Malcolm Richard Wood (February 29, 1936 – April 4, 2015) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

and coach who played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Auburn and professionally in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL). After his player career ended, Wood served as an assistant coach in college football and the NFL over four decades.

As a player

Playing for Lanett High School, Wood was named to the All-State team in Alabama in 1954. He went on to help lead Auburn to an undefeated season in 1958. He was drafted by the Baltimore Colts of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) in 1959. He never played for the Colts, and signed with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

of the

(AFL) as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 1962. Later in that season, Wood saw his first significant playing time as a member of the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

, playing in 6 games and starting 2 (he filled in for teammates Jack Kemp and

John Hadl John Willard Hadl (February 15, 1940 – November 30, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 16 years. He won an AFL championship with the San Diego Cha ...

). He then spent two seasons (1963 and 1964) with the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, starting 12 games in each year. The Jets drafted

Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college foot ...

in 1965, and Wood landed as a backup for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

, starting 3 games in relief of

Tom Flores Thomas Raymond Flores (born March 21, 1937) is a former American football coach and quarterback. After his retirement as a coach, he was a radio announcer for more than twenty years. Flores won a total of four Super Bowls in his playing and c ...

. The next year, he was a member of the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

' inaugural season.

Coaching career

In the next 30 years after his playing days, Wood held over a dozen offensive assistant coaching positions. He worked under

Hank Stram Henry Louis Stram (; January 3, 1923 – July 4, 2005) was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the Dallas Texans / Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NF ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

as a quarterbacks coach, with

Archie Manning Elisha Archibald Manning III (born May 19, 1949) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New Orleans Saints. He played for the Saints from 1971 to 1982 and al ...

under center. Afterwards, he was on the staff of the first

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

team to reach the playoffs in 1978. He coached

Randall Cunningham Randall Wade Cunningham Sr. (born March 27, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles and is also known for ...

and the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

during the early 1990s. He retired from coaching in 1997.

Statistics and legacy

Wood started 33 games and completed 522 career passes for 51 touchdowns and 71 interceptions in his professional career. He played for five different AFL teams during his football career,Dick Wood Statistics – Pro-Football-Reference.com
/ref> the only player to ever do so. Wood was the first quarterback to throw for a touchdown at

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

. In 1966, Wood became the first starting quarterback in

history.

Outside of football

Wood was married to Peggy Bartlett, who was also from his hometown of Lanett. The couple had a daughter and a son. After suffering from

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

, Wood died in Atlanta. He was 79.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Dick 1936 births 2015 deaths People from Lanett, Alabama Players of American football from Alabama American football quarterbacks Auburn Tigers football players Denver Broncos (AFL) players San Diego Chargers players New York Jets players Oakland Raiders players Miami Dolphins players American Football League players Coaches of American football from Alabama Georgia Bulldogs football coaches Oakland Raiders coaches Ole Miss Rebels football coaches Cleveland Browns coaches New Orleans Saints coaches Atlanta Falcons coaches Auburn Tigers football coaches Kansas City Chiefs coaches New England Patriots coaches Philadelphia Eagles coaches New York Jets coaches

As a player

Coaching career

Statistics and legacy

Outside of football

See also

References