Stan Gelbaugh

Although Gelbaugh was resigned for the 1993 season, his only appearance came in relief of injured starter Rick Mirer in the fourth quarter of a game against the New England Patriots. He then spent two years on the bench, only making a brief appearance in the 1994 season finale. In 1996, he started the last regular season game against the Raiders, but was injured on the second series of downs after tearing a groin muscle. Gelbaugh retired after the 1996 season.

Gelbaugh later announced that he would return to the Monarchs for the 1992 WLAF season; although he was contractually obligated to return, he viewed it as another opportunity for him to showcase his talents for a possible NFL return. Before his return, he was signed by the Seattle Seahawks, who picked him up as a Plan B free agent. He signed with Seattle because the Seahawks' offensive coordinator, Larry Kennan, was his coach with the Monarchs.

His numbers were down slightly from his MVP season a year earlier; he finished the season with 1,966 yards, and 11 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. Although the league suspended play after the 1992 season, Gelbaugh did not want to return anyway, citing the stress of two seasons in one year as too much.

Gelbaugh joined the Seahawks for the 1992 season, planning to be the third-string quarterback behind Dan McGwire and Kelly Stouffer. His first appearance came in relief of McGwire in week 7 against the Dallas Cowboys, but he threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown, and the Seahawks lost 27-0. With McGwire on injured reserve and Stouffer injured, Gelbaugh got the start the following week against the Los Angeles Raiders, but the Seahawks were shut out for the second consecutive week. He started the next two games, both Seahawks losses, while waiting for Stouffer to return from his shoulder injury.

He signed with the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1990 offseason as a free agent. Even though coach Sam Wyche thought he was good enough to be a starter, he was cut before training camp was completed. In 1990, he was selling photocopiers and fax machines to make money while still looking for a job in football; he would later remark that he would sooner face a blitz than deal with secretaries.

In the spring of 1990, the National Football League set up a developmental league for players, with several teams in Europe, called the World League of American Football. Jim Haslett, a former teammate of Gelbaugh's with the Bills, was an assistant coach with the Sacramento Surge. Haslett convinced Gelbaugh to give up selling office equipment and come back to football. The plan was for the Surge to draft Gelbaugh in the league's supplemental draft. However, the Surge passed on Gelbaugh and picked Anthony Henton, a linebacker. He ended up with the London Monarchs. London's head coach was Larry Kennan, who had worked out Gelbaugh while Kennan was an assistant with the Los Angeles Raiders. Gelbaugh didn't think the job would last, and even after being drafted, made plans to get his teaching certificate and teach at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland.

Gelbaugh was selected in the sixth round (150th overall) of the 1986 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. On August 18, he was waived after not being able to pass Reggie Collier on the depth chart.

Gelbaugh signed with the Buffalo Bills in November 1986, and served as Jim Kelly's backup (he was active in 5 games). He injured his elbow during training camp the following year, and was placed on injured reserve. In 1988, he was waived and re-signed later in the week, though he still did not see any playing time and was active in only three games. Despite being waived three times by the Bills in 1989, he did see some action at the end of a game against the New York Jets, taking a knee to end the game. All told, during his time with the Bills, he was signed and waived four times.

He spent his first two and a half years punting and as the backup to Boomer Esiason in 1983 and Frank Reich in the 1984 season. After Reich went down with a shoulder injury in Week 4 against Wake Forest, Gelbaugh took over the starting role. After a loss to Penn State in which he set a school record with 48 pass attempts, Gelbaugh and the Terps reeled off three straight victories. In Week 9, while visiting Bernie Kosar and the defending national champion Miami Hurricanes, the Hurricanes jumped out to a 31-0 lead at halftime. Gelbaugh was replaced by Reich, who led the Terps to a thrilling 42-40 comeback in the second half, a then- record comeback in college football history.

Stanley Morris Gelbaugh (born December 4, 1962) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills, Phoenix Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks. He attained his greatest success in the World League of American Football with the London Monarchs, where he was the league's Offensive Most Valuable Player in its inaugural season. He played college football at the University of Maryland.