Dan Darragh - QB

Dan Darragh was a quarterback for the Bills from 1968-1970. He was their 13th-round pick in 1968, and with injuries to 1967's two quarterbacks (long-time starter Jack Kemp missed the entire season,  and backup Tom Flores was limited to 1 game), Dan played in 11 games (starting 7) in his rookie season.

Kemp returned in 1969 to make 11 starts in his final season, and with rookie QB James Harris now on board, Darragh only played 3 games (starting 2) that year. 

 

Kemp retired after the season, but for the 3rd consecutive year the Bills had a rookie QB on the roster. In 1970 that was Dennis Shaw. Darragh started the first 2 games (both losses) before Shaw took over for the remainder of the season.

 

This is Darragh's only football card. For some reason, Topps did not include a Bills' quarterback in the 1969 set. Even though Kemp played every game that year, his missing the entire 1968 season, coupled with his age, probably led Topps to believe he would not be returning. Still, Darragh played 11 games in 1968, seemingly warranting a card in the '69 set.

 

Greg Cook - QB

Greg Cook was named the #1 "greatest one-shot wonder" by NFL Films.

He played for the University of Cincinnati, and was the Bengals' #1 pick in the 1969 draft, 4 players behind top pick O.J. Simpson and 1 player behind Joe Greene. 

 

Cook took over the starting QB job immediately, with the Bengals winning their first three games. He then suffered a shoulder injury and missed the next 3 games. 

 

He returned and started the remaining 8 games, playing through his injury. Only later was it diagnosed as a rotator cuff tear.  Even missing 3 games, he still led all AFL quarterbacks in 1969 with a 88.3 rating.

 

Because of his injury he did not play from 1970-72. He attempted a comeback with the Bengals in 1973, but only played in 1 game, with 3 passing attempts. 

 

Cook died in 2012 from pneumonia, at age 65.