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Plunkett’s Rescue from Oblivion by the Raiders

Parts of Jim Plunkett’s story are familiar to many football fans, even if they know little of his career. Many Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks end up on bad professional teams, and their professional careers often end in injuries, losses, and benching. Most never recapture their collegiate success. For Plunkett, however, the most improbable of circumstances gave him another opportunity to achieve success. Signed in 1978 by the Oakland Raiders as a cheap, third-string tutor for their inexperienced second-string quarterback, Plunkett had few expectations placed on him. Plunkett was perhaps the only Raider who still thought he could contribute as a player. In mid-October, 1980, the team’s record was 2-3; adding injury to insult, the starting quarterback broke his leg early in a game against the Kansas City Chiefs. The second-string quarterback, a rookie, was clearly not ready to take over, so Plunkett was put into the game. His performance was awful; three years away from the game had disrupted his timing, and Plunkett ended up throwing five interceptions.

A week later, Plunkett was named the starter against the San Diego Chargers. Not even those who had watched Plunkett at Stanford could have predicted what would come next: wins in nine of the Raiders next eleven games, including six straight wins. In the postseason, Plunkett guided the Raiders to four straight victories, capping the season with a Super Bowl championship.

Great Lives from History: Latinos

Jim Plunkett

by Michael R. Meyers

American football player

A gifted athlete with a never-say-die mentality, Plunkett overcame multiple challenges and hardships to taste athletic success on the highest levels.

Areas of achievement: Football

Early Life

James William Plunkett was born in Santa Clara, Californa, on December 5, 1947, to William and Carmella Plunkett. He grew up in nearby San Jose and identifies himself as Latino, although his last name came from an Irish great-grandfather who immigrated to Mexico in the 1800’s. Plunkett’s parents struggled to make ends meet: His mother was born blind, and his father slowly lost his sight and was completed blind by the time Plunkett was in college. Although he was a gifted athlete, there was no extra money to help pay for athletics, and as one of three children, Plunkett was expected to help contribute to the family economically with part-time work during school.

Jim Plunkett.

324_Plunkett_Jim.jpg

(AP Photo)

By high school, Plunkett was developing into a talented quarterback in football. His throwing arm was powerful, and although he was not exceptionally quick, he was mobile enough to avoid most would-be tacklers. He attracted significant recruiting attention from colleges throughout the western United States.

Life’s Work

In the summer before enrolling in Stanford University, Plunkett experienced one of the first serious setbacks to his athletic career. After experiencing weakness and other physical problems, he received a diagnosis of thyroid cancer. Although surgery to remove a walnut-sized tumor from his neck was entirely successful, Plunkett found it hard to catch up physically with his teammates; even though he remained on the team, it appeared unlikely that he would remain at quarterback.

Plunkett was determined to prove his doubters wrong, to show that his career as a quarterback was far from over. After two years of aggressive physical training, Plunkett was able to win the starting position at Stanford. For the next three years, from 1968 to 1971, Plunkett threw for almost 8,000 yards and 55 touchdown passes, setting multiple collegiate records in the process. His accomplishments were reflected in multiple postseason awards, including the 1970 Heisman Trophy. Plunkett was the first Latino player to win the award.

Despite his collegiate success, Plunkett remained grounded, which he attributed to the humility and work ethic of his parents. He also recognized his responsibility to the Hispanic community, volunteering considerable time to Latino youths, mentoring them and encouraging them to pursue education.

In 1971, Plunkett was selected first in the National Football League (NFL) draft by the Boston Patriots. Although he won the league’s rookie of the year award that year, it was one of the few successes Plunkett experienced in New England. While the Patriots had a few other good players, they were unable to build a successful team. To pass effectively, a quarterback needs good receivers and an offensive line that can protect him and give him time to complete passes. The Patriots provided Plunkett with neither. Constantly on the run and physically harassed, Plunkett endured several injuries to his legs and his throwing shoulder.

In the mid-1970’s, Plunkett was traded to the San Francisco 49ers and initially looked forward to returning to California. Playing just up the road from his hometown of San Jose, Plunkett received the warm support of his childhood community. Unfortunately, the injuries he sustained from his years with the Patriots limited his effectiveness. Over the course of several seasons with mediocre protection, Plunkett developed the bad habit of rushing his passes to avoid being sacked. While it meant he endured less physical punishment, the habit also increased his number of incomplete passes and interceptions.

It speaks to Plunkett’s remarkable physical resilience that he was even able to walk, let alone play professional football. In the 1970’s, Plunkett had multiple injuries to his knees and shoulders, most of which required extensive surgeries, and multiple severe injuries to his back and ribcage.

After two seasons in San Francisco, Plunkett’s career appeared to be almost over. He signed a free-agent contract with the Oakland Raiders, mainly to mentor their inexperienced backup quarterbacks. During the early and mid-1970’s, the Raiders were one of the more entertaining franchises in the NFL. While most other teams were happy to run the ball repeatedly for short gains, the Raiders’ offense was built around long passes. This called for savvy, strong-armed quarterbacks who were capable of eluding defensive players during the time it took for the play to develop. For two years, Plunkett helped develop the other quarterbacks on the roster and trained constantly to recover from lingering injuries and bad playing habits.

By 1980, Plunkett was thrust into a starting role when the team’s starting quarterback received a season-ending injury early in the year. At first he looked dreadful, but over the course of the season, Plunkett began to resemble the quarterback of a decade before. The Raiders’ offensive line was much better than the Patriots’ had been, and his receivers were among the most talented in football. In the play-offs, the Raiders defeated team after team, eventually winning Super Bowl XV over the Philadelphia Eagles. Plunkett threw three touchdown passes and was named most valuable player for the game.

For most of the 1980’s, Plunkett enjoyed moderate success, including another Super Bowl victory in 1983, over the Washington Redskins. For several more seasons, as the Raiders’ offensive philosophy became more run-oriented, Plunkett was able to provide a reasonable passing threat to keep opposing teams off balance.

Significance

Besides his athletic accomplishments, the collegiate Plunkett was lauded for his volunteerism and for the considerable physical and economic obstacles he overcame. As a professional, Plunkett was honored for his endurance and his remarkable rise to Super Bowl hero.

Citation Types

Type

Format

MLA 9th

Meyers, Michael R. "Jim Plunkett." Great Lives from History: Latinos, edited by Carmen Tafolla & Martha P. Cotera, Salem Press, 2012. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=GLL_10013240048101001.

APA 7th

Meyers, M. R. (2012). Jim Plunkett. In C. Tafolla & M. P. Cotera (Eds.), Great Lives from History: Latinos. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.

CMOS 17th

Meyers, Michael R. "Jim Plunkett." Edited by Carmen Tafolla & Martha P. Cotera. Great Lives from History: Latinos. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2012. Accessed October 22, 2025. online.salempress.com.

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