FIFTY YEARS AGO, Joe Namath was in the backseat of a limousine, riding down Park Avenue on his way to film a TV commercial at a Manhattan studio. He was one of the most recognizable athletes in America -- a Super Bowl MVP, a movie star and a prolific pitchman. He had appeared in dozens of commercials, endorsing everything from shaving cream to popcorn makers to typewriters.
On that day in 1974, he was accompanied by his attorney, Jimmy Walsh, a close friend from their college days at Alabama. He was -- and still is -- Namath's consigliere, fiercely protective of the "Broadway Joe" brand.