Theisman, now a football broadcaster with ESPN, retired
holding a slew of Washington Redskins team records in passing, after succeeding
Hall of Famer Sonny Jurgensen and Billy Kilmer as Redskins quarterback. At the
peak of his career, Theisman led the Redskins to two Superbowls, winning one.
He was named league MVP in 1983. Theisman first saw public prominence as a
Heisman trophy candidate after playing quarterback at Notre Dame. He began his
story by recounting how the The University launched a campaign on his behalf by
asking him to change the pronunciation of his last name to rhyme with the name
of the trophy.
Thiesman is perhaps best noted for suffering a grisly leg
injury while being tackled by the New York Giants Lawrence Taylor, which forced
his retirement at age 36. He noted that he also took a pay cut from $1 million
annually to $65,000.