Scott Lee Brunner (born March 24, 1957) is a former professional

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 ...

in 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) who played for the

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

from 1980 to 1983, 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 ...

in 1984, and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1985.

Early life

Brunner was born in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Middletown, New York. By the time he started

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, the family had moved to

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neighb ...

. Brunner played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at Henderson High School in West Chester, Pennsylvania and Lawrence High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where the family had moved before his junior year.

College career

Brunner played under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Tubby Raymond Harold R. "Tubby" Raymond (November 14, 1926 – December 8, 2017) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Delaware from 1966 to 2001, compiling a record of 300–119–3 ...

and led the Delaware Fighting Blue Hens to the NCAA Division II Football Championship in his only year as a starter in 1979. Brunner earned first-team All-American honors by the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

and was the Eastern College Athletic Conference All-East Player of the Year in 1979 when he threw for 2,401 yards and a then school record 24 touchdowns in leading Delaware to a 13–1 record and a national title game win over Youngstown State University. He also served as a backup in 1978 (behind future NFL player

Jeff Komlo William Jeffrey "Jeff" Komlo (July 30, 1956 – March 14, 2009) was an American professional football quarterback who played for the Detroit Lions, the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL. He was born in Cheverly, Maryland ...

) and helped UD advance to the NCAA Division II championship game. Brunner was selected to the NCAA Division II Hall of Fame in 2002.

Professional career

Brunner was selected by the

in the sixth round of the

1980 NFL Draft The 1980 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1980, at the New York She ...

. He replaced an injured Phil Simms during the 1981 season as the starting quarterback for the Giants. With Brunner leading them, the Giants beat 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 ...

20–10, but subsequently lost to the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

17–10. The Giants defeated the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

10–7 and the St. Louis Cardinals 20–10, setting up a season finale against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

, in which a win would clinch their first playoff berth since 1963. The Giants won the game 13–10 in overtime. The Giants were unable to build on their success in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, mainly due to the

1982 NFL Players strike The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director DeM ...

that reduced the schedule to nine games.

Ray Perkins Walter Ray Perkins (November 6, 1941 – December 9, 2020) was an American football coach and player. He played as a wide receiver for the University of Alabama and Baltimore Colts. He later worked as a football coach for 28 years, including sti ...

left the Giants after the 1982 season and George Young's choice to replace Perkins was Bill Parcells, the Giants'

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

. Brunner was named the starter for the

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

season opener against the Rams. Parcells chose Brunner over Simms,

Jeff Rutledge Jeffrey Ronald Rutledge (born January 22, 1957) is a former American football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football at Alabama, where he was the team's starting quarterba ...

and Mark Reed. Brunner was traded to the

on April 27, 1984, in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick (used to select linebacker

Gary Reasons Gary Phillip Reasons (born February 18, 1962) is a former American football linebacker for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL), winning Super Bowl XXI and Super Bowl XXV as a member of the team. Since his retirement as a play ...

) to serve as backup quarterback to

John Elway John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American professional football executive and former quarterback who is the president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Elway played college f ...

. Brunner was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

with a knee infection, however, on August 29, 1984. He was traded to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

on April 26, 1985, in exchange for a

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

sixth round draft pick (used to select tight end Orson Mobley), but was again traded, this time to the Cardinals on August 26, 1985, for another 1986 sixth round pick (used to select linebacker

Burnell Dent Burnell Joseph Dent (born March 16, 1963) is a former professional American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). Playing career High School career Dent from St. Rose, Louisiana played high school football at Destrehan High ...

). After backing up

Neil Lomax Neil Vincent Lomax (born February 17, 1959) is a former American football quarterback who played his entire professional career for the St. Louis / Phoenix Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Portland S ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, Brunner was released by the Cardinals on August 27, 1986. In his NFL career, he played in 72 games and threw for 29 touchdowns. He rushed for one touchdown and passed for 6,457 yards.

Personal

For 15 years, Brunner served as vice president for an institutional stock research and portfolio management firm on

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

, and he is currently the executive vice president of Net Worth Management Group. He is a private quarterback coach and offensive coordinator of the TEST Football Academy in Martinsville, New Jersey. He tutored former Delaware quarterback

Joe Flacco Joseph Vincent Flacco (born January 16, 1985) is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Delaware after transferring from Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Baltim ...

before the

2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...

, in which he was selected 18th overall by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

. Brunner had lived in

Cranbury, New Jersey Cranbury is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. Located within the Raritan Valley region, Cranbury is roughly equidistant between New York City and Philadelphia in the heart of the state. As of the 2010 United States Ce ...

"UD Hall of Fame names nine new members"

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

, October 5, 2004. Accessed February 19, 2020. "Scott Brunner... He currently resides in Cranbury, N.J., and has three children, daughters Ashley (20) and Whitney (16) and son Adam (16)." and lives with his wife in Millburn, New Jersey.Schaefer, Beverly
"Former Giants QB Scott Brunner helps open new PEAC turf facility in Ewing"
'' The Times (Trenton)'', January 26, 2015. Accessed December 18, 2017. "The Millburn resident played football at Lawrence High School and the University of Delaware and played for the Giants from 1980 to 1983." He has three children.

References

External links