Kim McQuilken

Kim McQuilken (born February 26, 1951) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins and the USFL with the Washington Federals.

Early life
McQuilken was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and attended William Allen High School. He started as quarterback during his junior and senior seasons. During his senior year, McQuilken suffered a fractured clavicle in a pre-season scrimmage and missed the first three games.

Lehigh University
McQuilken was offered only one football scholarship after high school. The offer was from Lehigh University and Head Coach Fred Dunlap. Lehigh had not had a winning season in the previous 10 years. Moreover, Lehigh employed a ground offensive attack not suited to McQuilken’s passing skills. But Fred Dunlap convinced McQuilken the passing game would open up if he enrolled at Lehigh. The coach was true to his word

In 1971, McQuilken’s sophomore season the team posted its first winning record in over a decade going 8-3 and setting numerous offensive records. McQuilken passed for over 2,000 yards in ‘71 setting new Lehigh records for yardage, attempts, and completions. By the middle of his junior year (1972) McQuilken would own every Lehigh game, season, and career passing record. In his 1973 senior season, Lehigh went 7-3-1 and won the Lambert Cup

Professional career
McQuilken was drafted in the third round of the 1974 NFL draft by Atlanta, and installed as the Falcons' third-string quarterback, behind Bob Lee and Pat Sullivan. He got in five games his rookie season and started the last two, including a 10–3 win over Green Bay. With the season-ending 3-11 record, none of the Falcons QBs experienced much success.

Statistically, McQuilken was one of the poorest passers in NFL history that actually received significant playing time; for his seven-year career, he had a 17.9 passer rating, second-worst ever among players with at least 200 attempts. He won only two of his seven starts as a Falcon, reaching his arguable nadir in a 1975 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, when McQuilken made 26 attempts with only five completions – and five interceptions. For his career, McQuilken would throw 29 picks against just four touchdowns, also one of the worst ratios in NFL history. In 1978, he went to the Washington Redskins as Joe Theismann's backup, appearing in just three games in 1979.

Out of football for three years, McQuilken, still popular in the Washington area, joined the Washington Federals of the United States Football League in their 1983 inaugural season and emerged as their opening-day starter. Ultimately he would complete 188-for-334 passes for 1,912 yards, seven touchdowns, and 14 interceptions for the season. However, the Feds would finish just 4–14 in front of small crowds, and the 32-year-old McQuilken retired.

After football
McQuilken went on to become executive vice president of Cartoon Network, before leaving the network in 2006 to set up his own sports and entertainment marketing and licensing consulting business.