Tom Kennedy (November 27, 1938 – March 15, 2006) 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 ...

. He 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. ...

in 1966.

Pre-NFL career

After playing high school football at Pasadena High School, and college football at Los Angeles State, Kennedy played quarterback for multiple minor league professional teams. These included the

Wheeling Ironmen The Wheeling Ironmen were a professional American football team based in Wheeling, West Virginia, and played their home games at Wheeling Island Stadium. The team began play in 1962 as a member of the United Football League, where they played for ...

of the United Football League from 1962–63; the Providence Steamrollers of the ACFL in 1964; the Rhode Island Indians of the

Continental Football League The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to beco ...

in 1965; and the Brooklyn Dodgers, also of the Continental Football League, in 1966. In 1963, he was voted as the quarterback on the All-United Football League team. He was playing for the Dodgers when the Giants, needing quarterback help due to injuries, signed him on November 7, 1966.

NFL career

Kennedy appeared in 6 games for the

in 1966, and was one of three quarterbacks who saw playing time for them, along with

Gary Wood Gary Fay Wood (July 9, 1942 – March 3, 1994) was an American football quarterback who played 63 games in the National Football League (NFL), for the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints, from 1964 until 1969. The quarterback was drafted f ...

and

Earl Morrall Earl Edwin Morrall (May 17, 1934 – April 25, 2014) was an American football player who was a quarterback (and occasional punter) in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons, both a starter and reserve. In the latter capacity, he beca ...

. Kennedy joined the Giants after mid-season injuries to Morrall and Wood. Kennedy's first NFL game came in relief of Wood in a 55–14 road loss to 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 ...

. Kennedy's only NFL start came in a most memorable contest two weeks later: the highest scoring regular season game in NFL history. It took place in Washington on November 27, 1966, and the Washington Redskins beat the Giants 72–41. Kennedy was pulled by Giants head coach

Allie Sherman Alex "Allie" Sherman (February 10, 1923 – January 3, 2015) was an American football player and coach who played 51 games in six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as a quarterback and defensive back, and afterward served as head co ...

after losing a fumble (which was returned 62 yards by

Brig Owens Brigman Owens (February 16, 1943 – June 21, 2022) was an American professional American football, football player who was a Safety (gridiron football position), safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Washington ...

for a Washington touchdown), and throwing three interceptions, all in the first half. Sherman did put Kennedy back in to the game in the second half. Kennedy's final stats for the game were 13 of 21 passes completed for 165 yards, with one touchdown pass and three interceptions. He also had one 8 yard run and was sacked four times. The 1966 Giants went 1–12–1, their worst record ever, and sought to improve their quarterback play. Their quarterbacks threw the most interceptions in the NFL in 1966 (31 in just 14 games), completed just under half of their passes, and were sacked 62 times, second only to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

who took 66 sacks. On March 7, 1967, the Giants traded two first round and two second round draft picks to the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

for their famously mobile, future Hall of Fame quarterback

Fran Tarkenton Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at ...

. Tarkenton became the Giants' starter, with Morrall as his backup. Gary Wood moved on to the expansion

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, but Tom Kennedy never appeared in an NFL game again.

Post-NFL career

Kennedy continued his pro career in minor league football after his NFL days. He did not play in 1967, but returned to play in the

for the

Sacramento Capitols The Sacramento Capitols were a professional American football team based in Sacramento, California. Formed as the Sacramento Buccaneers, the team's inclusion in the Pacific Division of the Continental Football League was announced in May 1967. Th ...

in 1968 and the

Seattle Rangers The Seattle Rangers were a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. The team was founded in 1967 as a member of the Continental Football League and played in the Western Division. The original franchise name of Jets was a ...

in 1969. His pro career ended with the

Bridgeport Jets The Bridgeport Jets were a minor league American football team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They began play in the Atlantic Coast Football League in 1966 as the Waterbury Orbits. The Orbits, already officially affiliated with the New York J ...

of the

Atlantic Coast Football League The Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) was a professional american football minor league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with NFL and AFL teams to serve as farm clubs. The league pai ...

in 1970.

Life outside of football

Kennedy served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. Pro Football Archives, ''ibid.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Tom 1938 births 2006 deaths American football quarterbacks Cal State Los Angeles Diablos football players New York Giants players