Michael Jay Boryla is a former American footballquarterback in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1970s. He played college football at Stanford University, where he was the team's MVP during his senior season. He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the 1974 NFL Draft, but was shortly traded to the Eagles for first- and sixth-round draft picks after Cincinnati acquired another quarterback in Wayne Clark; Boryla had threatened to defect to the World Football League if he was not traded. The move reunited Boryla with Eagles head coachMike McCormack, who worked with him at that year's Senior Bowl. Boryla spent much of his tenure in Philadelphia sharing quarterbacking duties with Roman Gabriel. In 1975, he was named to the 1976 Pro Bowl roster despite losing the starting job partway through the season opener and throwing for just 996 passing yards, six touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Boryla, who had planned to attend the New York University School of Law, was approached by the NFL to play in the game as other NFC quarterbacks were injured and declined their invitations. He threw two touchdown passes in the final minutes of the game, including a trick play he created called the "Boryla Special", to lead the NFC to a 23–20 win. Boryla started ten games for the Eagles in 1976 before joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1977. After missing the year with a knee injury, he played one more game in 1978 before ending his playing career. After retiring, he attended the Stetson University College of Law before becoming a lawyer and mortgage banker in Denver. In 2014, Boryla made his professional acting debut at Plays and Players Theatre in Philadelphia performing The Disappearing Quarterback, a one-man autobiographical theatrical performance that includes history, wit, and thinly veiled opinions regarding professional sports concussions. His father Vince Boryla was an NBA player and his agent during his NFL career.
