In the spring following the 1982 National Football League (NFL) season, Stanford QB John Elway was regarded as the hottest overall draft prospect. The then-Baltimore Colts had the first overall draft pick because of their worst won-loss record the past season and made some noise about drafting Elway with that pick. However, Elway warned the Colts not to draft him, but the foolhardy Colts dared to call his bluff. Immediately Elway threatened to play pro baseball instead, as he was also drafted by the New York Yankees. Eventually, the Colts traded Elway to the Denver Broncos for their first round rookie Chris Hinton, a tackle from Northwestern University; backup QB Mark Hermann; and the Broncos' 1984 first round draft pick.

While Elway lead the Broncos to three Super Bowls in four seasons, he also had the ignominy of losing all in blowouts (XXI, 1987, 39-20 to New York Giants; XXII, 1988, 48-10 to Washington Redskins; and XXIV, 1990, 55-10 to San Francisco 49ers), leaving the Broncos 0-4 in Super Bowls. They then entered an extended period of mediocrity.

The Broncos finally made another Super Bowl (XXXII, 1998). They traded blows all game long with the defending champs, Green Bay Packers, and finally came out winners 31-24.

The next spring Elway's high school, Granada Hills near Los Angeles, renamed the football stadium for him. He then retired in style after winning a repeat Super Bowl (XXXIII over the Atlanta Falcons 34-19) with MVP honors as well.

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