Former New York Jets quarterback Bill Demory is dead at 74. He passed away on Feb. 14 of this year from prostate cancer and Parkinson’s, per his initial obituary.
Demory didn’t enjoy a long NFL career, but older Jets fans remember him as filling in for an injured Joe Namath during parts of the 1973 and 1974 seasons.
In seven career NFL games, three of which he started (all with the Jets), Demory collected 259 yards and 2 touchdowns to 8 interceptions. He completed 12 of 39 pass attempts and finished with a 1-2 record.
Demory credited his unlikely NFL moment with being in the “right place at the right time,” but Weeb Ewbank‘s final year coaching the Jets in 1973 also contributed greatly. Initially, Demory was fifth on the Jets’ depth chart in the summer.
As an undrafted player out of Arizona, Demory was a longshot to ever step foot on a professional football field. At the time, Al Woodall was Namath’s backup, but once the backup to the starter also went down via injury, Demory took his turn as the Jets quarterback.
Demory’s lone victory happened on Oct. 14, 1973, when he completed just one pass for 11 yards.
The Jets, led by John Riggins’s 132 yards and Emerson Boozer’s 73 yards, won thanks to a game-winning field goal by Bobby Howfield. While Demory was there to simply manage the game, his lone completion helped set up the game-winning kick.
After his brief NFL career, Demory attended graduate school at Iowa and later became an economics professor at Central Arizona College.
Bill Demory, the former New York Jets quarterback, unlikely pro football player, and college professor, has died at the age of 73. He is survived by his wife, four children, and 14 grandchildren.
