Remembering Archie Manning: What He Meant to The New Orleans Saints

(Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

Archie Manning was the starting quarterback at Ole Miss for three years. In the first national primetime broadcast of a college football game (1969), Manning threw for 436 yards and three touchdowns, also rushing for 104 yards, in a 33-32 loss to Alabama. That 540-yard performance is still tied for the SEC record for most total yards in a game.

But despite Manning's considerable talent, the rest of the team was not at his level, and the Rebels only had a record of 15-7 in his last two years. In his college career, Manning threw for 4,753 yards and 56 touchdowns and ran for 823.5 yards. He scored 14 touchdowns in 1969. In both 1969 and 1970, he was named to the All-SEC team and his #18 jersey was retired by Ole Miss.

After his college career at Ole Miss, Manning was drafted in the 1971 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints with the second overall selection.

Manning played for the Saints for 10 full seasons, none of them winning. In 1972, he led the league in pass attempts and completions and led the NFC in passing yards, though the team's record was only 2–11–1. In 1978, he was named the NFC Player Of The Year after leading the Saints to a 7–9 record. That same year, Archie was also named All-NFC by both the UPI and The Sporting News.

Manning was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1978 and 1979. He went on to conclude his career with the Houston Oilers (1982-1983), and the Minnesota Vikings (1983–1984), where the teams posted a collective record of 6-35.

He ended his 13-year career having completed 2,011 of 3,642 passes for 23,911 yards and 125 touchdowns, with 173 interceptions. He also rushed for 2,197 yards and 18 touchdowns.

His 2,011 completions ranked 17th in NFL history upon his retirement. His record as a starter was 35–101–3 (26 percent), the worst in NFL history among QB's with at least 100 starts.

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