Archie Manning

Sport: Football

Induction Year: 1988

Induction Year: 1988

In 1971, when Archie Manning made his debut with the New Orleans Saints, one of the longest, loudest cheers ever heard in old Tulane Stadium followed his introduction before the season opener with the Los Angeles Rams.

There was an even louder cheer at the end of the game, when manning rolled left behind guard Jake Kupp and knifed between two Ram defenders on the final play for a one-yard touchdown run that gave the Saints a 24-20 upset victory.

The man who threw 110 touchdown passes in 11 years as the Saints’ quarterback had bittersweet memories of his debut. “The sad thing,” he recalled 20 years later, “is that it was the highlight of my NFL career.”

A week later, the Saints came back to earth when a series of kicking game breakdowns resulted in a 38-20 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. But the fan’s disappointment was not because of the score. It was the fact that Manning sat out nearly half of the game after suffering an eye injury. (He returned to throw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.)

As one spectator left the 49ers game, he stopped at the exit and looked back—as though he had forgotten something. He had one cheer left. Addressing nobody in particular, he shouted, “Archie’s for real!”

Archie was for real, but his supporting cast wasn’t. The Saints never came marching in during his playing career. Their best record was 8-8 in 1979, and that wasn’t good enough to earn a playoff berth.

Manning was selected National Football Conference Player of the Year in 1978, and played in the Pro Bowl twice. He passed for more than 300 yards in 10 games, and set club records with 1,849 completions in 3,335 passes for 21,734 yards.

Manning wasn’t a blue-chip prospect coming out of little Drew High School, located in the middle of the Mississippi Delta. He played only one game as a junior because of a broken arm, but he had a super senior season as the Drew Eagles posted a 5-5 record, one of their best in years.

Ole Miss coach Johnny Vaught signed eight quarterbacks that year. Because of the questionable caliber of competition he had faced, Manning was at the bottom of the list until the Mississippi All-Star game. The Bob White, who led Meridian to the Big Eight Conference title and won prep All-American honors, suffered a knee injury in the first quarter and Manning came off the bench to throw four touchdown passes and run for another, leading his team to a 56-33 victory.

Other than Ole Miss, the only schools that recruited him were Mississippi State and Tulane. Manning quickly moved to the top of the Rebel’s list, setting Southeastern Conference record for career total offense with 5,576 yards. But personal tragedy struck a few weeks before his junior season when his father, depressed by failing heath, committed suicide. Archie found the body in the bathroom of their home. “I had to grow up pretty fast,” he recalled.

An all-around athlete, Manning was drafted four times by major league baseball teams. The Chicago White Sox offered him a $50,000 signing bonus and a $20,000 salary after his junior year at Ole Miss. But football was Manning’s first love. He led Ole Miss to a 34-17 victory over Virginia Tech in the 1968 Liberty Bowl and a 27-22 win over Arkansas in the 1969 Sugar Bowl. As a senior, playing with a broken arm, he ran for 95 yards and completed 19 passes in a 35-28 Gator Bowl loss to Auburn.

Manning was no stranger to Louisiana fans when he was drafted by the Saints in 1971. He led Ole Miss to two consecutive victories over LSU, passing for 345 yards and two touchdowns in the Rebels’ 27-24 triumph at Tiger Stadium in 1968. The following year, Manning scored three touchdowns, passed for another and ran a two-point conversion in a 26-23 victory over LSU at Jackson.

The last time he played against LSU, Manning’s left arm (which had been broken three weeks earlier against Houston) was encased in a plastic-like sheath. The Tigers wrapped up an Orange Bowl bid with a 61-17 rout.

Despite the injury, manning finished third in Heisman Trophy voting that year behind Jim Plunkett and Joe Theisman in the “Year of the Quarterback.” The previous year, Manning was fourth.

In 1975, Manning finished was selected the SEC quarterback of the quarter-century (1950 to 1975) over two Heisman winners, Steve Spurrier (1966) and Pat Sullivan (1971).

In the 1971 NFL draft, the New England Patriots made Plunkett the first selection and the Saints took Manning next.

Manning led the NFL in passing yardage and completions in 1980, but those individual title provided little consolation after a 1-15 season.

Of all the disappointments in his pro career, however, the toughest came when he was traded to the Houston Oilers one game into the 1982 season.

“It broke my heat,” said Manning. “I would have like to have played three more years in New Orleans and retire as a 15-year veteran with the Saints. But as timegoes on, I think people in other parts of the country forget I ever played somewhere else.”

The change of scenery didn’t improve his chances for a playoff appearance. Neither the Oilers nor the Vikings had a winning season in the twilight of Manning’s career.

The end of his playing career didn’t end his relationship with the Saints. He has continued as an analyst for Saints’ broadcasts on WWL radio and television.

Network TV jobs have been offered, but Manning wasn’t interested. “When I’m in New Orleans,” he said, “I’m home.”

He earned a broker’s license and became vice-president of an investment firm. Later, he formed his own public relations and promotional firm, making frequent speaking engagement.

His desire to be remembered as a Saint was fulfilled when he became (1) the first player honored on the club’s “Wall of Fame” and (2) the Saints’ first representative in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.