Paul McDonald: Left-handed Brown

Paul McDonald, was a left-handed quarterback, who played his college football with USC.

Source: https://www.gamechangenation.com/paul-mcdonalds-authentic-path-to-becoming-an-all-american-quarterback/

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He was the first left-handed college quarterback I saw play, handing the ball off to a Heisman Trophy winner on an epic, game-winning drive.

The name Paul MacDonald came across my e-mail, and it immediately took me back to Paul McDonald, who played a pivotal role in the first Rose Bowl I ever watched.

He would go on to a serviceable NFL career, and was probably the first left-handed quarterback I ever saw play.

Rose Bowl upset
I started watching American college football on New Year’s Day 1980, with the Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl on Channel 13 on the peasant vision dial.

The Rose Bowl was up first and, not that I noticed at the time, it was legendary broadcaster Dick Enberg’s first Rose Bowl too.

The game featured the Ohio State Buckeyes, champions of the Big 10 Conference, and ranked number one in the country, against the University of Southern California, or USC, Trojans, champions of the Pac-10 Conference, and also unbeaten with a record of 10-0-1. With a win, the Buckeyes would most likely be voted national champions.

The Trojans featured Heisman Trophy winner Charles White, who had amassed more than 2,050 yards rushing in 12 games. Playing quarterback for the Trojans was Paul McDonald. He became the Trojans’ starter the previous season, helping them to a share of the 1978 national championship with Alabama.

Now, 1979 was McDonald’s senior year and he made the most of it, passing for 2,223 yards, 18 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He was a second team All-American and finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting.

McDonald would lead the Trojans to an upset of the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl, as USC won the game 17-16 with a late touchdown by White. The Trojans would finish second in the country, due to a tie they had against Stanford earlier in the season.

Wikipedia reveals McDonald finished his college career with a 22-1-1 record in his two years as a starter, holding the NCAA record for the lowest interception percentage in a career. It was 2.3 per cent with 13 interceptions in 561 attempts. In 2005, he received the NCAA Silver Anniversary award, presented to six distinguished former student-athletes on their 25th anniversary as college graduates.

Going pro
Paul McDonald entered the 1980 NFL Draft where he was selected in the fourth round and 109th overall by the Cleveland Browns. It was the same team that had drafted his college teammate Charles White.

He would spend four years backing up Brian Sipe.

Sipe was a solid starter who helped the Browns to the playoffs in 1980. There, he threw an ill-advised pass into the end zone that was intercepted, and forever after called the “Mistake on the lake”. That was McDonald’s first season backing up Sipe.

The first time I saw Paul McDonald play in a Browns uniform, and only time actually, was in 1982. It was a Sunday afternoon and my cousins from Lethbridge were visiting. We turned the TV and flipped through the channels – which did not take long because there were only three.

We came upon the Browns playing on CTV, Channel 13 on the peasant vision dial. My cousins weren’t into sports at all then, and just kept talking as I settled in to the last few minutes of the game.

Much to my surprise Paul McDonald was playing quarterback for the Browns. I wasn’t even sure it was the same player I saw a couple years earlier in the Rose Bowl – until he rolled out to throw the ball.

He was left-handed. It had to be the same Paul McDonald.

I recall him trying to rally the Browns late, but falling short.

Still, it was cool to see he had made the NFL. Back then, I had little access to information on the farm.It was not as easy to follow the trajectory of players once they finished college, as it is now with no end of information available on the Internet.

It turns out, McDonald filled in for an injured Brian Sipe the last three games of the 1982 season, winning two, losing one, and helping the Browns make the playoffs. That year, a strike shortened the season. Consequently, the playoffs were expanded to 16 teams, eight in each conference. Cleveland squeaked in with a 4-5 record and were the eighth seed. They played the Raiders again, who were the number one seed. McDonald started, and the result was the same as two years earlier. The Raiders won by a score of 27-10, as McDonald threw for 281 yards and one touchdowns but no interceptions.

I missed the game because my family went to Lethbridge to shop for groceries.

Sipe regained his starting job in 1983 then, in 1984, bolted for the upstart United States Football League.

This was Paul McDonald’s opportunity. He was given the starting job for the 1984 season. He turned in a 5-11 record, which is likely why I never saw him play that year. He threw for 3,472 yards and 14 touchdowns, but was intercepted 23 times and sacked an incredible 53 times.

He did have some highlights though. Wikipedia reveals he threw for a career-high 320 yards and went 23 of 37 for a percentage of 62.2 and one touchdown against New England. Against New Orleans he had a career-high 75 percent completion rate, going 18 out of 24. He also completed 13 consecutive passes against the Houston Oilers.

However, his time had passed. In 1985, the Browns had Gary Danielson and took Bernie Kosar in the supplemental draft, dropping McDonald to third string. The next year, 1986, Cleveland acquired Mike Pagel, and McDonald was waived by the Browns.

He ended his time in Cleveland passing for 5,269 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 37 interceptions.

He signed with Seattle in July of 1986 but was cut when they decided to only keep two quarterbacks. He caught on with Dallas in November of 1986, but never played a down with the Cowboys.

He was released in August of 1988, and retired soon after.

Parting thoughts
It is interesting how success in college can, or cannot, translate into success at the professional level. On the surface, Paul McDonald had junior and senior seasons many college quarterbacks dream about.He won a share of one national championship, came within a game of another championship, and lost just one start in those two seasons.

When he got his chance to start in the NFL, he went 5-11. On the surface, that is a failure.

Yet, when I was reading about McDonald, I noticed something. At USC, he had Anthony Munoz blocking for him at tackle. He would be drafted third overall in the same draft as McDonald, and go on to a hall of fame career in the NFL. Conversely, when McDonald went 5-11, he was sacked 53 times.

Obviously, the Browns had trouble giving him time in the pocket to throw.

Nevertheless, he had a stellar college career.

I only saw him play once, but he played well, showing leadership and poise in engineering an upset of the number one team in the country.

He also introduced me to the idea of a left-handed quarterback. It was so neat to see a quarterback doing things differently than every other quarterback.

Put that all together, and those are some cool football memories.

Thanks Paul.