Craig Morton, who famously led the Dallas Cowboys and the Denver Broncos to their first Super Bowl appearances, died on Sunday, according to the Broncos’ website. He was 83 years old.
A member of the Broncos Ring of Fame, Morton spent the final six seasons of his 18-year career in Denver. In 1977, he led the Broncos to the franchise’s first Super Bowl. Ironically, Denver’s opponent that day was the Cowboys, whom Morton led to the Super Bowl seven years earlier.
The fifth overall pick in the 1965 NFL Draft, Morton spent four years backing up Don Meredith, who led the Cowboys to consecutive NFC Championship game appearances in 1966 and 1967. Morton finally got his chance to start in 1969, and he responded by leading the Cowboys to a 10-2-1 regular season record.
In 1970, Morton led the Cowboys to their first Super Bowl, a 16-13 loss to the Colts, the first decided by a last-minute field goal. Morton started the following season as the Cowboys’ starting quarterback, but future Hall of Famer Roger Staubach eventually replaced him. With Staubach under center, the Cowboys went 13-0 that season en route to a 24-3 win over the Dolphins in Super Bowl VI.
Morton was traded to the Giants in 1974 in exchange for first- and second-round picks. He had two forgettable years in New York before having a career revival in Denver. In 1977 (his first season in Denver), Morton led the Broncos to a 12-2 regular season record. He then helped the Broncos dethrone the Steelers and Raiders (the previous two Super Bowl champions) in the AFC playoffs as Denver reached the Super Bowl for the first time.
The only quarterback to face a team that he had previously led to a Super Bowl in the big game, Morton and the Broncos’ offense struggled mightily against Dallas’ “Doomsday” defense. Ironically, Randy White, the player the Cowboys drafted with the Giants’ first-round pick in the Morton trade, shared Super Bowl MVP honors with fellow defensive lineman Harvey Martin following Dallas’ 27-10 win.
Morton led Denver to the playoffs the next two seasons and, at age 38, had one of the best statistical seasons of his career in 1981. He played another season in Denver before the Broncos made a trade with the Colts to acquire his successor, future Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway.
In 18 seasons, Morton compiled an 81-62-1 regular season record and a 5-5 postseason record. He is third in Broncos’ history in career passing yards and touchdown passes, behind only Elway and Peyton Manning.
