Joe Theismann has spent his life in sports. He started as a child in South River, N.J. went onto the NCAA, the pros and then as an analyst and broadcaster. Today, he is an entrepreneur, author, motivational speaker and makes guest appearances.
Recalling his early years in South River, gridiron great Joe Theismann fondly remembers the small yard, which was huge to him as a child, between his and his cousins’ homes. They played sports every day including stickball with a broom handle to bounce rubber balls off a school wall down the street.
“The Jersey kid, born and bred” lived in his modest childhood home for 17 years with his parents and his younger sister, Patti, two blocks from South River High School. Their road, dotted with just a few houses, dead ended into the parking lot at the high school stadium. That’s where Theismann starred as a quarterback for the South River Rams, shortstop for its baseball team and played guard in basketball.
Today, Arlington Avenue bears a dedication sign with his name — Joe Theismann Way — and with good reason. Theismann poured his heart into and devoted his life to sports by playing professionally, writing about it, interpreting it as an Emmy-award winning analyst, evaluating games as a sports broadcaster for ESPN and the NFL Network, and giving back to others. He was selected as the National Football League’s Man of the Year in 1982 in recognition of his commitment to the health and overall well-being of children. Now, Theismann’s latest act includes making guest appearances, acting in an occasional movie or commercial and serving as a motivational speaker. He will present his “Game Plan for Success” at New Jersey School Board Association’s 2025 Annual Workshop on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at the Atlantic City Convention Center.
Pictured in 1973 during a regular team practice, Joe Theismann played for the South River High School football team. He also played for the school’s basketball and baseball teams.
Core Principles Endure “I’m proud to have gone to South River High School. I’m proud to have gone to a public high school. The opportunity to be able to interact and grow,” Theismann said in a recent phone interview from his farm in Northern Virginia, where he likes to pass his time fixing fences, cutting grass and trimming bushes among other farm chores. “Trust me, I understand that today it’s entirely different than it was for us growing up. But, the fundamentals don’t change, right?”
Fast forward from those idyllic years as a young student-athlete in Middlesex County to the University of Notre Dame, where Theismann signed on as a quarterback and earned All-American honors in both football and academics, while earning a degree in sociology and a minor in business. In 1971, Theismann notably finished as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, awarded annually to the best player in college football. There’s been a clever wordplay linked to his surname ever since, rhyming “Theismann” with “Heisman” for decades.
He kicked off his professional career with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL) after being drafted by the Miami Dolphins and Major League Baseball’s Minnesota Twins. He went on to play for the then-Washington Redskins (now Commanders) for 12 years. He led them to win Super Bowl XVII. In 1983, he won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award after taking his team to a second consecutive Super Bowl appearance.
The Borough of South River in Middlesex County, N.J. honored Joe Theismann in June 2024 with a community ceremony dedicating a sign bearing his name on his childhood street, Arlington Avenue, just off the Old Bridge Turnpike.
Jersey Roots Remain Strong Although Theismann mainly resides in Memphis, Tenn., where his wife hails, his connection to the Garden State is anchored by his relationship with his sister who lives in Freehold. He also cherishes the lifelong relationships he made here with his childhood neighbor and cousin Billy, and high school friends like Drew Pearson. He shared the South River football field with Pearson, who later went on to star as a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys. Today, Pearson also has a South River street named in his honor, Drew Pearson Hall of Fame Way.
“I’m probably closer to the guys that I went to high school with than I am the guys that I went to college with,” Theismann said.
The NFL veteran played in 163 successive games from 1974 to 1985 and holds the Washington team’s records for passing yardage (25,206), completions (2,044) and attempts (3,602). He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and MVP, and led Washington to a 27-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII.
Despite Theismann’s extraordinary successes on the field, his career ended publicly and abruptly in 1985 after he sustained a badly broken leg during a nationally-televised NFL Monday Night Football game against the New York Giants.
Today, he said he has no regrets about retiring and talking about the Heisman-Theismann link. That’s because he leads a full life as a father of three, grandfather and managed a fulfilling career doing what he has enjoyed. He also continued racking up awards after he turned in his professional Jersey including being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003 and receiving the Walter Camp Football Foundation “Distinguished American” Award in 2013.
Asked if ending his career the way that he did bothers him, he said no.
“My broken leg doesn’t sting with me. My knee being changed, doesn’t,” he said. “It’s been a wonderful, interesting life for me. I’m blessed.”
Workshop: Sports Lessons, Life Lessons Gearing up for NJSBA’s 73rd Annual Workshop this fall, Theismann said he plans to discuss evolving through change, which is ever-present in today’s oft-divisive society.
“The most important thing is, you put your political affiliations aside. You put your personal feelings aside. The number one thing that you have to do in any position of leadership is ask yourself, ‘What is going to be good for the people that you’re going to lead?’ And, in this case, the school board leads the students at the schools. So, ‘What’s good for them?’,” said Theismann, adding school leaders could ask themselves these questions, especially during challenging times that can be filled with outside pressures.
“One of the things I talk about is change. It’s always going to be here. So how do you work with the changes that continue to take place, and how can you anticipate some of the things going forward?” he asked.
While Theismann jokingly professed to not being a good student when he was younger, he called himself a “good enough student” who did what he had to do. He said he knew that to achieve certain things and continue playing in sports, he had to truly understand the value of education.
“I had a wonderful professional career….and all of a sudden, it was gone,” Theismann reflected. “The one thing they can never take away from you is your education. My favorite saying is, ‘The day you stop learning, is the day you stop living’.”
Theismann uses his variety of experiences in sports in his professional appearances and talks. Fundamentally, he likens the lessons from the field, a golf course or the basketball court, similar to those that people learn in life and in business. He also recommends people commit to their goals, by putting them in writing and turning them into plans. In 2020, he authored a book, “How to be a Champion Every Day.”
“I firmly believe that if you bring something out into the universe, it becomes much more real than if you let it float around in your head for a while,” he said.
Theismann aims to guide leaders and entrepreneurs so they can navigate ongoing changes successfully. He learned how to do that effectively while training and playing as a quarterback, beginning as a young boy and ending up in the pros.
“You deal with what’s in front of you, but you also have to anticipate some of the things that might occur as the game goes on. And, in this case, it’s the game of life in education,” he said.
Theismann said he admires school board members, who are all volunteers, as well as those who work with the youth in public education because of their dedication to others and how they give back to their communities.
“It took me a while to figure this out, but we weren’t put on this earth to be served. We’re put here to serve others, and that’s exactly what the members of the school board are doing. They’re serving others,” he said. “They’re basically shaping the future of so many young people.”
Rosa Cirianni is the owner of Rose Write Strategies, LLC. She serves as a consultant to NJSBA.
