Steven James Grogan (born July 24, 1953) is a former
football 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 ...
who played 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) for sixteen seasons with the
New England Patriots. He played college football at
Kansas State University and was selected by the Patriots in the fifth round of the
1975 NFL Draft
The 1975 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1975, at the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Steve Bartkows ...
.
An agile, durable
dual-threat quarterback
In gridiron football, a dual-threat quarterback, also known as a running quarterback, is a quarterback (QB) who possesses the skills and physique to run with the ball if necessary. With the rise of several blitz heavy defensive schemes and increa ...
in an era known for pocket passers, he led the league in both passing and quarterback rushing statistics several times in his career, and ran for a quarterback-record 12 touchdowns in 1976, a record that stood for 35 seasons. Grogan ran for over 500 yards in 1978 and led the team to 3,156 rushing yards, an NFL record that was only eclipsed by the 2019 Baltimore Ravens. He had his statistically best year in 1979, before being hobbled by injuries for much of the 1980s. While he showed moments of brilliance, and continued to be a fan favorite for his tenacious style of play, he would only have one season during the rest of his career, 1983, when he started more than half of his team's games, and would spend the majority of the rest of his career splitting starting time with a number of other quarterbacks. He played in
Super Bowl XX, coming off the bench to throw a pass for the only touchdown the Patriots would score on the day. When he retired in 1990, he held many of the team's passing and longevity records.
He was inducted into the
New England Patriots Hall of Fame
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
in 1995, and currently owns a sporting goods store in Massachusetts.
High school and college
Grogan had a standout prep career in Kansas at
Ottawa High School,
[Database of Football, Steve Grogan](_blank)
where he led his team to state titles in track in 1970, basketball in 1971, and a 3A state runner-up finish in football in 1970.
Grogan spent his collegiate career at
Kansas State University, where he started as a quarterback for his junior and senior years.
[Steve Grogan, Official New England Patriots Biography](_blank)
He threw for 2,214 yards, completing 166 of 371 pass attempts, with 12 TDs and 26 interceptions.
He ran for 585 yards and six touchdowns on 339 attempts, punted 7 times for 279 yards (a 39.9-yard average), and as a senior caught one touchdown pass of 22 yards.
Against Memphis in 1973, he had a 100-yard rushing game.
[K-State Football Records](_blank)
/ref>
Professional career
1975–1979: initial successes
Grogan was selected in the fifth round (116th overall) in the 1975 NFL Draft
The 1975 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1975, at the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Steve Bartkows ...
by the New England Patriots. Although he would start every game for four consecutive seasons early in his career, his career was also marked by injuries and quarterback controversies, with Grogan competing with other quarterbacks for the starting job. His second through his fifth season were the only times he would start every game in a season. Besides taking the starting job from former Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett
James William Plunkett (born December 5, 1947) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for sixteen seasons. He achieved his greatest professional success during his final eight seasons with the ...
as a rookie,[Gill, J. (August 18, 2010)]
Boston sports, then and now: Steve Grogan.
Boston Sports, Then and Now. Grogan would later face competition from Matt Cavanaugh, Tony Eason, Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie, and Marc Wilson.
In his first season, Grogan played in 13 games out of the then-14 game regular season, starting 7 of the last 8. Grogan threw for 1,976 yards, 11 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.[Steve Grogan, QB at NFL.com](_blank)
/ref> The Patriots finished with a 3-11 record, and traded Plunkett, their starter for the previous four years, in the off-season. (Plunkett would eventually lead the Raiders to two Super Bowl victories.)
For the Patriots 1976 season, Grogan led the Patriots to an 11-3 record and the franchise's first playoff berth since 1963. The eleven wins were the most Patriots wins in a season since the club’s inception. Along the way the Patriots defeated the defending Super Bowl champion, Pittsburgh Steelers (30-27). They also handed the Oakland Raiders their only regular season loss that year by defeating them 48-17. However, they lost the divisional playoffs (24-21) to the Raiders. Grogan scored 12 rushing touchdowns in 1976, breaking a quarterback record of 11 previously held by Tobin Rote
Tobin Cornelius Rote (January 18, 1928 – June 27, 2000) was an American football player who played quarterback for the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football Le ...
and Johnny Lujack
John Christopher Lujack (pronounced Lu' jack; born January 4, 1925) is a former American football quarterback and defensive back who won the 1947 Heisman Trophy; he is currently the oldest living recipient of the Heisman Trophy. Lujack played c ...
.[Harrison, E. (October 8, 2010)]
From Moss to Johnny U, these are the most impressive records.
NFL.com. His record would stand for 35 years until broken by Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
quarterback Cam Newton
Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He has played for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NF ...
's 14 in 2011.
During the 1977 season, Grogan would continue to advance the ball with his legs, amassing another 300+ yard rushing season, though he would only find the end zone once on a running play, as running backs Horace Ivory
Horace Orlando Ivory (born August 8, 1954) is a former American football running back in the NFL from 1977 through 1982. He attended Nolan Catholic High School
Nolan Catholic High School is a private, coeducational, college preparatory school, ...
, Sam "Bam" Cunningham and Andy Johnson did most of the scoring on the ground. Rookie Stanley Morgan was drafted in the first round of that year's draft, and became an instant favorite target for Grogan; the two would go on to become the most successful tandem in Patriots history by the time of their retirements. The team would slip from their prior successes, however, falling to 9-5 and missing the playoffs.
In the Patriots 1978 season, Grogan led the Patriots to an 11-5 record, a division title and the organization's first ever home playoff game, a 31–14 loss to the Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...
. The Patriots set the all-time single season team rushing record with 3,156 yards (Grogan rushing for 539 yards and 5 touchdowns himself), a record that stood until broken by the 2019 Baltimore Ravens. It is also the only season an NFL team has had 4 players rush for over 500 yards apiece.
Statistically, Grogan's best season was the Patriots 1979 season, when he completed 206 of 423 passes for 3,286 yards and 28 touchdowns, rushing for 368 yards and 2 touchdowns.[Steve Grogan: Career Stats at NFL.com](_blank)
/ref> His 28 touchdown passes led the league, tied with Brian Sipe
Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world.
It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word me ...
of Cleveland, and his rushing yards led the league for quarterbacks. The Patriots struggled defensively and could not hold on to leads provided to them by Grogan, and finished with a disappointing 9-7 record, missing the playoffs.
1980–1985: injuries and recovery
In the early 1980s, Grogan suffered several injuries, and split starting duties on-and-off with Matt Cavanaugh
Matthew Andrew Cavanaugh (born October 27, 1956) is an American football coach and former quarterback. During his playing career, he earned two Super Bowl rings. Since his retirement after the 1991 season, Cavanaugh has worked as an offensive c ...
. During the lean years of the early 1980s, the Patriots failed to make the playoffs in 1980 and 1981 (when they had a dreadful 2-14 record), only making the tournament during the strike-shortened 1982 season. The years were statistically lackluster years for Grogan, as the formerly mobile dual-threat quarterback was hobbled by knee injuries, and was uncomfortable in his new role as a pocket passer. The Patriots drafted quarterback Tony Eason
Charles Carroll "Tony" Eason IV (born October 8, 1959) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. Taken 15th overall by the Patriots in t ...
in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft
The 1983 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 26–27, 1983, at the New York Sh ...
. As the highly touted Eason put the pressure on Grogan to perform, he returned to form during the 1983 season, but was replaced by Eason as the primary starter in 1984 after a 1-2 start, where Grogan played entirely ineffectually for the two losses in weeks two and three of the season.
By the Patriots 1985 season, Eason had taken the starting quarterback position and led the Patriots to a 2–3 record initially. Coach Raymond Berry
Raymond Emmett Berry Jr. (born February 27, 1933) is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a split end for the Baltimore Colts from 1955 to 1967, and after several assist ...
benched Eason for Grogan. The Patriots won 6 straight games behind their old quarterback, only to lose Grogan when he suffered a broken leg in Week 12 against the New York Jets.[Zimmerman, P. (February 3, 1986)]
A brilliant case for the defense.
Sports Illustrated. Filling in again at QB, Eason and the Patriots lost that Jets game 16-13 in overtime, and relinquished 1st place in the AFC East Division. With Eason's return, the Patriots went 3-2 in their remaining five games. Finishing the season with an 11-5 record, the Patriots earned a wild card berth into the playoffs and eventually reached Super Bowl XX, where they faced the Chicago Bears, who, with their defensive coach Buddy Ryan's "46" defense, had gone 15–1 during the regular season. Eason, who had led the Patriots to victory in the wild card, divisional, and conference playoff games, started the game, but the Patriots could do little against the Bears' defense and Eason went 0-6 in passing attempts; Coach Berry replaced him with Grogan. Grogan went on to connect on 17 of 30 passes for 177 yards, a touchdown, but also two interceptions, in the 46-10 loss. Of little solace was the fact that the Patriots were the only team to score against the Bears in the playoffs that season.
1986–1990: the end of his career
Eason returned to the full-time starter position for the 1986 season, while Grogan appeared in only 4 games (two as a starter) when Eason was injured. For the rest of the 1980s, the team became a revolving door of starting quarterbacks, as Grogan battled for playing time not only with Eason, but also with backup Tom Ramsey
Tom Ramsey (born July 9, 1961) is a former professional American football quarterback, who played five seasons in the NFL for the New England Patriots and one season for the Indianapolis Colts. Earlier he played for the Los Angeles Express a ...
, local hero and fan favorite Doug Flutie
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 (CF ...
, and journeyman Marc Wilson. The Patriots struggled to remain above .500 for the final four years of his career, culminating in the disastrous and controversial 1-15 campaign of 1990, after which Grogan retired.
Retirement and legacy
At the time of his retirement, Grogan led the franchise as the all-time leader in passing yards (26,886) and passing touchdowns (182).[New England Patriots, All Time Leaders, Passing](_blank)
As of 2019, he is ranked third in passing yards behind Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
and Drew Bledsoe
Drew McQueen Bledsoe (born February 14, 1972) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football at Washington State, whe ...
and second in passing touchdowns behind Brady. His 16 seasons are the second most ever for a Patriots player, behind Tom Brady. He also held the Patriots previous single-game record with a 153.9 quarterback rating
Passer rating (also known as passing efficiency in college football) is a measure of the performance of passers, primarily quarterbacks, in gridiron football. There are two formulas currently in use: one used by both the National Football Leagu ...
, achieved by completing 13-of-18 passes for 315 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions against the New York Jets on September 9, 1979, before Drew Bledsoe
Drew McQueen Bledsoe (born February 14, 1972) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football at Washington State, whe ...
posted a perfect 158.3 rating against the Indianapolis Colts on December 26, 1993.
Grogan started seventy-six consecutive games for the Patriots from 1975-1980, which would place him twenty-sixth for Most consecutive starts by a quarterback (NFL)
In the history of the National Football League, there have been twelve starts streaks of at least 100 consecutive games by eleven different quarterbacks, with four of those with a regular season streak of at least 200 games.
Brett Favre has held ...
. He was knocked out of the top twenty-five by Brady.
Grogan rushed for 2,176 yards (4.9 per carry) and 35 touchdowns during his career,[New England Patriots, All Time Leaders, Rushing](_blank)
a mark which places him as the Patriots' fourth overall in rushing touchdowns. With Grogan, the Patriots made the playoffs five times (1976, 1978, 1982, 1985, and 1986 as a backup). Before Grogan was drafted, the Patriots made the playoffs just once from 1960-1974.
Grogan's injuries and his toughness in response to them are also part of his legacy. One sports writer for the Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
, wrote of the "Grogan Toughness Meter" in 2003. The writer, Nick Cafardo
Nicholas Dominic Cafardo (May 8, 1956 – February 21, 2019) was an American sportswriter and sports author. A longtime columnist and beat reporter for ''The Boston Globe'', he primarily covered the Boston Red Sox. In December 2019, Cafardo was ...
, gave a partial listing of Grogan's injuries over his 16-year career: "Five knee surgeries; screws in his leg after the tip of his fibula snapped; a cracked fibula that snapped when he tried to practice; two ruptured disks in his neck, which he played with for 1 1/2 seasons; a broken left hand (he simply handed off with his right hand); two separated shoulders on each side; the reattachment of a tendon to his throwing elbow; and three concussions."[Cafardo, N. (September 25, 2003)]
Brady inspires tough love.
''Boston Globe''.
After football
After retiring from the Patriots, Grogan attempted to get a coaching job, but found that no one above the high school level would hire him. He was approached by the then-owner of Marciano Sporting Goods in Mansfield, Massachusetts
Mansfield is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the United States 2020 Census, the town population is 23,860. Mansfield is in the south-southwest suburbs of Boston and is also close to Providence, Rhode Island. The vill ...
(a business originally started by Rocky Marciano
Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955, and held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956. He is the onl ...
's brother Peter) to purchase the struggling business from him. Living only five miles from the store, and seeing it as a good investment, Grogan agreed to purchase the store, renamed it Grogan Marciano Sporting Goods, and continues to run the business today. Other than running his business, he also makes appearances at local businesses and civic organizations.
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Playoffs
Honors
Grogan's high school, Ottawa High School in Ottawa, Kansas
Ottawa (pronounced ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Kansas, United States. It is located on both banks of the Marais des Cygnes River near the center of Franklin County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the c ...
has named its football stadium after him, and he was also inducted into the Kansas State Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.
Kansas State has retired the number Grogan wore for the Wildcats, #11, to jointly honor him and Lynn Dickey
Clifford Lynn Dickey (born October 19, 1949) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. He played college football at Kansas State and was sele ...
, who also wore #11.[Haskin, K. (August 7, 2002)]
Kansas State will unveil a ring of honor at KSU.
Topeka Capital-Journal. It is the only number retired by Kansas State. (Grogan wore #14 with the Patriots.)[Gill, J. (December 1, 2010)]
Patriots Grogan and Bledsoe caught in retired numbers game.
Bleacher Report.
Grogan was named to the Patriots 35th Anniversary Team in 1994,[Patriot's Anniversary Teams](_blank)
and was elected into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 1995.[Patriot's Hall of Fame](_blank)
He was also elected to the Patriot's All-Decade teams of the 1970s and the 1980s.
Notes and references
External links
New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grogan, Steven James
1953 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
Kansas State Wildcats football players
New England Patriots players
People from Ottawa, Kansas
Players of American football from San Antonio
Ed Block Courage Award recipients