John Elway Calls It Quits

April 24, 1999 / 2:53 AM EDT / AP

He sounded so very upbeat at the start, cracking jokes and telling war stories about himself and his Denver Broncos.

Then John Elway turned to his retirement and that's when it hit him.

His face crumpled and the sobs came.

"I couldn't do it anymore. I can't compete at the level I want to compete at. That's what it came down to," the 38-year-old Elway said Sunday, pausing frequently to regain his composure as he addressed the crowd at a suburban Denver hotel.

"It's hard to walk away. I can't explain in words how much everyone has meant to me."

After dazzling fans and confounding defenses for 16 years, the quarterback made official what everyone had known for more than a week. He delayed the announcement because of the school killings in Littleton, and his news conference began with a moment of silence for the victims.

Elway, master of the last-minute comeback, becomes the third superstar to leave his sport since January, joining Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky.

"This is hard," Elway said through his husky, choked voice. "The over-under in the locker room yesterday was how many times I'd cry. I took the under."

Then, after crying some more, he added, "I lost the bet."

Elway, wearing a blue-and-silver ribbon on his suit jacket in memory of the shooting victims, was joined on the stage by Broncos coach Mike Shanahan and team owner Pat Bowlen.

"They talk about 47 comebacks. The thing that was so impressive was the concentration level and poise and thriving on pressure," Shanahan said.

For years, the only thing missing from Elway's resume was a Super Bowl title, and he took care of that by winning two straight. In his final game, he was voted Super Bowl MVP in a 34-19 win over Atlanta last January.

He becomes the only quarterback to retire after winning a Super Bowl.

"I truly believe John was the very best to ever play," Bowlen said.

Elway was exceptionally durable throughout his career, missing only 15 starts because of illness or injury, but his retirement was hastened by the sheer wear and tear of professional football. He was hit more than any quarterback in NFL history, absorbing 559 sacks in 256 games.

He compiled the best passer rating of his career in 1998, but his season was interrupted by hamstring, back and rib injuries that caused him to miss all or part of six games. His deteriorating, arthritic left knee probably will have to be replaced.

Still, his toughness and productivity might never be equaled.

"To John Elway, football was the greatest game in the world," commissioner Paul Tagliabue said in a statement. "And to the game of football, John Elway was the greatest ambassador imaginable. He combined talent and character to become an incomparable performer and champion on the field."

In 16 seasons, Elway guided his team to more victories (148) tan any other quarterback in NFL history. He threw for 51,475 yards and accounted for 54,882 total yards second only to Miami's Dan Marino.

He is the only player ever to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 200 yards in seven straight seasons (1985-91).

Elway rallied his team to 47 game-saving drives in his career more than any quarterback ever. He was selected to nine Pro Bowls and was named the NFL's MVP in 1987. He holds 55 Broncos' regular-season or postseason records.

After three ugly Super Bowl losses early in his career, he began to wonder if he would ever get another opportunity.

But thanks to a dynamic running game designed around Terrell Davis, Denver went to two straight Super Bowls and won them both.

Against Green Bay in January 1998, Elway set the tone by scrambling and diving into two defenders for a first down to set up a Denver touchdown late in the third quarter.

In the closing minutes, Elway accounted for his 45th game-saving drive, completing a 23-yard pass to Howard Griffith to help set up Davis' go-ahead scoring run in the 31-24 victory.

"I know that I've been labeled as the guy who's never been on the winning Super Bowl team," a jubilant Elway said at the time. "Boy, am I glad to get rid of that."

In a personally more satisfying performance a year later, he led the Broncos past Atlanta. With the Falcons stacking their defense to stop Davis, they dared Elway to beat them. He did, completing 18 of 29 passes for 336 yards and a touchdown.

Elway became the first quarterback ever to start in five Super Bowls, and the Broncos' 23-10 win over the New York Jets in the AFC championship game two weeks earlier gave him a 5-1 record in conference championship games the best in NFL history.

In retirement, he said he plans to devote more time to his family and work on his golf game. He owns a string of auto dealerships and has expressed an interest in getting into broadcasting, perhaps on the Monday night ABC games.

"It's a tough decision," Elway said. "I don't look at it as a retirement. I look on it as graduation. You graduate from high school and you graduate from college. I'm graduating from pro football."