KUSA – There's a centennial celebration wave that can’t be stopped.
The NFL is celebrating its 100th season this year. The Broncos recently asked their fans to vote on the top 100 players in team history.
Swept up in the spirit of triple-digit history, this Broncos quiz will test your knowledge on players from the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s and 2010s.
It’s multiple choice so it’s the easiest quiz, yet. The grading scale:
8-9 correct answers: Broncos expert
6-7 correct: Diehard Broncos fan
4-5: I only watch Klis on Game Day
2-3: Why does sports radio in this town only talk about the Broncos?
0-1: Who’s Klis? And should I bring bean dip or mini hot dogs to the party Sunday?
QUESTIONS
1. Only one player in Broncos history had two kickoff returns for touchdowns in the same regular season. Who is he?
A. Rick Upchurch
B. Trindon Holliday
C. Goldie Sellers
D. Eddie Royal
2. Only two NFL players have had a 1,000-yard season in both passing and receiving. The first was Marlin Briscoe, who threw for 1,589 yards (and 14 touchdowns) as a rookie QB with the Broncos in 1968 and had 1,036 yards receiving for the Buffalo Bills (and 8 touchdowns) in 1970.
Who was the second player to pull off the pass-receiving double 1,000?
A. Kordell Stewart
B. Terrelle Pryor
C. Denard Robinson
D. Antwaan Randle El
3. By one day, this quarterback was the first-ever to throw for 3,000 yards in a season. Who was that Denver quarterback and who were the two quarterbacks who also passed the 3,000-yard passing milestone the next day?
A. Craig Morton, Joe Ferguson, Bert Jones
B. Charley Johnson, Roman Gabriel, Jim Plunkett
C. Frank Tripucka, Joe Namath, John Hadl
D. Frank Tripucka, Johnny Unitas, Jack Kemp
4. This was the first Broncos running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a 16-game season.
A. Floyd Little
B. Otis Armstrong
C. Sammy Winder
D. Bobby Humphrey
5. This Broncos was a 7-foot-2 high jumper in high school and again in college.
A. Dennis Smith
B. Riley Odoms
C. Clarence Kay
D. Louis Wright
6. Before he became an NFL analyst and local radio sports talk personality, Mark Schlereth was a starting right guard for Super Bowl-champion Washington in 1991 and left guard for the Super Bowl-champion Broncos in 1997-98.
Especially during his six seasons in Denver, Schlereth became famous for getting an arthroscopic knee surgery the day after one game and playing in the next week’s game.
How many knee surgeries did Schlereth have in his career?
A. 20 with 15 surgeries on his right knee
B. 25 with 15 surgeries on his left knee
C. 25 with 20 surgeries on his right knee
D. 20 with 15 surgeries on his left knee
7. In high school, this Broncos great was a freshman quarterback while the senior starter was Jesse Jackson – who people later came to know as Rev. Jesse Jackson.
A. Steve Foley
B. Tom Jackson
C. Billy Thompson
D. Louis Wright
8. The sister of this former Broncos defensive player was one of the best soccer players in the country in the early 2000s. Who was the Broncos player who came from such an athletic gene pool?
A. Rod Smith
B. Trevor Pryce
C. Tom Nalen
D. Jake Plummer
9. This defensive back has the Broncos’ record for touchdowns off interceptions with six.
A. Aqib Talib
B. Tyrone Braxton
C. Mike Harden
D. Steve Foley
ANSWERS
1. C. Goldie Sellers
In 1966, the rookie scored off kickoff returns in games against the Houston Oilers. The first was in the season opener at Houston. He went 88 yards to tie the score, 7-7, the only Broncos’ bright spot as the Oilers went on to win, 45-7.
A month later, Sellers went 100 yards against the Oilers to give the Broncos a 20-10 lead and Denver won 40-38 before 27,203 at Bears Stadium.
Sellers also had three interceptions as a defensive back in his rookie year and seven more picks in his second season of 1967 but was traded to Kansas City prior to the 1968 season.
2. B. Terrelle Pryor
The former Ohio State quarterback – who averaged 721 yards rushing in his three seasons for the Buckeyes – passed for 1,798 yards as the Oakland Raiders’ quarterback in 2013 and has 1,007 yards receiving for the 1-15 Cleveland Raiders in 2016.
3. D. Frank Tripucka, Johnny Unitas, Jack Kemp
Frank Tripucka was the first-ever NFL-AFL quarterback to pass the 3,000-yard milestone when he threw for 133 yards on Dec. 17, 1960 to finish with 3,038 yards.
The Los Angeles Chargers’ Jack Kemp and Baltimore Colts’ Johnny Unitas passed the 3,000-yard milestone during the final games on December 18.
4. C. Sammy Winder
Little (1971) and Armstrong (1974, ‘76) each surpassed 1,000-yard rushing in 14-game seasons.
The NFL expanded from 14 to 16 games in 1978. It was another six years before the Broncos had a 1,000-yard back as Sammy Winder rushed for 1,153 yards on 3.9 yards per carry in 1984.
5. A. Dennis Smith
He cleared 7-foot-2 in the high jump at Santa Monica High School and again at USC.
“As high as I ever got,’’ he said in the book, The 50 Greatest Players in Denver Broncos History. “I couldn’t clear higher than 7-2.’’
Odoms, a tight end, was a 6-foot-10 high jumper in high school. Kay, also a tight end, cleared 6-8 as a high school high jumper.
Wright ran the 100 (9.6 seconds), 220 (21.2), 440 (47.6) and went 25-feet, 7 inches in the long jump.
6. D. Mark Schlereth had 20 knee surgeries during his 12-year career, 15 on his left.
Schlereth was a six-year starter for Washington and a six-year starter for the Broncos making him a Ring of Fame tweener for both franchises.
7. C. Billy Thompson
Jackson was a senior quarterback at Sterling High School in Greenville, S.C., when Thompson was a freshman-in-waiting at the same position.
“I idolized him as a kid,’’ Thompson said in The 50 Greatest Broncos book. “I followed him when he went to North Carolina (A&T) to play football and baseball. He was a great athlete. We still of talk occasionally today.’’
Thompson also followed Jackson as a Sterling High quarterback.
8. B. Trevor Pryce
His sister Nandi Pryce was a Parade All American at Lake Howell High School in Winter Park, Fla. and later became two-time All American soccer player at UCLA and is now in that school’s Hall of Fame.
Trevor Pryce was a 6-foot-5, 290-pound defensive lineman who ran the 110-meter high hurdles in 15.0 seconds in high school and had 91.0 sacks in his NFL career, 64.0 in 9 seasons with the Broncos.
9. A. Aqib Talib
Incredibly, Talib had his six pick-sixes off just 11 interceptions in his four seasons with the Broncos. His 11 interceptions rank 19th in Broncos annals.
Steve Foley, the franchise leader with 44 interceptions, returned just one for a touchdown, although he also scored off a fumble return early in that famous Monday Night Blizzard game against Green Bay in 1984.
Braxton, Harden and Chris Harris Jr. are tied for second in team history with four pick sixes.
