Sonny Sixkiller is one of the top rated quarterbacks in the history of Washington football.

An all-state QB from Ashland high school in Oregon, Sixkiller became the starting quarterback for the Washington Huskies in 1970 after a disappointing '69 season in which the team was only 1-9. 

The Huskies were known as a running team...
this was an era before anyone dreamed up the pass-happy West Coast offense. The ground-chewing wishbone formation which made the 1969 Texas Longhorns national champions was then the rage of college football.

But when then-coach Jim Owens saw Sixkiller's ability to throw a football, he completely revamped the offense to an air show.

The 6ft 188 pound Sixkiller introduced himself to the nation by completing 16 of 35 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns to upset Michigan State 42-16.  It was his first varsity game, and the Associated Press named him national back of the week. 

During the the 1970 season he would also complete  30 of 50 passes for 360 yards against Oregon State, and was 30-for-57 for 341 yards against USC. He hit 18 of 35 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns against favored UCLA in a 61-20 UW victory. Under Sonny's aerial assault the Huskies finished 6-4 in 1970. 

Hopes were high beginning the 1971 season as Washington reeled off four consecutive victories over UC Santa Barbara, Purdue, TCU and Illinois. So high was the fever pitch that a local DJ penned "The Ballad Of Sonny Sixkiller" which aired constantly on local Seattle stations for the majority of the fall of 1971. It even received some national air play. Sixkiller, the descendant of a Cherokee chief, had these immortal words written about him:

"He grew up into a proud young man
determined breed, he left his land
Put down his arrows, hung up his shield
and became a warrior on the football field!"

The "71 Huskies would finish the season with an 8-3 winning record.

The nucleus of the 1972 football squad was a fantastic group of players that started the stunning resurgence of Husky football in 1970. In 1972 they won their first five games before losing to Stanford. The '72 team would end up with an identical record of the '71 team of 8 wins and 3 losses. Sonny Sixkiller was a big spark to the Husky football program. 

During his college career he passed for 5,496 yards ranking him third in school history, He sits atop the school lists in passing yards per completion and passing attempts per game.

Sixkiller wasn’t drafted into the NFL and his pro career was short-lived. He tried to latch on with the Los Angeles Rams, but they kept draftee Ron Jaworski and veterans John Hadl and James Harris. In 1974, he spent time with Toronto of the Canadian Football League, then in the World Football League with Philadelphia and Hawaii. His football career ended when, invited to compete as Dan Fouts’ backup with the San Diego Chargers in 1976, he was unable to try out because of an injured rotator cuff.

Washington has certainly had their share of great players over the years, but none so famous perhaps as All American QB Sonny Sixkiller.