Archie Manning

Elisha Archibald "Archie" Manning III (born May 19, 1949) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League, playing for the New Orleans Saints from 1971 to 1982, then for the Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings. He is the father of current Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, current New York Giants starting quarterback Eli Manning, and former Ole Miss receiver Cooper Manning.

Early life
Archie Manning was born in Drew, Mississippi, the son of Jane Elizabeth (née Nelson) and Elisha Archie Manning, Jr. He grew up heavily involved in football, basketball, baseball, and track. His father, known as "Buddy," was interested in Archie's sports activities, but the nature of his job left him little time for attending games. Instead, Archie (III) drew his inspiration from a local high school sports star, James Hobson. His mother was "a ubiquitous presence at all of his games, no matter what the sport or level." Manning attended Drew High School. His father committed suicide when Archie was 19. The movie star Taryn Manning is the daughter of Archie Manning's late cousin, Bill Manning.

College career
Archie Manning attended the University of Mississippi and was the starting quarterback at Ole Miss for three years. In the first national prime time broadcast of a college football game (1969), Manning threw for 436 yards and three touchdowns, also rushing for 104 yards, in a 33-32 loss to Alabama. That 540-yard performance is still tied for the SEC record for most total yards in a game.

However, the rest of the team was not at his level and despite Manning's considerable talent the Rebels had a record of only 15-7 in his last two years. In his college career, he threw for 4,753 yards and 31 touchdowns (despite 40 interceptions) and ran for 823 yards. He scored 14 touchdowns in 1969. In both 1969 and 1970, he was named to the All-SEC team and his #18 jersey was retired by Ole Miss. In 1969, Manning was Mississippi Sportsman of the Year and recipient of the Nashville Banner Trophy as Most Valuable Player in the Southeastern Conference. He was fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1969 and third in 1970. Manning was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989. Manning's legacy is honored to this day on the campus of Ole Miss where the speed limit is eighteen miles per hour in honor of Manning's jersey number. Bear Bryant would go on to say he was the best college quarterback he would ever see play. During his time at Ole Miss, Manning was a brother of Sigma Nu Fraternity. Manning was named Southeastern Conference Quarterback of the Quarter Century (1950–75) by several publications.

NFL career
After his college career at Ole Miss, Manning was drafted in the 1971 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints with the second overall selection.

Manning played for the Saints for ten full seasons. He was usually one of the few marquee players on a dreadful team. During his tenure in New Orleans, the Saints had nine losing seasons, and only managed to get to .500 once (1979). Nevertheless, he was well respected by NFL peers. For example, he was sacked 340 times during his Saints career. According to Sports Illustrated senior writer Paul Zimmerman, it would have been more than that if opposing defensive linemen, "Jack Youngblood in particular," hadn't been known to take it easy on the poorly protected Manning.

For his part Manning seemed to appreciate Youngblood's kindness, telling the Los Angeles Times, on September 23, 1974, "The Rams front four is the best I ever faced . . . I've got to say that Youngblood was nice enough to pick me up every time he knocked my (butt) off." Today, Manning jokes that Youngblood's career would not have been as successful without him, "I really should be his presenter. He wouldn’t have gotten in [to the Hall of Fame] without having me to sack."

In 1972 he led the league in pass attempts and completions and led the National Football Conference in passing yards, though the team's record was only 2–11–1. Archie sat out the entire 1976 season after corrective surgery on his right shoulder. In 1978, he was named the NFC Player Of The Year by UPI after leading the Saints to a 7–9 record. That same year, Archie was also named All-NFC by both the UPI and The Sporting News.

Manning was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1978 and 1979. He went on to conclude his career with the Houston Oilers (1982–1983), and the Minnesota Vikings (1983–1984). He ended his 13-year career having completed 2,011 of 3,642 passes for 23,911 yards and 125 touchdowns, with 173 interceptions. He also rushed for 2,197 yards and 18 touchdowns. His 2,011 completions ranked 17th in NFL history upon his retirement. His record as a starter was 35–101–3 (26.3%), the worst in NFL history among QBs with at least 100 starts.

Post-NFL career
Manning continues to make his home in New Orleans, though he also owns a condo in Oxford, Mississippi, to where he relocated following Hurricane Katrina, and he is involved as an analyst with the Saints' radio and preseason television broadcasts. He can also be seen as a commentator for CBS Sports' college football broadcasts. Manning has also appeared as a commercial spokesman for products in Southeast Louisiana, where he remains popular with many fans. Working with his three sons, Cooper, Peyton, and Eli, Archie also hosts the Manning Passing Academy each summer. This camp brings together young players from 8-12 grade, who work with high school coaches and college players. In 2007, Manning was awarded the Silver Buffalo Award by the Boy Scouts of America. The Silver Buffalo is the highest award given for service to Youth on a national basis.

In the 1992 novel The Pelican Brief, author John Grisham (who hails from Manning's college home of Oxford, Mississippi) named one of the book's minor characters (a U.S. Supreme Court Justice) Archibald Manning, in honor of Archie Manning.

In 2007, Manning was hired as spokesman for a United Parcel Service contest to promote its "Delivery Intercept" service. He appeared in an advertising campaign for the UPS Delivery Intercept Challenge Video Contest, which solicited amateur videos of football interceptions from high school and youth games. Among the prizes were a tailgate party with Manning, and Manning-autographed footballs.

Olivia Manning
Olivia Williams Manning, Archie's wife, is from Philadelphia, Mississippi, and attended Ole Miss, where they met. She was a member of Delta Gamma and Homecoming Queen her senior year. After marriage and moving to New Orleans, Archie and Olivia had three sons and she became, and remains, active in charity and volunteer work in the community. This community work includes being a member of Women of the Storm, a group of New Orleans women created after Hurricane Katrina. The Mannings make their home in the Garden District of New Orleans, which escaped heavy damage from Hurricane Katrina. Olivia is seen, along with Archie and sons Cooper, Peyton and Eli, in an ESPN commercial.

Cooper Manning
Cooper Manning, Archie's oldest son, was born in 1974. At 6'4", he was once an All-State High School wide receiver, and he was considered a hot prospect for the University of Mississippi. At 18, after extensive testing, he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis (a narrowing of the spinal canal), which brought his playing days to an end. He is also the joker of the family, once convincing Peyton to join him in wearing brown paper bags on their heads at one of their father's Saints games. He guest starred in The Simpsons episode "Oh Brother, Where Bart Thou?" with his brothers. He is now a partner in a New Orleans energy investment firm.

Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning, Archie's second son, was born in 1976. He was the first overall selection in the 1998 NFL Draft. Manning attended the University of Tennessee. He led the Colts to a 29-17 victory in Super Bowl XLI over the Chicago Bears on February 4, 2007. In 2009 Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts started the season 14-0 before losing to the Jets when Jim Caldwell rested their starters.

He was awarded his 4th MVP title following the 2009 season, passing Brett Favre for the most MVPs awarded to any player in the NFL. He has 11 Pro Bowl Selections. In 2010 he led his team to their second AFC title in four seasons.

His 14 season career with the Colts came to an end with Manning sitting out the entire 2011 season with an injury. On March 7, 2012, the Colts announced that they would not pickup the option on his contract, including a $28 million roster bonus, because of this, Peyton became a free agent.

He signed a five-year, $96 million contract with the Denver Broncos on March 20, 2012.

Eli Manning
Eli Manning was born in 1981. He is currently the starting quarterback of the New York Giants. He attended Ole Miss as starting quarterback and was drafted #1 overall by the San Diego Chargers in the 2004 NFL Draft, but was traded to the Giants for Philip Rivers on draft day. Both Archie and Eli were vocal in their opposition to playing for the Chargers leading up to the draft, leveraging the trade to the Giants. He led the Giants to Super Bowl XLII, and also won the Most Valuable Player award of Super Bowl XLII. With a final score of 17-14, Eli and the Giants defeated the heavily favored and previously undefeated New England Patriots. In 2012 Eli and the Giants again defeated the New England Patriots 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI, winning his 2nd Lombardi Trophy and his second Super Bowl MVP award. Eli is a two-time Pro Bowl selection.

Cooper, Peyton, and Eli all attended and graduated from Isidore Newman School in New Orleans.