Ferragamo Was No Space Cadet, but His Brain Sometimes Scattered

Vince Ferragamo was once described as “the most enigmatic quarterback in Ram history.” Though he was smart enough to be accepted into the Creighton Medical School, he occasionally was the object of jokes that poked fun at his scatterbrained tendencies.

He sometimes made up plays in the huddle, scratching them in the dirt like a kid in a sandlot game. Before a playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys in 1983, Ferragamo asked a reporter, “If we win, we go to San Francisco, right?” Wrong. The Rams went to Washington.

Ferragamo didn’t like being called a space cadet--”I had a 3.6 grade-point average in college,” he said--but he doesn’t dispute his occasional absent-minded professor status.

In his rookie season, 1977, Ferragamo led a second-half comeback against the Redskins, cutting a 17-0 deficit to 17-14 in the fourth quarter. The Rams had fourth and eight just outside the Washington 40-yard line, and the Redskins were in a prevent defense, guarding against the pass.

Ferragamo called a sweep to Cullen Bryant, who rushed for 12 yards and a first down, putting the Rams in field-goal range.

“The announcers were raving about the call and how I totally fooled the defense,” Ferragamo said. “I thought it was third down.”