Here's an image from eBay.  |
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Post by Farrar on Jun 10, 2020 14:54:11 GMT -5
Wait. I thought you grew up in New York City. When did you go to Canada? Pardon either my nosiness or my senility. Mr. CCF, I effed up the quote (in my post) so it showed adamwarlock instead of berkley. I have since corrected it. My corrected post contains a quote from berkley. Is your question directed at me...or adam...or berkley? If me, yes, it's NYC. Regrettably I did not follow the Jets until some years after Namath's heyday, though he had a couple of great games left in him when I was a fan. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Jun 10, 2020 15:21:01 GMT -5
Wait. I thought you grew up in New York City. When did you go to Canada? Pardon either my nosiness or my senility. Mr. CCF, I effed up the quote (in my post) so it showed adamwarlock instead of berkley. I have since corrected it. My corrected post contains a quote from berkley. Is your question directed at me...or adam...or berkley? If me, yes, it's NYC. Regrettably I did not follow the Jets until some years after Namath's heyday, though he had a couple of great games left in him when I was a fan. LOL! How many times have I done that!! Hokay, now I'm getting my land legs back. I knew you had to know Namath, as he was a cultural phenomenon as well as a football star. All is now well. PS: The title of Namath's autobiography is one of my all-time favorite book titles. PPS: He met a buddy's sister in a nightclub in his heyday. When she met him and told him that her name was Edwardine (It really was; her parents had hoped for a boy), he came back with a line just above "What's your sign?" He said in that Dean Martiny voice of his, "Well, you're the prettiest Eddie I've ever met." He asked her back to his place, but she'd heard enough. |
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Post by Farrar on Jun 10, 2020 15:38:21 GMT -5
^^^ Oh yes, I have a couple of Joe Willie stories of my own (when I was older)...I'll tell you about them someday |
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