Billy Kilmer Profile

Position | Quarterback

Born | Topeka, Kansas

Date-of-Birth | September 5, 1939

Height | 6’0″

Weight | 204 lbs

College | UCLA

NFL Career | 18 seasons Teams | San Francisco 49ers 1961-1966, New Orleans Saints 1967-1970, Washington Redskins 1971-1978

Career Highlights

• First-round pick (11th overall) of the San Francisco 49ers in 1961
• Led Washington to its first-ever Super Bowl appearance (Super Bowl VII, 1973)
• Threw for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 26-3 NFC Championship rout of Dallas (1972)
• Led the NFL in passing touchdowns (19) and passer rating (84.8) in 1972
• Quarterbacked Washington to 50 wins in his first 68 games with the team
• Washington Redskins Ring of Fame
• 80 Greatest Commanders

Awards

• Pro Bowl (1972)
• NFL passing touchdowns leader (1972)
• NFL passer rating leader (1972)
• George Halas Award (1976)

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Billy Kilmer Willed Washington to Its First Super Bowl

Billy Kilmer never had the prettiest throwing motion in football. He didn’t need one. For most Washington fans who lived through the 1970s, Kilmer belongs in any conversation about the franchise’s five best quarterbacks — not for style, but for sheer will.

From Tailback to Trade Bait

Kilmer entered the NFL as a first-round pick of the 49ers in 1961, playing tailback before shifting to quarterback. A near-catastrophic car accident shattered his right leg and left doctors doubting he’d ever walk normally again, let alone play football.

He fought his way back, but San Francisco had moved on, and he spent his final seasons there buried on the bench. The expansion New Orleans Saints selected him in 1967, and Kilmer rebuilt his career as their starter for four seasons before being traded to Washington in 1971 — the very first acquisition made by new head coach George Allen.

The Kilmer-Jurgensen Rivalry

Kilmer’s arrival in Washington kicked off one of the most passionate quarterback controversies in franchise history. Sonny Jurgensen had already been the face of the team for years, and Washington fans split hard down the middle — some literally wore buttons reading “I Like Billy” or “I Like Sonny” to games.

The two quarterbacks couldn’t have been more different. Jurgensen threw a tight, effortless spiral; Kilmer’s passes wobbled and knuckled through the air but somehow kept finding their target. When Jurgensen went down with a shoulder injury in 1971, Kilmer stepped in and led Washington to a 9-4-1 record and its first playoff appearance in a quarter-century, permanently cementing himself as more than just Sonny’s backup.

Teammates gravitated toward Kilmer’s toughness even when they didn’t share his personality. Redskins guard Ray Schoenke put it simply: “I’d have died for him.”

The Run to Super Bowl VII

Kilmer’s finest season came in 1972. With Jurgensen again sidelined, Kilmer started the bulk of the year, throwing 19 touchdowns and leading the NFL in passer rating on his way to Pro Bowl honors.

He saved his best for the biggest stage: in the NFC Championship Game, Kilmer picked apart Dallas’ vaunted “Doomsday Defense,” completing 14-of-18 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns in a 26-3 blowout that sent Washington to its first Super Bowl.

Washington ultimately fell 14-7 to Miami’s undefeated Dolphins in Super Bowl VII, with Kilmer throwing three interceptions against a stifling Miami defense, but the run itself remained a career-defining achievement.

Passing the Torch, With a Wave

Kilmer’s grip on the starting job finally slipped in 1978, though it wasn’t the clean handoff it’s sometimes remembered as.

New head coach Jack Pardee named Joe Theismann the starter to open the season, and Washington rattled off a 6-0 start. But after back-to-back losses, Pardee flipped back to Kilmer to “get a spark going,” and the job bounced between the two for the rest of the year — Kilmer started as late as that October, rallying Washington past San Francisco.

The job wasn’t fully Theismann’s until Washington released Kilmer outright in 1979.

The two quarterbacks were never close. Theismann later admitted the two barely spoke during their years sharing a quarterback room.

“Billy wouldn’t say ‘boo’ to me,” Joe said.

Their rivalry had its own strange symmetry, too: Kilmer had once waved an injured Theismann off the field during a game, only for a Washington Post writer to note the irony years later when Kilmer himself was waved off in relief during a late-career appearance.

Life After Football

Kilmer retired following the 1978 season with 50 regular-season wins as Washington’s starter in just his first seven years with the team.

He stayed connected to the game afterward, working as a television commentator for Redskins exhibition broadcasts and serving as commissioner of a semi-pro football league in Texas. He eventually settled into retirement in Coral Gables, Florida, where he’s spent much of his time on the golf course.

Kilmer never threw the ball as beautifully as Jurgensen. He didn’t have to. He got Washington to a Super Bowl – something the franchise had never done before.

That alone earns him a permanent place among the best quarterbacks to ever wear burgundy and gold.

Career Statistics

G = Games played, Att = Pass attempts, Comp = Completions, Yds = Passing yards, %age = Passer rating, TD = Passing touchdowns, Int = Interceptions, Rush = Rushing yards. Stats via Pro Football Researchers Association / Coffin Corner, corroborated by Pro Football Reference.