John A. Elway, Jr.

John Elway and his twin sister were born in 1960, in Port Angeles, Washington, near the Canadian border. Elway's father worked as a high school biology teacher and football coach, and the family made several moves for his father's work and ever-increasing responsibilities as a coach. He served as the head football coach at Grace Harbor Junior College in Aberdeen, Washington, for five years, and then as the offensive coordinator for the University of Montana. "That's where I got introduced to football," says Elway. "I played Pop Warner football in the fifth grade, and we won the championship that year. But really, I wasn't all about football. I loved all sports. I loved the competition. I was also very active in basketball and baseball."

Elway's early interest in sports was greatly influenced by his father. "I really looked up to him," he says. "Of course, a football coach isn't home a lot, especially during recruitment and the playing season. So I missed him a lot. But he would let me spend a few days with him at summer camps, and I loved that. He had a great sense of humor. When I was little, he used to time how long it would take me to run and get his slippers. Each time he told me I had broken the '˜world record' for slipper fetching. It took me a while to catch on to that one, but I loved the idea of breaking a record. My dad served as my guide, and he is the one who got me where I am today."

Elway's mother held the responsibility of caring for the family. "She was married at 21. By the time she was 23, she had three babies to take care of," Elway says. "She was great. She kept us grounded, especially when my father was gone so much of the time. She would get us up, make our breakfast, and then, while we kids were at school, she worked eight hours as a secretary, and then she took care of us at night. She taught us to be mannerly and to treat others the way we wanted to be treated. Like my dad, she was athletic, and so we were a competitive family."

When Elway was entering the ninth grade, his father drove him to school for football tryouts. Elway told his father that he had always wanted to be a running back. "My dad put the car in park, and 10 minutes later when I got out, I knew that I would instead go out for quarterback. He thought that would be a better position for me, and I respected him enough to give it a try. We were living in southern California then, and I ended up doing very well. But it's funny to think a 10-minute conversation can have such a far-reaching effect on things down the road."

Elway graduated from Granada Hills High School and joined the Parade All America High School Football Team. As a quarterback, he was the most recruited high school player in the country, and received more than 60 scholarship offers. Elway was also selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 18th round of the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft because of his adept baseball skills. In 1979, Elway chose to play football and baseball for Stanford University. In football, he won Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year honors in 1980 and 1982; was a consensus All-American; and finished in second place for the Heisman Trophy as a senior. He also ranked fifteenth on ESPN's Top 25 Players in College Football History list.

After earning a degree in economics, Elway joined the Denver Broncos as one of the most highly anticipated athletes in the history of the National Football League (NFL). He served as quarterback for the team for 16 years. During that time, he recorded the most victories by a starting quarterback and was statistically the second most prolific passer in NFL history. Regarded as one of the most clutch quarterbacks in football history, he led his teams to six American Football Conference (AFC) Championship Games and five Super Bowls, winning back-to-back World Championships during his final two seasons. Elway retired as a player in 1999, and in 2004, his first year of eligibility, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Elway suffered several losses after he retired from playing football. In 2001, his father died suddenly from a heart attack; in 2002, his twin sister, Jana, died of lung cancer; and in 2003, Elway and his wife divorced. "I considered my father to be my best friend, and my sister was my second best friend in the world," he says. "For all of these losses to happen nearly all at once, it was by far the toughest time of my life. They were my support system, and in losing them I came to understand that I needed a lot more people than I realized. Up to that point, I thought I was infallible and that I didn't need a lot of support. But this was an eye-opener for me, so I realigned and found another support system."

After his playing career, Elway became co-owner and CEO of the Arena League's Colorado Crush for eight seasons. In 2011, Elway became executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos. Under Elway's football leadership, the Broncos totaled the second-most total wins in the NFL during six years, while capturing five AFC West Division titles, two AFC Championships, and a victory in Super Bowl 50 (2016), making Elway the first individual to start as quarterback for a Super Bowl winner and return as general manager to win another. Elway's 71 overall victories through his first 100 games are believed to be the most in history by any NFL general manager.

Looking back on his career, Elway says that football taught him a lot about teamwork. "When you work for a team goal," he says, "it's much different than when you are going for an individual goal. I had to work with 53 teammates who all had different personalities. I had to try to unite them to one goal. I had to be a positive leader. And I felt I had to set an example for the younger players. The NFL is so competitive, and there are high expectations. It's a lot of pressure to succeed week to week. The bottom line is you have to believe in yourself and your abilities, and you have to trust those who are on your team, whether it's in a professional or personal situation. You seize the opportunity, you set your goal, and you invest in your self-confidence through hard work, that's really all you can do."

As a youth, Elway never predicted that he would one day play for the NFL. "Really, I just liked all sports and competition," he says. "When I was in high school, I wanted to be AllCity, and then All-State, and then I wanted a college scholarship, and then I wanted to be an All-American, and then I wanted to go to the Rose Bowl, and then I realized there's another step, and that's making it to the NFL. So my focus always stayed narrow, and I didn't look too far into the future. I just enjoyed what I was doing at the time, and I did it to the best of my ability."

When addressing young people, Elway's advice is to "chase your passion. If you keep your goals and passion in front of you and you work hard, you will find a way to success."

Elway has been a member of the Colorado Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, honorary chairman of Men for the Cure, and has served on the board of the Barbara Davis Children's Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Carousel Ball. He also founded the John Elway Charity Golf Classic, and cofounded the Drive for Education and the Jack Vickers Invitational, which was hosted to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Denver. In 1987, The Elway Foundation was founded to assist in the prevention and treatment of child abuse.