Alabama's AJ McCarron Wins the 2013 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award

Gerald Haddock is a member of the Board of the Golden Arm Foundation. It just announced AJ McCarron as being the recipient of the 2013 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ray Weiss or Jessica Trzyna
443-451-7144 or rweiss@weissprassociates.com

ALABAMA'S AJ McCARRON WINS THE
2013 JOHNNY UNITAS GOLDEN ARM AWARD

BALTIMORE, MD (12/9/13) --- Alabama Quarterback AJ McCarron is the winner of the 2013 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, presented annually by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc. and Transamerica. 

McCarron had an outstanding year in leading the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide to an 11-1 record, completing 67.6% of his passes for 2,676 yards and 26 touchdowns against only 5 interceptions. 

A top leader known for his ability to orchestrate an offense, McCarron compiled a 34-2 record (.943) as a starter at Alabama. He holds the Alabama record for throwing 30 touchdown passes in 2012, and once went 291 pass attempts without throwing an interception (the second-longest streak in SEC history). 

McCarron, who was a finalist for last year's Golden Arm Award, was selected from an original field of 30 in the annual competition to name the top college quarterback in the nation. Other finalists for the 2013 award included Tajh Boyd (Clemson), Derek Carr (Fresno State), Jordan Lynch (Northern Illinois), and Aaron Murray (Georgia). 

The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award is named after the man many refer to as the greatest quarterback ever to play the game of football. Johnny Unitas was an 18-year veteran of the NFL, who played his collegiate career at the University of Louisville before joining the Baltimore Colts in 1958. His career passing figures include 2,830 pass completions for 40,239 yards, 290 touchdowns, and throwing a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games. 

Candidates for the Golden Arm Award − which has been presented at the end of each college football season since 1987 - must be college seniors or fourth-year juniors on schedule to graduate with their class. In addition to the accomplishments on the field, candidates are judged on their character, citizenship, scholastic achievement, and leadership qualities. 

Past Golden Arm Award winners include: Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997); Carson Palmer (USC, 2002); Eli Manning (Ole Miss, 2003); Matt Ryan (Boston College, 2007); Colt McCoy (Texas, 2009); and Andrew Luck (Stanford, 2011). 

McCarron will receive the 2013 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award at a ceremony to be held this coming Friday, December 13, 6-9 p.m., at the Embassy Suites Baltimore Inner Harbor & Grand Historic Venue, 225 N. Charles Street in downtown Baltimore. 

The ceremony will feature remarks by one of Johnny Unitas' favorite targets during his years with the Baltimore Colts, NFL Hall of Famer Raymond Berry. Proceeds from the Golden Arm Award help to support the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation. The Foundation provides financial assistance to underprivileged and deserving young scholar-athletes throughout Maryland and Kentucky. 

The namesake of the Golden Arm Award has a storied football history. Inducted into Pro Football'Ss Hall of Fame in 1979, Johnny Unitas was named the top quarterback of all-time in commemorations of the NFL's 25th, 50th, and 75th anniversaries. In turn-of-the-century listings, he was named to Sports Illustrated's list of top 10 athletes, Time Magazine'Ss list of 10 most influential athletes, and ESPN'Ss series on the 50 greatest athletes of the century 

In addition to Transamerica, sponsors of the Golden Arm Award include: Andretti Sports Marketing, Athlon Sports, The Babe Ruth and Sports Legends Museum, Baltimore Sun Media Group, Bloomberg Television, Century Engineering, Coach for America, Comcast, Dunbar Armored and Dunbar Digital Armor, The Embassy Suites Baltimore Inner Harbor & Grand Historic Venue, GEICO, Haddock Investments, HMS Insurance Associates, Inc., Metropolis Funding, Panini, TRAY Inc., The Scott Garceau Show, MedStar Union Memorial Sports Medicine, VAE Visual Aid Electronics Corp, VPC Inc., Weiss PR, Woodberry Kitchen, Wilson Sporting Goods, and ZBest Executive & Global Transportation Services. 


To learn more about the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, visit:

http://www.transamerica.com/about_us/johnny_unitas_golden_arm_award.asp

http://www.goldenarmfoundation.com

Board Members

Johnny Unitas 1933-2002
Founder
Honorary Chairman
1987-2002

Directors

John C. Unitas, Jr.
President

John C. Unitas, III
Secretary/Treasurer

Jillian L. Unitas
Director of Marketing & Communications

Advisory Committee

Bill Tate
Chief Marketing Officer
Transamerica

Bradley S. Chambers 
President
MedStar Union Memorial Hospital

Francis X. Smyth
CEO
Century Engineering, Inc.

James Lobosca
General Manager
The Embassy Suites Baltimore Inner Harbor & Grand Historic Venue

Gerald Haddock
President
Haddock Investments

Raymond Berry
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Baltimore Colts

Brooks Robinson
Baseball Hall of Fame
Baltimore Orioles

Ray Weiss
President
Weiss PR Associates