Christian Adolph “Sonny” Jurgensen III, one of the greatest pure passers in NFL history and a beloved figure in Washington for more than five decades, died Friday at age 91, according to his family.
Jurgensen spent 18 seasons in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins before embarking on a 38-year broadcasting career that made him equally iconic in the radio booth.
Born Aug. 23, 1934, in Wilmington, North Carolina, Jurgensen was a standout multi-sport athlete from an early age, leading his grammar school to championships in baseball and basketball and winning Wilmington’s youth tennis title. At New Hanover High School, he starred in football, basketball and baseball before attending Duke University, where he quarterbacked the Blue Devils.
The Philadelphia Eagles selected Jurgensen in the fourth round of the 1957 NFL Draft. After four seasons as a backup, he was part of the Eagles’ 1960 NFL Championship team, which defeated Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers — the only championship of his professional career.
When Hall of Famer Norm Van Brocklin retired in 1961, Jurgensen emerged as a star, throwing for an NFL-record 3,723 yards and tying the league record with 32 touchdown passes while earning First-Team All-Pro honors.
Following an injury-plagued 1963 season, Jurgensen was traded to Washington on April 1, 1964, for quarterback Norm Snead and cornerback Claude Crabb. The move defined both his legacy and the franchise.
SEE ALSO: Hall of Fame quarterback Sonny Jurgensen dies at age 91
Over 11 seasons in Washington, Jurgensen led the NFL in passing yards five times and touchdown passes twice, completing 2,433 passes for 32,224 yards and 255 touchdowns. In 1967, he set single-season records with 508 attempts and 288 completions while throwing for 3,747 yards. His 82.62 career passer rating remains the highest of the pre-1978 era.
Jurgensen earned high praise from Lombardi, who became Washington’s head coach in 1969. “He may be the greatest this league has ever seen; he certainly is the best I have ever seen,” Lombardi said. That season, Jurgensen led the NFL in attempts, completions, completion percentage and passing yards, guiding Washington to its first winning season since 1955. Lombardi died of cancer before the 1970 season.
In the early 1970s, Jurgensen shared time with Billy Kilmer under coach George Allen, sparking the famous “I Love Sonny” and “I Love Billy” fan debate. Though Kilmer started Super Bowl VII during the 1972 season while Jurgensen battled injuries, the two quarterbacks became lifelong friends. Washington lost to the undefeated Miami Dolphins.
Jurgensen retired after the 1974 season and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983.
He later became a broadcasting fixture, joining the Redskins’ radio booth in 1981 with Sam Huff and Frank Herzog. “Sonny, Sam and Frank” called three Super Bowl championships together over 23 years. Jurgensen retired from broadcasting in 2019 at age 84.
A five-time Pro Bowler and member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1960s, Jurgensen spent 55 years in Washington as a player and broadcaster. The Commanders called him “one of the defining legends of Washington football.”
Jurgensen is survived by his wife, Margo, and his family. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
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