Norm Snead


Norman Bailey Snead is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers. He played college football for Wake Forest University and was drafted in the first round of the 1961 NFL Draft.

Early life

Snead grew up in Newport News, Virginia, the son of Hugh, a farmer, and Louise Snead. He attended Warwick High School, where he was a star three-sport athlete. Snead won all six pitching decisions as a sophomore and junior, and he averaged 23 points in basketball as a senior, scoring 41 in one game. He split time as starting quarterback as a junior, then as a senior he passed for nearly 1,000 yards and 13 touchdowns. In a game against Hampton, Snead threw what would be the game-winning touchdown pass, then intercepted a pass on Hampton's next series to seal the outcome. He was named second-team all-state. He graduated in 1957.

College career

Snead went to Wake Forest University, where he set 15 conference single-games, season and career passing records. His passing statistics with the Demon Deacons included:
In 1958, Snead was named the second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference quarterback, and in 1959 and 1960 he earned first-team All-ACC honors. In 1960, Snead was named second-team All-American as a quarterback by UPI and the Football Writers Association of America.
In 1984, he was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

NFL career

Snead was named to the Pro Bowl on four occasions: in 1962, 1963, 1965, and in 1972, during the last of which he led the NFL in completion percentage and was second in passer rating. In 1974, the Giants traded him to the San Francisco 49ers.
He remains the last quarterback to win a game despite having a passer rating of zero, on November 14, 1976, against his former team, the Washington Redskins, winning that game while completing 3 of 14 passes for 26 yards in a game that had no touchdowns, winning 12-9. Snead retired after the 1976 season.

Coaching career

Snead was the 27th and then later the 29th head football coach at The Apprentice School in Newport News, Virginia, and he held that position for 10 seasons, from 1977 until 1984 and again from 1988 until 1989, when he resigned as coach and admissions director. After inheriting a team that was 0–9 the previous season, his coaching record at Apprentice was 46–41–2.