Loading AI tools
American football player (1944–2022) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jon Roger Brittenum (May 27, 1944 – October 13, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for the San Diego Chargers in the American Football League (AFL) for one season in 1968. He earlier played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks.[1]
No. 15 | |
---|---|
Position: | Quarterback |
Personal information | |
Born: | Brinkley, Arkansas, U.S. | May 27, 1944
Died: | October 13, 2022 78) | (aged
Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
Weight: | 185 lb (84 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | Brinkley (AR) |
College: | Arkansas |
Undrafted: | 1967 |
Career history | |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
Career highlights and awards | |
Player stats at PFR |
Brittenum was born in Brinkley, Arkansas, on May 27, 1944.[2] He attended Brinkley High School in his hometown. He then studied at the University of Arkansas,[2] where he played for the Arkansas Razorbacks from 1963 to 1966 (with 1964 being his redshirt year).[3][4] He was the starting quarterback during his junior and senior seasons and was named an All-Southwest Conference in both years.[4] He left the 1966 Cotton Bowl Classic early with a separated shoulder that ultimately ended with the Razorbacks losing 14–7 to the LSU Tigers, ending the school's streak of 22 consecutive victories.[4][5]
Brittenum was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the eighth round (64th overall) of the 1966 AFL Redshirt draft.[2][6] He only featured on the team's practice squad,[4] and was subsequently traded to the San Diego Chargers in exchange for its third-round pick in the 1968 NFL/AFL draft.[7]
Brittenum made his AFL debut with the Chargers on September 6, 1968, at the age of 24, in a 29–13 win against the Cincinnati Bengals.[8] In a game on December 8 that same year, he replaced John Hadl – who completed just 9 of 25 passes and had six interceptions made off him – in the fourth quarter, but was promptly tackled in his own end zone by Buck Buchanan for a safety.[9][10] The Chargers ultimately lost that game 40–3 against the Kansas City Chiefs, eliminating them from AFL Western Division contention.[9][10] In his 14 games in the AFL, Brittenum scored one touchdown, completed 9 of 17 passes, and registered 125 passing yards and −4 rushing yards.[2]
After retiring from professional football, Brittenum managed Brittenum & Associates, an investment banking firm based in Little Rock, Arkansas.[11] Both the company and Brittenum filed for bankruptcy in 1986.[11] He was subsequently charged with misappropriating his investors' money, with 15 savings and loan associations claiming $30.6 million against his company.[12] Brittenum faced a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, but was handed a five-year suspended sentence, 100 hours of community service, and restitution to four of his clients for $4 million.[11][13]
Brittenum was selected for his alma mater's Sports Hall of Honor in 2020 and inducted the following year.[4][14] He was also named to the school's All-Decade team for the 1960s. He died on October 13, 2022, in South Texas. He was 78, and suffered from ill health in the years prior to his death.[4]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.