Presented by ZAMZOWS.
This Day In Sports…March 6, 2016, 10 years ago today:
News breaks that Peyton Manning has informed the Denver Broncos he’s going to retire after 18 years in the NFL. The decision came a month after the five-time MVP capped his career with a 24-10 win over Carolina in Super Bowl 50. Manning had established NFL career records at the time with 71,940 passing yards and 539 touchdown passes. He also logged a then-record 200 career victories including the postseason. Manning won two Super Bowls, the first following the 2006 season during his stellar run with the Indianapolis Colts.
Manning is the lead character in one of America’s most renowned football families. His dad, Archie, starred for the Atlanta Falcons in their early days, and brother Eli won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants. His nephew is current Texas quarterback Arch Manning—more on Arch’s dad, Cooper, below. Peyton was famously drafted first overall out of Tennessee by the Colts in 1998 after the Indy front office had initially leaned toward Washington State’s Ryan Leaf (who was one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history—but has since made a comeback in life).
Manning would play 13 seasons for Indianapolis before a neck injury sidelined him for all of what would have been his 14th in 2011. After that, the Colts elected to release him, and he quickly landed in Denver for the 2012 season. He’d play his final four years with the Broncos. Manning was named NFL Most Valuable Player a record five times (yes, more than Tom Brady). Four of the MVP seasons came with the Colts and one with the Broncos. Manning was also the first starting quarterback to win Super Bowls with two different franchises (Brady later matched the feat at Tampa Bay after his record trophy haul with New England).
Manning’s sense of humor is the stuff of legend, from TV commercials to “Saturday Night Live” appearances. It became apparent during his rookie season in Indy. A veteran Colts player questioned a play, saying it wasn’t what his coach had taught him. According to former teammate Marcus Pollard in a story on ESPN, Manning famously replied, “If I tell you it’s Easter, you better hide eggs”.
A forgotten footnote: Manning famously donned No. 18 for both the Colts and the Broncos after wearing No. 16 during his stellar college career at Tennessee. When Manning got to Indianapolis, he requested No. 18 to honor his brother, Cooper, who wore it in high school before a spinal condition ended his career. Cooper, who went on to a very successful career in business, also had the Manning family knack in front of the TV camera. Among his exploits were “The Manning Hour” on FOX sports and co-host duties with Peyton on “College Bowl.” The self-deprecating Cooper has billed himself as “the third-favorite Manning brother.”
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
