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Photo by: Joseph.Noyes/Washington Commanders
Washington Commanders Retire Jurgensen’s No. 9 Jersey
1/13/2023 9:32:00 PM | Football
DURHAM – Former Duke standout Sonny Jurgensen had his professional No. 9 jersey retired by the Washington Commanders on Sunday at FedEx Field.
A native of Wilmington, N.C., Jurgensen lettered three seasons (1954, 1955 & 1956) as a defensive back and quarterback at Duke under Hall of Fame head coach Bill Murray. He helped the Blue Devils to a three-year ledger of 20-8-3, a pair of ACC Championships in 1954 and 1955 and a 34-7 victory over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl on January 1, 1955, to cap the 1954 season in which Duke finished No. 14 in the final Associated Press national poll.
Jurgensen was an All-ACC and honorable mention All-America selection in 1956 as a defensive back after the Duke defense held eight of its 10 opponents to seven points or less. He was enshrined into the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame in 1979.
A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 1983, Jurgensen played 18 seasons in the NFL, including 11 with Washington. After his playing days, he went on to serve 45 years as a member of the Commanders' radio broadcast team before retiring from the post in 2019.
After being drafted in the fourth round (No. 43 overall) of the 1957 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, Jurgensen compiled 2,433 career completions for an impressive 32,224 yards and 255 touchdowns in 218 total games. He was a five-time Pro Bowl selection and was Washington's all-time passing leader before being passed by Joe Theismann. During his professional career, he won five NFL individual passing titles (1961, 1962, 1966, 1967 & 1969) and led the NFL in passing touchdowns twice, pass completions four times and passer rating once. Jurgensen surpassed 3,000 yards through the air in five seasons, had 300-plus yards in 25 games and 400-plus yards in five contests.
Jurgensen was named to the NFL's All-Decade team for the 1960s, tabbed to the Eagles Honor Roll in 1987, and is a member of the Redskins Ring of Fame. He also was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1971.
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