Archie Manning

High school

Drew High School

College

University of Mississippi

Pro team(s)

New Orleans Saints, Houston Oilers, Minnesota Vikings

Elisha Archibald "Archie" Manning III was born on May 19, 1949, in Drew, Mississippi — a small Delta town in Sunflower County — and grew up as the son of a farm equipment dealer. He attended Drew High School and became one of the most gifted quarterbacks in the history of the South, going to the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) where he was arguably the most electrifying college quarterback the SEC had ever seen — a dual-threat player who ran the wishbone with frightening effectiveness while also being able to throw the ball with unusual precision and touch. The New Orleans Saints selected him second overall in the 1971 NFL Draft, and Manning spent most of his career in New Orleans playing on weak Saints teams that gave him little support — he was named to two Pro Bowls (1978, 1979) while playing for teams that often finished near the bottom of the NFC. His record with the Saints was 35-91, and yet his popularity in New Orleans was immense, because fans could see plainly that the losses were not his fault. He never played in a playoff game. He is regarded as one of the greatest players never to make the Hall of Fame. He is perhaps more celebrated today as the patriarch of American football's most remarkable family: his sons Peyton Manning and Eli Manning each won two Super Bowl championships as NFL starting quarterbacks, making the Mannings the only family in NFL history to produce two Super Bowl-winning starting quarterbacks. Born and raised in Drew, Mississippi.