Larry Craig Morton (February 5, 1943 – May 9, 2026) was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. He played college football for the California Golden Bears, earning the Pop Warner Trophy and first-team All-American honors in 1964.
Morton was selected by the Cowboys fifth overall in the 1965 NFL draft, where he spent his first nine seasons and led the team to an appearance in Super Bowl V. After leaving the Cowboys due to a quarterback controversy with Roger Staubach, Morton was a member of the New York Giants for three seasons. He played his final six seasons with the Broncos, winning NFL Comeback Player of the Year and AFC Offensive Player of the Year in 1977 en route to a Super Bowl XII appearance. Morton was the first quarterback to start in the Super Bowl with more than one franchise, as well as the only quarterback to start for multiple franchises in their Super Bowl debut. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
Morton was a 1961 graduate of Campbell High School in Campbell, California, where he received All-state honors in football, baseball, and basketball. In football, he received honors as a senior.
As a pitcher, Morton received offers from major league teams to play in their minor league systems. Morton was voted Northern California high school athlete of the year as a quarterback and was selected to play in the annual California Shrine High School football game.
Morton played college football at the University of California, Berkeley, under head coach Marv Levy and assistant coach Bill Walsh, both future NFL head coaches and members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Morton became the starter in the sixth game of his sophomore season in 1962. Back then his nickname was "Big Hummer" and his production dominated the Golden Bears offense output.
As a sophomore in 1962, he only played in the last five games because of a knee injury he suffered in practice while returning punts. He still managed 905 passing yards, a 54% completion rate, and 9 touchdowns. As a junior in 1963 he already owned most of Cal Berkley's all-time quarterback records.
In his three seasons as a starter at Cal, he never played on a winning team. He completed 185 of 308 passes for 2,121 yards and 13 touchdowns in his senior season in 1964, but even with a losing 3–7 record, he was recognized for his talent and contributions by being named first-team All-American over other winning quarterbacks. He also received the W. J. Voit Memorial Trophy, given to the best player on the Pacific Coast and the Pop Warner Trophy, given to the best senior player. In the balloting for the Heisman Trophy won by John Huarte of Notre Dame, Morton was seventh, ahead of Joe Namath of Alabama and Gale Sayers of Kansas.
Morton finished his college career with 4,501 passing yards (a Pac-8 record), and most of Cal's All-time passing records, including:
Touchdown passes in one game (5)
Touchdown passes in a season (13)
Touchdown passes in a career (36)
Passing yards in a career (4,501)
Passing yards in a season (2,121)
Most passing completions and attempts in one game
Most passing completions and attempts in a season
Most passing completions and attempts in one game
In 1964 as the starting quarterback for the West, he faced Roger Staubach in the East–West Shrine Game, which was a sign of things to come.
He was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame, and the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame.