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Dan Fouts
Daniel Francis Fouts (born June 10, 1951) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) throughout his 15-season career (1973–1987). After a relatively undistinguished first five seasons in the league, Fouts came to prominence as an on-field leader during the Chargers' Air Coryell period. He led the league in passing yards every year from 1979 to 1982, throwing for over 4,000 yards in the first three of these—no quarterback had previously posted consecutive 4,000-yard seasons. Fouts was voted a Pro Bowler six times, first-team All-Pro twice, and in 1982 he was the Offensive Player of the Year. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility.
Fouts played college football for the Oregon Ducks, where he broke numerous records, and was later inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Oregon Hall of Fame. He was a third-round draft pick by the Chargers in 1973. Fouts struggled during his first three seasons in the league. His form began to improve in 1976, but he was discontented over the direction of the team and the restrictions of the NFL's free agency rules so he refused to play during the majority of the 1977 season.
Early in 1978, Don Coryell became the head coach of the Chargers and he instituted the pass-oriented Air Coryell offensive scheme, allowing Fouts to throw the ball with unprecedented frequency. He led the NFL in passing yards for four straight years from 1979 to 1982 (still a consecutive-years record), and he became the first player in league history to throw for 4,000 yards in three straight seasons, breaking the NFL single-season record for passing yards each time. Fouts' performance was rewarded by six Pro Bowl selections (1979–1983 & 1985) and four All-Pro selections (first team in 1979 and 1982, second team in 1980 and 1985). In the strike-shortened 1982 season, he passed for 2,883 yards in only nine games, winning the Associated Press (AP) Offensive Player of the Year and Pro Football Writers Association (PFWA) NFL Most Valuable Player honors.
Fouts led the Chargers to three consecutive AFC West division titles – 1979, 1980 and 1981 – and a playoff appearance in 1982. He was the winning quarterback of the Epic in Miami, when he broke the league playoff single-game record by passing for 433 yards. The Chargers advanced to the AFC Championship Game twice during his career, but never reached the Super Bowl. Fouts was the first quarterback to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame without appearing in either the Super Bowl or an NFL championship game.
After retiring from the league, Fouts was a color analyst for NFL games on CBS television and Westwood One radio. He is the son of Bay Area Radio Hall of Famer Bob Fouts.
Dan Fouts was born in San Francisco on June 10, 1951, to Julie and Bob Fouts, the fourth of five children. His father was a sports broadcaster who commentated for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL) for over 20 years. As a child, Dan acted as a stats-keeper for Bob and worked for the 49ers as a ballboy. One of his first sports heroes was John Brodie, the 49ers' starting quarterback at that time. At the age of 11, when Fouts asked his parents' permission to play football, they told him that he would have to be a quarterback, as he had shown a good throwing arm while playing Little League baseball. He played Pop Warner football for the Drake Junior Pirates, where his coach described him as an "outstanding quarterback" in 1964.
Fouts attended Marin Catholic High School, located just north of San Francisco in Kentfield, California, for his first two years of high school football and had his first starts as a sophomore in 1966. He temporarily lost his starting position after his play was described as "extremely jittery" by the local San Rafael Daily Independent Journal, but an end of season report from the same paper stated that he should improve with better protection. The team had a record of 0–6 and Fouts finished the season with nine interceptions and only one touchdown. While at Marin Catholic, he also played varsity basketball as a forward.
Fouts transferred to St. Ignatius College Preparatory, also in San Francisco, for his final two years of high school. Explaining the switch to St. Ignatius in 2013, he said, "My dad told me 'You're not going to get a scholarship at Marin Catholic; you're going to get it at St. Ignatius.'" In 1967, Fouts' junior year, St. Ignatius was the champion of the West Catholic Athletic League with a 6–0 record, and Fouts was named to the WCAL All-Star first-team. He nearly reversed his touchdown to interceptions ratio, with 16 touchdowns and two interceptions. St. Ignatius went 5–1 in Fouts' senior year but he passed much less as his team focused more on their running game.
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Dan Fouts
Daniel Francis Fouts (born June 10, 1951) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) throughout his 15-season career (1973–1987). After a relatively undistinguished first five seasons in the league, Fouts came to prominence as an on-field leader during the Chargers' Air Coryell period. He led the league in passing yards every year from 1979 to 1982, throwing for over 4,000 yards in the first three of these—no quarterback had previously posted consecutive 4,000-yard seasons. Fouts was voted a Pro Bowler six times, first-team All-Pro twice, and in 1982 he was the Offensive Player of the Year. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility.
Fouts played college football for the Oregon Ducks, where he broke numerous records, and was later inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Oregon Hall of Fame. He was a third-round draft pick by the Chargers in 1973. Fouts struggled during his first three seasons in the league. His form began to improve in 1976, but he was discontented over the direction of the team and the restrictions of the NFL's free agency rules so he refused to play during the majority of the 1977 season.
Early in 1978, Don Coryell became the head coach of the Chargers and he instituted the pass-oriented Air Coryell offensive scheme, allowing Fouts to throw the ball with unprecedented frequency. He led the NFL in passing yards for four straight years from 1979 to 1982 (still a consecutive-years record), and he became the first player in league history to throw for 4,000 yards in three straight seasons, breaking the NFL single-season record for passing yards each time. Fouts' performance was rewarded by six Pro Bowl selections (1979–1983 & 1985) and four All-Pro selections (first team in 1979 and 1982, second team in 1980 and 1985). In the strike-shortened 1982 season, he passed for 2,883 yards in only nine games, winning the Associated Press (AP) Offensive Player of the Year and Pro Football Writers Association (PFWA) NFL Most Valuable Player honors.
Fouts led the Chargers to three consecutive AFC West division titles – 1979, 1980 and 1981 – and a playoff appearance in 1982. He was the winning quarterback of the Epic in Miami, when he broke the league playoff single-game record by passing for 433 yards. The Chargers advanced to the AFC Championship Game twice during his career, but never reached the Super Bowl. Fouts was the first quarterback to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame without appearing in either the Super Bowl or an NFL championship game.
After retiring from the league, Fouts was a color analyst for NFL games on CBS television and Westwood One radio. He is the son of Bay Area Radio Hall of Famer Bob Fouts.
Dan Fouts was born in San Francisco on June 10, 1951, to Julie and Bob Fouts, the fourth of five children. His father was a sports broadcaster who commentated for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL) for over 20 years. As a child, Dan acted as a stats-keeper for Bob and worked for the 49ers as a ballboy. One of his first sports heroes was John Brodie, the 49ers' starting quarterback at that time. At the age of 11, when Fouts asked his parents' permission to play football, they told him that he would have to be a quarterback, as he had shown a good throwing arm while playing Little League baseball. He played Pop Warner football for the Drake Junior Pirates, where his coach described him as an "outstanding quarterback" in 1964.
Fouts attended Marin Catholic High School, located just north of San Francisco in Kentfield, California, for his first two years of high school football and had his first starts as a sophomore in 1966. He temporarily lost his starting position after his play was described as "extremely jittery" by the local San Rafael Daily Independent Journal, but an end of season report from the same paper stated that he should improve with better protection. The team had a record of 0–6 and Fouts finished the season with nine interceptions and only one touchdown. While at Marin Catholic, he also played varsity basketball as a forward.
Fouts transferred to St. Ignatius College Preparatory, also in San Francisco, for his final two years of high school. Explaining the switch to St. Ignatius in 2013, he said, "My dad told me 'You're not going to get a scholarship at Marin Catholic; you're going to get it at St. Ignatius.'" In 1967, Fouts' junior year, St. Ignatius was the champion of the West Catholic Athletic League with a 6–0 record, and Fouts was named to the WCAL All-Star first-team. He nearly reversed his touchdown to interceptions ratio, with 16 touchdowns and two interceptions. St. Ignatius went 5–1 in Fouts' senior year but he passed much less as his team focused more on their running game.
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