The Grand Canyon State Gridiron Club (GCSGC), Arizona’s most meaningful advocate of high school football, is pleased to announce its collaboration with Washington D.C.’s National Quarterback Club. The two organizations will bring the 2018 National Quarterback Club Awards Dinner and Hall of Fame Ceremony to Arizona on January 19, 2019. The reception at Scottsdale Resort McCormick Ranch will begin at 5 p.m. and dinner will commence at 6:30 p.m. The ceremony will honor the National Quarterback of the Year in the high school, college and professional ranks, and will also induct two individuals into the National Quarterback Hall of Fame.
Hall of Fame Class of 2018 Inductee: Jim McMahon
The Chicago Bears drafted Jim McMahon as the fifth overall pick in the first round of the 1982 NFL Draft. In 1985, McMahon led the Bears to win their first 12 games and finished 15-1 for the season, including a 46-10 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. During the 1984 – 1987 seasons, he posted wins in 25 consecutive starts, the longest “regular season winning streak by any NFL quarterback at that time. In his 15 years in the NFL, McMahon logged 97 starts in 119 games played, threw for 18,148 yards and 100 touchdowns. At Brigham Young University, McMahon broke or tied 56 NCAA Division I-A marks, led the Cougars to Western Athletic Conference title in his last two years and was twice named All-American. McMahon finished fifth in 1980, then third in the 1981 Heisman Trophy balloting behind Hershel Walker and the 1981 winner, Marcus Allen.
McMahon posted starts with six NFL teams in his 15-year career: the Chicago Bears, San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, and Green Bay Packers. He won two Super Bowl titles, the first with the Bears in Super Bowl XX, and the second with their rivals, the Green Bay Packers, in Super Bowl XXXI.
McMahon was the first recipient of the National Quarterback of the Year Award in 1985. During his career, he also won the Davey O’Brien Award, Sammy Baugh Trophy, and Brian Piccolo Award.
McMahon’s storied career and dynamic personality continue today in his charitable work with Folds of Honor, and social activism in the world of brain injuries and how they are treated.
Hall of Fame Class of 2018 Inductee: Danny White
For over 40 years, Danny White quietly thrilled sellout crowds as a player and coach without the high-flying, high-impact, razzle dazzle brand of football that other hall of famers bring to the game. Off the field, Danny was exactly the same: quiet and thoughtful; steady and true; clean cut and polite.
White’s football career began with baseball at Mesa Westwood High School and then Arizona State University, where legendary Frank Kush convinced ASU Baseball Coach Bobby Winkles to offer White a baseball scholarship and allow him to punt for the football team.
White developed as a quarterback and by the time his 2.5 years as a starting quarterback was over, he had firmly established himself as one of the greatest ASU quarterbacks in the program’s history earning two All-American honors, a ninth place finish in the 1973 Heisman vote, and a total yards passing record that would stand for almost 30 years.
His collegiate statistics include seven NCAA passing records, including leading the nation in passing yards in 1973. In the NFL, White earned two All-Pro honors, a trip to the Pro Bowl, and threw for 29,959 yards and 155 touchdowns. White was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1974 and played two seasons in the WFL before joining Dallas for long and prosperous career. As a starting quarterback, White would led the Cowboys to five consecutive playoff seasons and three NFC East titles.White led the expansion Arena Football League’s Arizona Rattlers for 14 years and two championships. White was placed in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997.
He currently serves ASU a consultant and provides color commentary for Cowboys games on Compass Media Networks’ America’s Team Radio Network. Annually, the National Football Foundation Valley of the Sun Chapter awards one high school scholar athlete with the Danny White Quarterback Award.
The National Quarterback Club seeks out and honors quarterbacks for contributions made after retiring from football. In these cases, the men that their communities have come to know and love, and the works of their generosity and compassion are sincere and inspirational. Their on-going legacy is worthy of additional recognition in a manner that showcases the man beyond the player. The Legacy Recognition Award will be presented to two National Quarterback Hall of Famers, Jim Kelly and Ken Stabler.
For more information about the National Quarterback Club, the awards dinner and Hall of Fame induction ceremony and ticket information, visit www.nationalqbclub.com.
