Kim McQuilken

Kim McQuilken

No. 11
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Born:	(1951-02-26) February 26, 1951 (age 73) Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	206 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:	William Allen (Allentown, PA)
College:	Lehigh
NFL draft:	1974 / Round: 3 / Pick: 69
Career history
Atlanta Falcons (1974–1977) Washington Redskins (1978–1980) Washington Federals (1983)
Career highlights and awards
First-team Little All-American (1973) Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame (1995)
Career NFL statistics
Passing yards: 1,135 TD–INT: 4–29 Passer rating: 17.9
Player stats at PFR

Kim McQuilken (born February 26, 1951) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins and the USFL with the Washington Federals.

Early life

McQuilken was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and attended William Allen High School. He started as quarterback during his junior and senior seasons. During his senior year, McQuilken suffered a fractured clavicle in a pre-season scrimmage and missed the first three games.

Lehigh University

McQuilken was offered only one football scholarship after high school.  The offer was from Lehigh University and Head Coach Fred Dunlap.  Lehigh had not had a winning season in the previous 10 years.  Moreover, Lehigh employed a ground offensive attack not suited to McQuilken’s passing skills. But Fred Dunlap convinced McQuilken the passing game would open up if he enrolled at Lehigh. The coach was true to his word^[1]

In 1971, McQuilken’s sophomore season the team posted its first winning record in over a decade going 8-3 and setting numerous offensive records. McQuilken passed for over 2,000 yards in ‘71 setting new Lehigh records for yardage, attempts, and completions. By the middle of his junior year (1972) McQuilken would own every Lehigh game, season, and career passing record. In his 1973 senior season, Lehigh went 7-3-1 and won the Lambert Cup^[1]. Lehigh was also selected as one of 16 D-LL teams invited to the first-ever NCAA D-LL national playoffs. The 1973 seniors at Lehigh graduated with a 3-0 record vs archival Lafayette College. McQuilken was the first-ever two-time winner of the game’s MVP trophy. The Lehigh vs Lafayette rivalry is the most played rivalry in the history of college football at any NCAA football level.

McQuilken was named to the Associated Press (AP) Third-Team All-American in 1972 and achieved consensus First-Team All-American status in his senior year in 1973, including selections by the AP and the Kodak Coaches All-American teams. In 1973, he was also named the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Association (ECAC) player of the year and received recognition as the New York Times First-Team All-East quarterback, a designation spanning all division levels. McQuilken was honored as the team MVP in 1973 and received Lehigh University's Undergraduate Merit Award in 1974 for his contributions to the university's recognition.

During his three years of eligibility, McQuilken recorded career statistics of 516 completions, 6,996 yards, and 37 touchdowns, all of which were Lehigh records at the time. He was selected to participate in the North-South Shrine Gameheld annually on Christmas night in the Orange Bowl, and was invited to the Coaches’ All-America Bowl in Lubbock, Texas, and the East-West Shrine Game in San Francisco. However, after tearing his MCL in the North-South game, McQuilken declined the remaining bowl invitations.

In 1995, McQuilken was inducted into the Roger Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame.

NFL

McQuilken was selected in the third round (69th pick) of the 1974 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons.^[2] He was the third quarterback chosen in the 1974 draft and was also drafted in the second round by the Memphis Southmen of the World Football League. McQuilken ultimately signed a three-year contract with the Falcons. He was initially slotted behind starting Quarterback Bob Lee and former Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan with former Quarterback and Hall of Famer Norm Van Brocklin as head coach. The team got off to a 2-6 start in the 1974 season and the coach was terminated mid-season. DC Marion Campbell was named interim coach and began to work McQuilken into the rotation^[3]

1974-1975 Atlanta Falcons

McQuilken played in five games in the 1974 season (his rookie season) including the final two as the starter. With the season-ending 3-11 record, none of the Falcons QBs experienced much success ^[4]. McQuilken, as a rookie, posted no TDs vs 9 interceptions. Bob Lee would end the season with 3 TD Passes and 14 interceptions. Pat Sullivan would add 3 TD passes and 8 interceptions^[4]

In 1975, the Falcons released Bob Lee and drafted Steve Bartkowski with the first pick of the first round. McQuilken was the backup QB with Marion Campbell now officially the new head coach of the team. The team ended the season 4-10 with McQuilken completing his first NFL touchdown pass vs the Cincinnati Bengals ^[5][6]

1976 Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons began their 1976 season with a 1-4 record, which led to the dismissal of head coach Marion Campbell by General Manager Pat Peppler^[7] Peppler, who had no previous coaching experience, assumed the position of interim head coach for the remainder of the season.^[8] Marion Campbell had named Kim McQuilken as the starting QB ^[9] for week 6 vs the Cleveland Browns following a knee injury to Steve Bartkowski. Campbell was fired the next day and several assistants including offensive coordinator Bill Nelson resigned out of loyalty to Campbell ^[8]

In the Browns/Falcons game, McQuilken completed 15 of 28 passes for 180 yards and 1 touchdown pass to WR John Gilliam with Cleveland winning 20-17. The Falcons would finish 1976 with another 4-10 season with McQuilken delivering 2 Touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. Steve Bartkowski (QB1) would generate 2 TD passes and 9 interceptions ^[7]

Professional career

McQuilken was drafted in the third round of the 1974 NFL draft by Atlanta, and installed as the Falcons' third-string quarterback, behind Bob Lee and Pat Sullivan. He got in five games his rookie season and started the last two, including a 10–3 win over Green Bay. With the season-ending 3-11 record, none of the Falcons QBs experienced much success.^[10]

Statistically, McQuilken was one of the poorest passers in NFL history that actually received significant playing time; for his seven-year career, he had a 17.9 passer rating, second-worst ever among players with at least 200 attempts.^[note 1] He won only two of his seven starts as a Falcon, reaching his arguable nadir in a 1975 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, when McQuilken made 26 attempts with only five completions – and five interceptions. For his career, McQuilken would throw 29 picks against just four touchdowns, also one of the worst ratios in NFL history. In 1978, he went to the Washington Redskins as Joe Theismann's backup, appearing in just three games in 1979.

Out of football for three years, McQuilken, still popular in the Washington area, joined the Washington Federals of the United States Football League in their 1983 inaugural season and emerged as their opening-day starter. Ultimately he would complete 188-for-334 passes for 1,912 yards, seven touchdowns, and 14 interceptions for the season. However, the Feds would finish just 4–14 in front of small crowds, and the 32-year-old McQuilken retired.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

After football

McQuilken went on to become executive vice president of Cartoon Network, before leaving the network in 2006 to set up his own sports and entertainment marketing and licensing consulting business.^[11]

Notes

References

This page was last edited on 13 June 2024, at 02:22