Gary Keithley (born January 11, 1951) is a former professional American football quarterback and punter in the National Football League (NFL). Playing for the St. Louis Cardinals primarily as a backup to Jim Hart, he had a 0.0 passer rating in each of his first two career starts in 1973, the only quarterback in NFL history to do this in back-to-back games. Despite the dubious statistic, Keithley won in his first start against the Atlanta Falcons, a 32–10 victory in which he completed just two of ten passes for nine yards and an interception that was returned for a touchdown.[1][2] The following year, Keithley lost his backup role to Dennis Shaw, who played for Cardinals head coach Don Coryell in college, while his punting duties were reassigned to rookie punter Hal Roberts.[3] He then spent the off-season with the Seattle Seahawks before the 1976 NFL season but did not make the roster.[4]

Gary Keithley
No. 12
Position:Quarterback
Punter
Personal information
Born: (1951-01-11) January 11, 1951 (age 73)
Alvin, Texas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:Alvin (TX)
College:UTEP
Texas
NFL draft:1973 / Round: 2 / Pick: 45
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
TDINT:1–5
Passing yards:369
Passer rating:35.7
Punts:66
Punting yards:2478
Average punt:37.5
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

He was the backup quarterback of the BC Lions in 1977 and 1978.

References edit

  1. ^ Cunningham, George (December 10, 1973). "Falcons Die Again in December, 32-10". The Atlanta Journal and Constitution. Retrieved December 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Falcons' Wild-Card Hopes Jolted in Upset to Cards". Tallahassee Democrat. AP. December 10, 1973. Retrieved December 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Ingram, Bob (September 24, 1974). "Lonely Sidelines". El Paso Herald-Post. Retrieved December 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Thiel, Doug. "Gary Keithley was there!". Retrieved September 9, 2021.