Dick Norman (American football)


Richard Michael "Dick" Norman is a Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame inductee and former American football quarterback.

College career

Norman played high school football at Lynwood High School in Lynwood, California and attended Stanford University, where he was Stanford's starting quarterback from 1958 to 1960.
Norman's tenure came at a low point in Stanford football history: the 1959 team went 3–7 and the 1960 squad was 0–10. In spite of the team's overall record, however, Norman put up incredible passing numbers in 1959, leading the nation with 1,963 yards and 2,018 yards of total offense, more than 300 yards ahead of the closest contender, and winning the first-ever Sammy Baugh Trophy, awarded to the nation's top passer. In a losing effort in the 1959 Big Game against Cal, Norman threw for 401 yards, then an NCAA record, and still a Big Game record. Norman's 1960 season was less impressive, but he still threw for more than 1,000 yards.
Norman starred in the 1961 Senior Bowl, throwing for 311 yards and leading a late touchdown drive to put the North team on top before the South's Norm Snead led his own last-minute drive to win the game. Norman was nonetheless named the game's MVP and his 311 passing yards remains the fourth-highest in Senior Bowl history.
Norman was inducted into the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017.

NFL career

Norman was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 1961 NFL Draft and by the Oakland Raiders in the fifth round of the 1961 AFL Draft. Norman opted to play with the NFL Bears, but saw action in just three games. He remained with the Bears through the 1962 season, and then was traded to the San Francisco 49ers for the 1963 season. The 49ers waived him before the season started, ending his NFL career.

After football

Norman currently lives in Montana with his wife Joyce.