Karl Robert Sweetan (October 2, 1942 – July 2, 2000) was a professional

NFL 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 major ...

quarterback.

Early life

Sweetan grew up in Dallas and graduated from

South Oak Cliff High School South Oak Cliff High School (colloquially referred to as SOC, pronounced "sock") is a public secondary school located in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas, United States. South Oak Cliff High School enrolls students in grades 9- 12 and is a pa ...

in 1960.

College

Sweetan played football at

Navarro Junior College Navarro College is a public community college in Texas with its main campus in Corsicana and branches in Fairfield, Mexia, Midlothian, and Waxahachie. The college has an annual student enrollment of more than 9,000 students. The Corsican ...

and Texas A&M before transferring to Wake Forest. Sweetan was Wake Forest’s starting quarterback in 1963, his senior year. He completed 79 of 218 passes for 674 yards, throwing 1 touchdown and 18 interceptions. His 218 pass attempts were the 2nd highest in the conference, and 5th highest in the country.

Professional Football

Undrafted by the

, Sweetan played quarterback and defensive back for the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts during the 1964 season. In the 1965 NFL Draft, Sweetan was an 18th round draft choice of the Detroit Lions. Sweetan played five

seasons, from 1966 to 1970, for 3 teams. During his first season, in 1966, he replaced an injured

Milt Plum Milton Ross Plum (born January 20, 1935) is a former American football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns (1957–61), Detroit Lions (1962–67), Los Angeles Rams (1968) and New York Giants (1969) of the National Football League (NFL ...

in an October 16 game against the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

. In that game, Sweetan threw a 99 yard pass to

Pat Studstill Patrick Lewis Studstill Jr. (June 4, 1938 – October 16, 2021) was an American professional footballer who was a wide receiver, punter and return specialist. He played 12 years in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions (19 ...

that will always be an NFL record for longest pass completion. Sweetan was the 2nd NFL quarterback to accomplish the feat; as of 2021, a total of 12 NFL quarterbacks have thrown a 99 yard pass, with the most recent being

Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning football dynasty, he is the youngest son o ...

in 2011. Sweetan played himself in the 1967 movie, ''

Paper Lion ''Paper Lion'' is a 1966 non-fiction book by American author George Plimpton. In 1960, Plimpton, not an athlete, arranged to pitch to a lineup of professional baseball players in an All-Star exhibition, presumably to answer the question, "How ...

'', which starred Alan Alda as an amateur participating at quarterback during the Lions preseason (based on an actual experience by the writer George Plimpton). Sweetan gained a different kind of notoriety when it was alleged that he tried to sell an NFL football playbook to another team; however, the charge was not proven.

Personal

Sweetan spent the last 27 years of his life in Las Vegas, where he worked for a series of casinos; his last job was as a baccarat dealer at the Las Vegas Hilton. He was survived by 4 daughters and a son. According to a 1966 article in the Detroit Jewish News, Sweetan said he was Jewish. Jewish Indians in sports arenas; Detroit Jewish News
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References

1942 births 2000 deaths People from Dallas American football quarterbacks Navarro Bulldogs football players Wake Forest Demon Deacons football players Detroit Lions players New Orleans Saints players Los Angeles Rams players Toronto Argonauts players {{quarterback-1940s-stub