View source for Jim Plunkett

{{Short description|American football player (born 1947)}}
{{for|the Australian rules footballer|Jim Plunkett (Australian footballer)}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name        = Jim Plunkett
| image       = Ronnie Lott and Jim Plunkett (CrashCouse Launch PSA) (cropped).png
| alt         = 
| caption     = Plunkett in 2018
| number      = 16
| position    = [[Quarterback]]
| birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1947|12|5}}
| birth_place = [[San Jose, California]], U.S.
| death_date  = 
| death_place = 
| height_ft   = 6
| height_in   = 3
| weight_lb   = 220
| high_school = [[William C. Overfelt High School|William C. Overfelt]] <br> (San Jose, California) <br> [[James Lick High School|James Lick]] <br> (San Jose, California)
| college     = [[Stanford Cardinal football|Stanford]] (1968–1970)
| draftyear   = 1971
| draftround  = 1
| draftpick   = 1
| pastteams   =
* [[New England Patriots]] ({{NFL Year|1971|1975}})
* [[San Francisco 49ers]] ({{NFL Year|1976|1977}})
* [[Oakland Raiders|Oakland]] / [[Los Angeles Raiders]] ({{NFL Year|1978|1986}})
| highlights  =
* 2× [[List of Super Bowl champions|Super Bowl champion]] ([[Super Bowl XV|XV]], [[Super Bowl XVIII|XVIII]])
* [[Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award|Super Bowl MVP]] ([[Super Bowl XV|XV]])
* [[NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award|NFL Comeback Player of the Year]] (1980)
* [[UPI AFL-AFC Rookie of the Year|AFC Rookie of the Year]] (1971)
* [[Heisman Trophy]] (1970)
* [[Maxwell Award]] (1970)
* [[Walter Camp Award]] (1970)
* [[Sporting News College Football Player of the Year|''SN'' Player of the Year]] (1970)
* [[UPI College Football Player of the Year|UPI Player of the Year]] (1970)
* [[Chic Harley Award]] (1970)
* Consensus [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1970 College Football All-America Team|1970]])
* Second-team All-American ([[1969 College Football All-America Team|1969]])
* [[Pop Warner Trophy]] (1970)
* 2× First-team [[List of All-Pac-12 Conference football teams|All-Pac-8]] ([[1969 All-Pacific-8 Conference football team|1969]], [[1970 All-Pacific-8 Conference football team|1970]])
* Second-team All-Pac-8 ([[1968 All-Pacific-8 Conference football team|1968]])
* [[Stanford Cardinal football#Retired numbers|Stanford Cardinal No. 16]] retired
* [[California Sports Hall of Fame]]
; NFL record
* [[99-yard pass play|Longest touchdown pass: 99 yards]] (tied)
| statlabel1  = Passing attempts
| statvalue1  = 3,701
| statlabel2  = Passing completions
| statvalue2  = 1,943
| statlabel3  = Completion percentage
| statvalue3  = 52.5%
| statlabel4  = [[Touchdown|TD]]–[[Interception|INT]]
| statvalue4  = 164–198
| statlabel5  = Passing yards
| statvalue5  = 25,882
| statlabel6  = [[Passer rating]]
| statvalue6  = 67.5
| statlabel7  = Rushing yards
| statvalue7  = 1,337
| statlabel8  = Rushing touchdowns
| statvalue8  = 14
| pfr         = P/PlunJi00
| CollegeHOF  = 1871 
}}

'''James William Plunkett''' (born December 5, 1947) is an American former professional [[American football|football]] [[quarterback]] who played in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) for 16 seasons. He achieved his greatest success during his final eight seasons with the [[Las Vegas Raiders|Raiders franchise]], whom he led to two [[Super Bowl]] wins.<ref name="PFR">{{Cite web |title=Jim Plunkett Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/P/PlunJi00.htm |access-date=March 20, 2024 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>

He played [[college football]] for the [[Stanford Cardinal football|Stanford Indians]], where he won the [[Heisman Trophy]] in 1970.<ref name="heisman">{{Cite web |title=Heisman Trophy Winners List |url=https://www.heisman.com/heisman-winners/ |access-date=November 6, 2019 |website=heisman.com}}</ref> He was selected [[list of first overall NFL draft picks|first overall]] by the [[New England Patriots]] in the [[1971 NFL draft]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=1971 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1971/draft.htm |access-date=2025-07-19 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> His tenure with the Patriots was productive, but after an injury-shortened 1975 season he was traded to the [[San Francisco 49ers]], where he played in 1976 and 1977. Released from the 49ers after suffering further injuries, Plunkett signed with the [[Oakland Raiders]] in 1978.

Initially serving as a backup for the Raiders, Plunkett became the starting quarterback during the 1980 season and led them to win [[Super Bowl XV]], where he was named [[Super Bowl MVP|MVP]].<ref name="SBMVP">{{Cite web |last=Schallhorn |first=Schallhorn |date=February 4, 2019 |title=Super Bowl MVPs, then and now |url=https://www.foxnews.com/sports/super-bowl-mvps-then-and-now |access-date=November 6, 2019 |publisher=Fox News}}</ref> In 1983, Plunkett again ascended from backup to starter to quarterback the relocated [[Los Angeles Raiders]] to victory in [[Super Bowl XVIII]]. He and [[Eli Manning]] are the only eligible quarterbacks with two Super Bowl wins as a starter not to be inducted into the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ruiz |first1=Horacio |title=Eli Manning Hall of Fame Nomination Shines Spotlight on Jim Plunkett - Again |url=https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/eli-manning-hall-of-fame-nomination-shines-spotlight-on-jim-plunkett-again/ |website=Sports Collectors Daily |date=20 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Eli Manning misses Pro Football Hall of Fame on first ballot |url=https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-misses-pro-football-hall-of-fame-on-first-ballot-class-of-2025 |website=www.giants.com}}</ref> He was inducted into the [[College Football Hall of Fame]] in 1990.

==Early life==
Plunkett was born to Mexican-American parents with an [[Irish people|Irish]]-[[Germans|German]] grandfather on his paternal side.{{sfn|Thornton|Holley|p=99|2016}} Plunkett's father was a news vendor afflicted with progressive blindness, who had to support his blind wife along with their three children.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=December 7, 1970 |title=Saturday's Hero |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,877161-2,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209075950/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,877161-2,00.html |archive-date=February 9, 2009 |access-date=November 20, 2013 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> Plunkett's parents were both [[List of people from New Mexico|born in New Mexico]]; his mother, whose maiden name was Carmen Blea, was born in [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]] and his father, William Gutierrez Plunkett, was born in [[Albuquerque, New Mexico|Albuquerque]]. Carmen was also of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] ancestry. His father William died of a heart attack in 1969.{{sfn|Newhouse|Plunkett|1981|p=19}}

The Plunketts moved to California during World War II. William Plunkett first worked in the [[Richmond, California|Richmond]] shipyards. By this time, Jim's two older sisters, Genevieve (16 years older than Jim) and Mary Ann (5 years older than Jim) had been born; Jim was born in 1947, after the family had moved to [[Santa Clara, California|Santa Clara]]. They later moved to San Jose where William ran a newsstand, and where they were able to find low-cost housing. The family lived in relative poverty, and received state financial aid. Jim and his sisters learned to work hard and do things for themselves as they grew up. They also helped Carmen with cooking and other household chores.{{sfn|Newhouse|Plunkett|1981|pp=20–26}}

When Jim was growing up, the family's financial situation was a big problem for him. He did not like the area he lived in, often did not have money for dates, and avoided bringing friends to his house. He worked from an early age, cleaning up at a gas station while in elementary school, delivering newspapers, bagging groceries, and working in orchards. In his high school years, he worked during the summer.{{sfn|Newhouse|Plunkett|1981|pp=28–29}}

Jim went to [[William C. Overfelt High School]] in the 9th and 10th grades and then transferred to and graduated from [[James Lick High School]], both located in [[San Jose, California|east San Jose, California]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Raiders {{!}} Jim Plunkett’s painful journey: ‘My life sucks’ |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/08/04/jim-plunketts-painful-journey-my-life-sucks/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402000204/https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/08/04/jim-plunketts-painful-journey-my-life-sucks/ |archive-date=April 2, 2024 |access-date=October 2, 2024 |website=The Mercury News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=November 7, 2019 |orig-date=November 7, 2019 |title=NFL players to come from Bay Area high schools |url=https://www.sfgate.com/sports/slideshow/NFL-players-to-come-from-Bay-Area-high-schools-195673.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240711034908/https://www.sfgate.com/sports/slideshow/NFL-players-to-come-from-Bay-Area-high-schools-195673.php |archive-date=July 11, 2024 |access-date=October 2, 2024 |website=The San Francisco Gate}}</ref> Plunkett showed his talent for tossing the football by winning a throwing contest at the age of 14 with a heave of over 60 yards. Once he arrived at the school, he played quarterback and defensive end for the football team. He competed in [[basketball]], [[baseball]], [[Track and field|track]], and [[wrestling]] – earning a California High School Individual Wrestling Championship. Plunkett is on the Hall of Fame wall at James Lick.

==College career==
Upon entering [[Stanford University]], Plunkett endured a rough season on the freshman team after being weakened by a thyroid operation.<ref name="LATimes">{{Cite news |last=Crowe |first=Jerry |date=January 23, 2011 |title=Jim Plunkett's road to Super Bowl champion wasn't always smooth |url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-xpm-2011-jan-23-la-sp-crowe-20110124-story.html |access-date=November 6, 2019 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> His performance originally caused head coach [[John Ralston (coach)|John Ralston]] to switch him to defensive end, but Plunkett was adamant in remaining at quarterback, throwing 500 to 1,000 passes every day to polish his arm. He earned the opportunity to start in [[1968 Stanford Indians football team|1968]]; in the season opener, he completed ten of thirteen passes for 277 yards and four touchdowns,<ref name= crushsp>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ia1VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BOEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6765%2C4813767 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=Oregon |agency=Associated Press |title=Indians crush Sparts, 68-20 |date=September 22, 1968 |page=4B}}</ref> and never relinquished the starting spot. Plunkett ushered in an era of wide-open passing, pro-style offenses in the [[Pacific-10 Conference|Pac-8]], a trend that has continued to the present.

His successful junior campaign in [[1969 Stanford Indians football team|1969]] saw him set league records for touchdown passes (20), passing yards (2,673), and total offense (2,786). This display of offensive firepower led [[1969 Washington State Cougars football team|Washington State]] head coach [[Jim Sweeney (American football, born 1929)|Jim Sweeney]] to call Plunkett "The best college football player I've ever seen." As a senior in [[1970 Stanford Indians football team|1970]], he led Stanford to a conference championship and their first [[Rose Bowl game|Rose Bowl]] appearance in [[1952 Rose Bowl|nineteen years]], a [[1971 Rose Bowl|27–17 upset]] of heavily-favored and undefeated [[1970 Ohio State Buckeyes football team|Ohio&nbsp;State]].

With eighteen passing and three rushing touchdowns added to his 2,715 passing yards on the year (which broke his own conference record), Plunkett won the [[1970 NCAA University Division football season#Heisman Trophy voting|1970]] [[Heisman Trophy]] over fellow quarterbacks [[Joe Theismann]] of [[1970 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame]] and [[Archie Manning]] of [[1970 Ole Miss Rebels football team|Ole&nbsp;Miss]]. He was the first [[Hispanics in the United States|Latino]] to win the Heisman, captured the [[Maxwell Award]] for the nation's best player, and was named player of the year by [[United Press International]], ''[[The Sporting News]]'', and [[SPORT magazine|''SPORT'' magazine]]. In addition, the American College Football Coaches Association designated him as their Offensive Player of the Year. He became the second multiple recipient (1969, 1970) of the [[W.J. Voit Memorial Trophy]], awarded to the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast. 

While at Stanford, Plunkett was a member of [[Delta Tau Delta]] [[College fraternities and sororities|fraternity]].

==Professional career==
[[File:Jim Plunkett (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|225px|Plunkett with the [[San Francisco 49ers|49ers]] in 1977]]
[[UCLA]] coach [[Tommy Prothro]] had called Plunkett the "best pro quarterback prospect I've ever seen", echoing Sweeney's words from the year prior. His excellent arm strength and precision made him attractive to pro teams that relied much more heavily on the passing game than most college teams of the late 1960s. In 1971, he was drafted with the first overall pick in the NFL draft by the [[New England Patriots]] (the team was still known as the Boston Patriots at the time of the draft; the name change to New England did not become official until March 21 of that year). Plunkett was the first player of Hispanic heritage to be drafted with the first overall pick in the NFL draft.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Longoria |first=Maria |title=Pro Football's Hispanic Heritage |url=https://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/latin-americans-in-pro-football/ |access-date=December 23, 2019 |work=ProFootballHOF.com}}</ref> The Patriots finished the season at 6–8 for fourth place in the [[AFC East]]. Plunkett's first game was a 20–6 victory over [[1971 Oakland Raiders season|the Oakland Raiders]], the Patriots' first regular-season contest at [[Schaefer Stadium]]. New England also influenced the AFC East championship race, as Plunkett's 88-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass to former Stanford teammate [[Randy Vataha]] on the final day of the season dropped [[1971 Baltimore Colts season|the Baltimore Colts]] to a 10–4–0 record and into second place in the division behind the 10–3–1 [[1971 Miami Dolphins season|Miami Dolphins]]. Two weeks before the Patriots defeated the Colts, Plunkett engineered a 34–13 victory over the Dolphins.

Continuing to be effective, Plunkett finished second in the NFL in passing yards in 1973, and in 1974 led the Patriots to an impressive 6–1 start, and the team's first non losing season in eight years, finishing second in the NFL in team scoring with 348 points, seven behind league leader Oakland. But Plunkett suffered a left shoulder separation early in the 1975 season, giving rookie [[Steve Grogan]], who would become a fixture with the club for 16 seasons, extensive experience, and under the leadership of coach [[Chuck Fairbanks]], New England's offense became more run-oriented, led by [[Sam Cunningham]].

Prior to the [[1976 NFL draft]], Plunkett was traded to [[1976 San Francisco 49ers season|the San Francisco 49ers]] in exchange for quarterback [[Tom Owen (American football)|Tom Owen]], two first-round picks in 1976, and a first and second-round pick in [[1977 NFL draft|1977]]. Plunkett led the 49ers to a 6–1 start before faltering to an 8–6 record. After a 5–9 season in 1977, the 49ers released him during the 1978 preseason.

Plunkett joined [[1978 Oakland Raiders season|the Oakland Raiders]] in 1978, serving in a reserve capacity over the next two years, throwing no passes in 1978 and just fifteen [[1979 Oakland Raiders season|in 1979]]. However, five weeks into [[1980 Oakland Raiders season|the 1980 season]], his career took a major turn when starting QB [[Dan Pastorini]] fractured his leg in a game against [[1980 Kansas City Chiefs season|the Kansas City Chiefs]]. The 32-year-old Plunkett came off the bench to relieve Pastorini, throwing five interceptions in a 31–17 loss.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rank |first=Adam |date=March 18, 2013 |title=Greatest Cinderella stories in NFL history |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/greatest-cinderella-stories-in-nfl-history-0ap1000000151552 |access-date=March 25, 2013 |publisher=[[National Football League]]}}</ref> The Raiders, however, believing that [[Marc Wilson (American football)|Marc Wilson]] did not have the experience they wanted, called on Plunkett to start for the remainder of the year. In his first game as a starter, he completed eleven of fourteen passes with a touchdown and no interceptions. Plunkett guided Oakland to nine victories in eleven games and a playoff berth as a [[Wild card (sports)|wild card]]. Plunkett led the Raiders to four playoff victories, including the first-ever victory by a wild card team in the [[Super Bowl]], defeating [[1980 Philadelphia Eagles season|the Philadelphia Eagles]] 27–10 in [[Super Bowl XV]]. Throwing for 261 yards and three touchdowns, Plunkett was named the game's [[Most Valuable Player|MVP]]; subsequently, Plunkett has the distinction of being the first [[minority group|minority]] to quarterback a team to a Super Bowl victory and the only Latino to be named Super Bowl MVP. In addition to this, he became the second of four players to win the Heisman Trophy and Super Bowl MVP, alongside [[Roger Staubach]], [[Marcus Allen]], and [[Desmond Howard]].

Later in his career, the Raiders moved to Los Angeles. After being benched early in the 1983 season, Plunkett again assumed starting duties, this time after an injury to Marc Wilson. The Raiders advanced to [[Super Bowl XVIII]], where they defeated [[1983 Washington Redskins season|the Washington Redskins]], 38–9. Plunkett completed 16 of 25 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown in the game.
[[File:Jim Plunkett, 1984.jpg|thumb|Plunkett with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1984]]
In 1984, Plunkett began the season as the Raiders' starter, but he suffered abdominal and hip injuries in Week 6 which made Wilson the starter for the rest of the season. The more experienced Plunkett was named the starter for the playoffs, but the Raiders lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the wild card game. In 1985, Plunkett was again injured, this time with a separated shoulder in Week 3. In 1986, he rotated with Wilson as the starter, and then missed the entire 1987 season following rotator cuff surgery. He retired during the 1988 pre-season as the fourth-leading passer in Raiders history. He holds [[Oakland Raiders|the Raider record]], and is tied for the league record, for the longest career pass, which occurred during a [[99-yard pass play]] against [[1983 Washington Redskins season|the Washington Redskins]] on October 2, 1983. He retired as the only NFL quarterback to win two Super Bowls with the same franchise in different cities, winning his first while the Raiders were in Oakland and his second while they were in Los Angeles.<ref name="raiderhistory">{{Cite web |title=Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders Franchise Encyclopedia |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/rai/index.htm |access-date=November 6, 2019 |publisher=ProFootballReference.com}}</ref>

==NFL career statistics==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="2"| Legend
|-
| style="background:#f4c842; width:3em;"|
| [[Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award|Super Bowl MVP]]
|-
| style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"|
| Won the [[Super Bowl]]
|-
| style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"|
| Led the league
|-
| '''Bold'''
| Career high
|}

=== Regular season ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! colspan="3"| Games
! colspan="9"| Passing
|-
! GP !! GS !! Record !! Cmp !! Att !! Pct !! Yds !! Avg !! TD !! Int !! Lng !! Rtg 
|-
! [[1971 NFL season|1971]] !! [[1971 New England Patriots season|NE]]
| 14 || 14 || 6–8 || 158 || 328 || 48.2 || 2,158 || 6.6 || 19 || 16 || 88 || 68.6
|-
! [[1972 NFL season|1972]] !! [[1972 New England Patriots season|NE]]
| 14 || 14 || 3–11 || 169 || 355 || 47.6 || 2,196 || 6.2 || 8 || '''25''' || 62 || 45.7
|-
! [[1973 NFL season|1973]] !! [[1973 New England Patriots season|NE]]
| 14 || 14 || 5–9 || 193 || 376 || 51.3 || 2,550 || 6.8 || 13 || 17 || 64 || 65.8
|-
! [[1974 NFL season|1974]] !! [[1974 New England Patriots season|NE]]
| 14 || 14 || 7–7 || 173 || 352 || 49.1 || 2,457 || 7.0 || 19 || style="background:#cfecec;"|22 || 69 || 64.1
|-
! [[1975 NFL season|1975]] !! [[1975 New England Patriots season|NE]]
| 5 || 5 || 2–3 || 36 || 92 || 39.1 || 571 || 6.2 || 3 || 7 || 76 || 39.7
|-
! [[1976 NFL season|1976]] !! [[1976 San Francisco 49ers season|SF]]
| 12 || 12 || 6–6 || 126 || 243 || 51.9 || 1,592 || 6.6 || 13 || 16 || 85 || 63.0
|-
! [[1977 NFL season|1977]] !! [[1977 San Francisco 49ers season|SF]]
| 14 || 14 || 5–9 || 128 || 248 || 51.6 || 1,693 || 6.8 || 9 || 14 || 47 || 62.1
|-
! [[1979 NFL season|1979]] !! [[1979 Oakland Raiders season|OAK]]
| 4 || 0 || — || 7 || 15 || 46.7 || 89 || 5.9 || 1 || 1 || 39 || 60.1
|-
! style="background:#f4c842"|[[1980 NFL season|1980]] !! style="background:#afe6ba;"|[[1980 Oakland Raiders season|OAK]]
| 13 || 11 || 9–2 || 165 || 320 || 51.6 || 2,299 || 7.2 || 18 || 16 || 86 || 72.9
|-
! [[1981 NFL season|1981]] !! [[1981 Oakland Raiders season|OAK]]
| 9 || 7 || 2–5 || 94 || 179 || 52.5 || 1,045 || 5.8 || 4 || 9 || 42 || 56.7
|-
! [[1982 NFL season|1982]] !! [[1982 Los Angeles Raiders season|RAI]]
| 9 || 9 || 8–1 || 152 || 261 || 58.2 || 2,035 || 7.8 || 14 || 15 || 52 || 77.0
|-
! [[1983 NFL season|1983]] !! style="background:#afe6ba;"|[[1983 Los Angeles Raiders season|RAI]]
| 14 || 13 || '''10–3''' || '''230''' || '''379''' || 60.7 || '''2,935''' || 7.7 || '''20''' || 18 || style="background:#cfecec;|'''99''' || 82.7
|-
! [[1984 NFL season|1984]] !! [[1984 Los Angeles Raiders season|RAI]]
| 8 || 6 || 5–1 || 108 || 198 || 54.5 || 1,473 || 7.4 || 6 || 10 || 73 || 67.6
|-
! [[1985 NFL season|1985]] !! [[1985 Los Angeles Raiders season|RAI]]
| 3 || 3 || 1–2 || 71 || 103 || '''68.9''' || 803 || 7.8 || 3 || 3 || 41 || '''89.6'''
|-
! [[1986 NFL season|1986]] !! [[1986 Los Angeles Raiders season|RAI]]
| 10 || 8 || 3–5 || 133 || 252 || 52.8 || 1,986 || '''7.9''' || 14 || 9 || 81 || 82.5
|-
! colspan="2"| Career !! 157 !! 144 !! 72–72 !! 1,943 !! 3,701 !! 52.5 !! 25,882 !! 7.0 !! 164 !! 198 !! 99 !! 67.5
|}

==See also==
* [[Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame]]
* [[California Sports Hall of Fame]]
* [[List of NCAA major college football yearly passing leaders]]
* [[List of NCAA major college football yearly total offense leaders]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Newhouse |first=Dave |url=https://archive.org/details/jimplunkettstory00plun |title=The Jim Plunkett Story: The Saga of a Man Who Came Back |last2=Plunkett |first2=Jim |publisher=Arbor House |year=1981 |isbn=0-87795-326-0 |location=New York |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Thornton |first=Jerry |title=From Darkness to Dynasty: The First 40 Years of the New England Patriots |last2=Holley |first2=Michael |publisher=ForeEdge |year=2016 |isbn=978-1611689747 |location=Lebanon, NH}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* {{College Football HoF|1871}}
* {{Heisman|jim-plunkett}}
* {{Footballstats |nfl=jim-plunkett |espn= |cbs= |yahoo= |si= |pfr=P/PlunJi00 |rotoworld=}}

{{Navboxes
| title = Jim Plunkett—awards, championships, and honors
| list =
{{Stanford Cardinal quarterback navbox}}
{{New England Patriots starting quarterback navbox}}
{{San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback navbox}}
{{Oakland Raiders starting quarterback navbox}}
{{NCAA major college football passing yardage leaders}}
{{Heisman Winners}}
{{Maxwell Award Winners}}
{{Walter Camp Award}}
{{Sporting News College Football Player of the Year}}
{{UPI College Football Player of the Year}}
{{Walter Camp Alumni of the Year}}
{{1970 College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{Pac-12 Player of the Year}}
{{Pop Warner Trophy}}
{{NFL NumberOne Draft Picks}}
{{1971 NFL Draft}}
{{Patriots1971DraftPicks}}
{{PatriotsFirstPick}}
{{Super Bowl XV}}
{{Super Bowl XVIII}}
{{Super Bowl MVPs}}
{{Super Bowl Champion quarterbacks}}
{{NFL Comeback Players of the Year}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plunkett, Jim}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:American football quarterbacks]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Mexican descent]]
[[Category:Sportspeople of Mexican descent]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:First overall NFL draft picks]]
[[Category:Heisman Trophy winners]]
[[Category:Hispanic and Latino American players of American football]]
[[Category:James Lick High School alumni]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Raiders players]]
[[Category:Maxwell Award winners]]
[[Category:Native American players of American football]]
[[Category:New England Patriots players]]
[[Category:NFL Comeback Player of the Year winners]]
[[Category:Oakland Raiders players]]
[[Category:Players of American football from San Jose, California]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Santa Clara, California]]
[[Category:San Francisco 49ers players]]
[[Category:Stanford Cardinal football players]]
[[Category:Super Bowl MVPs]]
[[Category:Walter Camp Award winners]]