Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning, the second son of Archie and Olivia Manning, was born March 24, 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana. From an early age, Peyton was athletic and loved the game of football. The Manning children grew up in a spacious home, built in 1853, in the Garden District of New Orleans. He was very close to this father and his only bad memories of childhood are when his father was not present, playing ball for the Oilers and the Vikings.

Archie’s last NFL season was in 1984 and the family moved with him to Minneapolis. In 1985 they returned to New Orleans. Peyton enrolled in Isidore Newman School, and hoped to play football in their sixth grade program. Newman cancelled the sixth grade program, but Peyton finally got his chance in 1988, hoping to play quarterback or defensive back. Peyton won the starting quarterback position at Newman his sophomore year. Peyton played in front of college scouts his senior year at Newman. With pressure on him to attend Ole Miss, on January 25, 1994, Peyton announced he would be attending the University of Tennessee. Peyton holds numerous records at Tennessee as well as the SEC. While at Tennessee, Peyton finished second in voting for the Heisman Trophy.

Manning was first overall pick in the NFL Draft and selected by the Indianapolis Colts in 1998. During his career with the Colts he has received many awards and NFL records, including the MVP (Most Valuable Player) Award. He has won the award an impressive three times; in 2003, sharing the MVP award with Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair, in 2004 and in 2008. The PeyBack Foundation was established, for disadvantaged children, in 1999 by Peyton Manning with the center of attention being a three state region. These states are Indiana, Louisiana and Tennessee. The foundation assists programs for children at risk.