Craig Morton, Ring of Fame Plaza, Mile High Stadium - Denver, CO - Living Statues on Waymarking.com

The pillar honoring Craig Morton stands about 8' (2.43 m) tall and is made of sheet steel that has been allowed to rust. The 3D head is cast of bronze, as well as the players former number and plaque explaining their contributions to the Broncos and [American] Football. The pillars are illuminated at night. As I am a Denver native, I have followed the Broncos all of my life -- from the laughing stock of the league with the ugly brown and mustard yellow uniforms to the blue and orange who have won several Superbowl's (though not lately!).

"Each bronze likeness of the players was sculpted by Brian Hanlon, a classically trained master sculptor who has sculpted more than 200 public art pieces. He also explained a unique feature of the base of each pillar.

"The pillars are constructed in corten steel, which was the material your original building (Mile High Stadium) was made out of, and that's why it was so loud," Hanlon said. "So the design was amazingly creative that the architect and the designer came up with the idea that they should be this material that intimidated so many other teams."" (from (visit link) )

Craig Morton --
"Craig Morton began his career as the fifth overall pick in the 1965 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys, but he languished as a backup for his first four seasons until Cowboys great Don Meredith retired. His first two seasons proved to be successful, as he maintained nearly a 2-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio and led the Cowboys to the Super Bowl in 1970. They would lose 16-13 to the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V and Tom Landry would decide to let Morton and Roger Staubach duel it out for the starting job in 1971.

Morton would regress in this third season and ultimately fail to protect his starting job, eventually being traded to the New York Giants in 1974. He would start for the Giants the entire two-and-half year stint with the team, but Morton became an interception machine during that time span. He would throw 49 interceptions in just 34 total games with the team. Craig Morton ended up being traded to the Denver Broncos early in 1977, soon after Red Miller took over as head coach of the Broncos.

He would be reborn in the shadows of the Rockies, as the down-the-field threat he was meant to be. He and Haven Moses would become a major problem for opposing defenses. It helped too that the Denver Broncos fielded one of the league's best defenses in the Orange Crush. Morton's job became simple; protect the ball, score 13-20 points per game and be a leader.

In 1977, everything went right for the Broncos (sound familiar?) and the magic just never let up as they marched to a 12-2 dominating regular-season performance. They would go into the playoffs and beat the reigning dynastic Pittsburgh Steelers in convincing fashion and then face their hated rivals, the Oakland Raiders in the AFC title game. Morton would play a huge part in opening up an early lead, while the suffocating presence of the Orange Crush would preserve the victory and the franchise's first Super bowl berth.

Super Bowl XII would prove to be a rough game for the Broncos and Craig Morton. Facing his old team, he would be harassed all game and played a part in many of the Broncos eight turnovers that day. The Orange Crush played incredible defense though, giving up just over 3 points per turnover. Still, the Cowboys steamrolled to victory. The lone bright spot on offense was Haven Moses and if only Morton had more time to deliver the deep pass, but the Cowboys must have schemed to ensure Morton wouldn't have enough time to play to his strength. The final score was a 27-10 blowout, but from that point on no team could discount the Denver Broncos on their schedule. With just five losing seasons since that magical season, the Broncos have established themselves as one of the most dominant franchises in the NFL. Much of that tradition was solidified by Craig Morton and his dedication to professionalism and winning.

After leading the Denver Broncos to two division titles and three playoff berths, he would retire during the strike-shortened 1982 season. He still ranks second on the Broncos for all-time passing yards with 11,895 and finished with a regular-season record of 50 wins and 28 losses in his five seasons with the team - a .641 winning percentage.

Craig Morton now resides along the central coast of California and is a part owner of Mel Hollen's Restaurant in San Francisco." (from (visit link) )

Visit Instructions:
At least one original photo, taken by the poster, of the statue. No internet photos.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   08/26/2023 poisonlady visited it 07/04/2015 animjason visited it

View all visits/logs