STL All Sports

Long before quarterback Joe Namath became pro football's most glamorous hero by leading the 1968 New York Jets to a Super Bowl victory and the football championship of the world, he never sold himself short as a gridiron great.

One Saturday afternoon when he was the quarterback for the University of Alabama, in a game against Auburn, Joe handed off to one of his running backs. However, the runner was brought down so viciously on the play that when it ended, a couple of Alabama and Auburn players began throwing fists. A near-riot ensued.

As the brawl was squashed, one of the officials charged into the midst of the milling players in an attempt to fix the blame for that fight. Since he was new to the Southeastern Conference, he was not familiar with the names of the players.

He spotted quarterback Joe Namath, and he snapped at him: "Are you Wright?" Apparently, the official had confused him with his fighting teammate, Frank Wright.

Whereupon Joe Namath, a native of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, drew himself up to his full height of 6-feet-2 inches, and drawled in his best affected Southern accent: "Suh, a Namath is always right!"

The confused official was so awed by Joe Namath's haughty reply that he promptly ordered play to be resumed without penalizing anyone.