John Elway - College Career

College Career

He enrolled at Stanford University in 1979 where he played football and baseball. In his senior season in 1982, Stanford was 5-5 and needed to win their final game, the Big Game against California, to secure an invitation to the Hall of Fame Classic bowl game. With two minutes remaining in the game, Stanford was down 19-17 and they were on 4th-and-17 on their own 13-yard line. Elway completed a 29-yard pass and drove the ball downfield to the 35-yard line, where Mark Harmon kicked what appeared to be the winning field goal. However, the clock had four seconds remaining, so Stanford had to kick off. What followed is now simply known as "The Play", in which Cal players lateraled the ball five times –; two of them controversial –; and scored a touchdown to win the game. Elway was bitter about the game afterward, stating that the officials "ruined my last game as a college football player." Stanford athletics director Andy Geiger said the loss cost Elway the Heisman Trophy. 20 years later, Elway came to terms with The Play, saying that "each year it gets a little funnier."

Although Elway never led his team to a bowl game, he had an accomplished college career. In his four seasons (1979–1982) at Stanford, he completed 774 passes for 9,349 yards and 77 touchdowns. Stanford had a 20–23 record during his tenure. Elway's 24 touchdown passes in 1982 led the nation, and he graduated with nearly every Stanford and Pacific-10 career record for passing and total offense. He won Pac-10 Player of the Year honors in 1980 and 1982, was a consensus All-American, and finished second in Heisman Trophy balloting as a senior. In 2000, Elway was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. In 2007, Elway was ranked #15 on ESPN's Top 25 Players In College Football History list. Thomas Davids, an assistant football coach, said that Elway was the "best looking ball player he had ever seen." A consensus All-American at Stanford,he passed for over 200 yards in 30 of his 42 collegiate games. Elway was the nations most highly recruited prep athlete in 1984.

Elway also excelled as a baseball player playing right field and pitcher, finishing his senior year hitting .361 with nine home runs and 50 RBIs in 49 games and a 5–4 record with a 4.51 ERA.He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the second round of the 1981 MLB draft (52nd overall, six spots ahead of future Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn).

Elway graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics, and he is a member of the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. Already age 19 when he entered as a freshman, Elway did not use a redshirt year at Stanford.