Doug Flutie, American football player, sportscaster, and drummer
Douglas Richard Flutie (born October 23, 1962) is an American former football quarterback whose professional career spanned 21 seasons. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), eight seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL), and one season in the United States Football League (USFL). Flutie played college football at Boston College, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1984 amid a season that saw him throw the iconic game-winning touchdown pass in the final seconds against Miami. He chose to begin his professional career with the USFL's New Jersey Generals; his unavailability to NFL teams resulted in him selected 285th overall by the Los Angeles Rams in the 11th round of the 1985 NFL Draft, the lowest drafting of a Heisman winner. After the USFL folded, Flutie played his first four NFL seasons with the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots.
Flutie left the NFL in 1990 for the CFL, where he became regarded as one of the league's greatest players. As a member of the BC Lions, Calgary Stampeders, and Toronto Argonauts, Flutie was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Player a record six times and won three Grey Cups. In all three of his championship victories—two with the Argonauts and one with the Stampeders—he received the Grey Cup MVP award.
Following his CFL success, Flutie returned to the NFL in 1998 with the Buffalo Bills, earning Pro Bowl and NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors for leading Buffalo to the playoffs. He again helped the Bills obtain a playoff berth the following season, but was controversially benched in their subsequent Wild Card defeat; Flutie would be the last quarterback to bring the Bills to the postseason over the next 17 years. Flutie held his last starting role with the San Diego Chargers in 2001 and spent his final professional season as a backup on the Patriots. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2008. Flutie was also inducted to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, becoming the first non-Canadian inductee.
1962Oct, 23
Doug Flutie
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Events on 1962
- 5Feb
Charles de Gaulle
French President Charles de Gaulle calls for Algeria to be granted independence. - 5Aug
Nelson Mandela
Apartheid in South Africa: Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990. - 15Sep
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviet ship Poltava heads toward Cuba, one of the events that sets into motion the Cuban Missile Crisis. - 18Sep
Jamaica
Burundi, Jamaica, Rwanda and Trinidad and Tobago are admitted to the United Nations. - 6Nov
Apartheid
The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution condemning South Africa's apartheid policies and calls for all UN member states to cease military and economic relations with the nation.