John Elway

Denver Broncos quarterback who led the team to five Super Bowl appearances, winning back-to-back titles to close his career.

The Baltimore Colts drafted John Elway first overall in 1983; he told them, in effect, he'd rather play baseball. The threat forced a trade to Denver, where he lost four Super Bowls before finally winning back-to-back titles to close out his career. Born June 28, 1960, in Port Angeles, Washington, alongside his twin sister, Jana, he was the son of Jack Elway, a football coach whose career took the family across multiple states before settling in Granada Hills, California, where John starred in both football and baseball. Elway played college football at Stanford before the Baltimore Colts selected him first overall in the 1983 NFL Draft. The trade to Denver that followed kept him with one team for his entire 16-season career. Elway developed into one of the most dynamic and clutch quarterbacks of his era, and the two titles that finally arrived in 1997 and 1998 included Super Bowl MVP honours in his final professional game. Elway was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004, and returned to the Broncos as general manager and executive vice president of football operations in 2011, building the roster that won the franchise's third Super Bowl title in 2015 — a rare case of a Hall of Fame player becoming just as decorated a front-office executive for the same team.

Strong-armed pocket passer with exceptional mobility and scrambling ability

One of greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, known for clutch performances and leadership

• Pro Football Hall of Fame 2004
• 2x Super Bowl champion (XXXII, XXXIII)
• Super Bowl XXXIII MVP
• 1987 NFL MVP
• 9x Pro Bowl