Randy Beverly (born April 3, 1944) 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 wi ...

player. He played

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for the American Football League's New York Jets and is best known for making two key interceptions that helped the Jets to their historic victory in

Super Bowl III Super Bowl III was an American football game played on January 12, 1969 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. It was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the first to officially bear the trademark name "Su ...

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

Early career

Beverly grew up in Wildwood in southern

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. He attended Wildwood High School, where he won the state

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

championship. He attended junior college in

Trinidad, Colorado Trinidad is the home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Las Animas County, Colorado, United States. The population was 8,329 as of the 2020 census. Trinidad lies north of Raton, New Mexico, and s ...

, where he was a junior college

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n. He later attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he played football. At Colorado State, he returned a kick-off for 99 yards. Considered too small to play professional football, Beverly was passed up in the 1967 NFL Draft. He signed with the Jets as rookie free agent in the fall of

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

. He received a signing bonus of $500 and a one-year contract of $12,500. In

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

, Beverly became the starting

of the Jets. The team went 11–3, winning the American Football League East division. They defeated the Oakland Raiders in the AFL Championship game and faced 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 ...

Super Bowl III

The Jets had managed a solid defense throughout the season, but going into Super Bowl III, the Jets passing defense was not considered particularly strong. With the Jets installed as an 18-point underdog, Beverly's small stature made him a main target of Colts' quarterback

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 be ...

. However, Beverly put together a remarkable performance, becoming the first player ever to record two interceptions in a Super Bowl. In the first quarter, the Colts drove down the field, seemingly fulfilling the predictions about their offensive prowess. Reaching the Jets' 10-yard-line, Morrall threw a pass into the end zone, but the pass bounced off a Jets lineman, then hit the shoulder pads of Colts

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

Tom Mitchell. Beverly tracked the ball and caught it in the end zone, ending the Colts first drive. The Jets defense continued to stymie the Colts for the rest of the first half, shutting them out and prompting the insertion of Colt legend Johnny Unitas at quarterback. Driving the Colts down the field and poised to score the team's first

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

of the game, Unitas threw a crossing pattern to one of his wide receiver's in the end zone, but Beverly stepped in front and caught the ball in the end zone, downing it for a touchback. While the Colts managed to score a late touchdown, the Jets' 16–7 triumph is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in the history of professional sports in the United States.

Later career

Beverly played a third season with the Jets in

. In

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

the Jets traded Beverly to the San Diego Chargers for wide receiver Richard Trapp. He was waived by the Chargers and later signed by the Boston Patriots, where he played on special teams. Although his two interceptions were among the most dramatic in the history of postseason NFL play, he intercepted only four passes during the rest of his NFL career. He later played in the World Football League with former Jet Super Bowl alumni

Gerry Philbin Gerald John Philbin (born July 31, 1941) is a former American football defensive tackle and four-year starter from the University at Buffalo where he earned several honors including second-team All-American, Little All-America, and All-American ...

, George Sauer, Jr.,

John Dockery John Dockery (September 6, 1944) is an American sportscaster and former American football defensive back who played for the New York Jets and later the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1968 to 1973. He graduated from Brooklyn Preparatory a Jesuit Hi ...

, and

Vito (Babe) Parilli Vito "Babe" Parilli (May 7, 1930 – July 15, 2017) was an American gridiron football, football quarterback and coach who played professionally for 18 seasons. Parilli spent five seasons in the National Football League (NFL), three in the Canadia ...

with the New York Stars. Beverly now lives in Monroe Township in Middlesex County, New Jersey.Todaro, Vincent
"Former Jets star enjoys retirement in Monroe: Randy Beverly, now 57, was a key player for the Jets in Super Bowl III"
, ''East Brunswick Sentinel'', July 13, 2001. Accessed June 14, 2007." He regularly attends home games of the New York Jets at Giants Stadium with other Jets alumni. He is a husband, father,grandfather of eight and great-grandfather of one. Grand children's names are from oldest to youngest; Sean, Vanessa, Briana, Victoria, Brittany, Stefania, Fabio Randy, Isaiah Pierce and Tove. Great-grandson's name is Nicolas. One of his sons,

Randy Beverly Jr. Randy Beverly Jr. (born December 24, 1966) is an American football head coach. He is a former head coach of the Rams Milano American Football Club, of the Italian Federation of American Football (FIDAF) and the Örebro Black Knights of the Swed ...

, was the head coach of an American football team in Sweden, Örebro Black Knights. He was earlier the head coach of the Milano Rams.

References

External links

The Sentinel:Randy BeverlyNew England Patriots 1971 press release on Randy BeverlySI.com: 10 most unexpected pro football postseason heroes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beverly, Randy 1944 births Living people African-American players of American football American football cornerbacks American Football League players Boston Patriots players Colorado State Rams football players New England Patriots players New York Jets players People from Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey People from Wildwood, New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey Sportspeople from Cape May County, New Jersey 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople

Early career

Super Bowl III

Later career

See also

References

External links