Joseph Anthony Pisarcik (born July 2, 1952, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...

) is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

 who played in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 for eight seasons, from 1977 through 1984 after playing college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at New Mexico State University

New Mexico State University

New Mexico State University at Las Cruces , is a major land-grant university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States...

. His first professional team was the Calgary Stampeders

Calgary Stampeders

The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...

 of the Canadian Football League

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

, where he played from 1974 to 1976. He began his NFL career with the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

, and is best remembered for his role in a November 19, 1978, game where the Giants, ahead 17-12 with only seconds to play and their opponent out of time-outs, lost after his handoff (a play called by offensive coordinator

Offensive coordinator

An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...

 Bob Gibson

Bob Gibson (football coach)

-External links:...

 over Pisarcik's objections) to Larry Csonka

Larry Csonka

Larry Richard Csonka is a former collegiate and professional American football fullback.-Childhood:One of six children, Csonka was born in Stow, Ohio where he was raised on a farm by his Hungarian family...

 was fumbled and returned for a touchdown by Herman Edwards

Herman Edwards

Herman "Herm" Edwards, Jr. is an American football analyst who most recently coached in the National Football League for the Kansas City Chiefs. He was fired from this position on January 23, 2009. Since then, he has been hired as a football analyst for ESPN...

 of the Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

. The play has since been referred to as "The Fumble" by Giants fans and "The Miracle at the Meadowlands

The Miracle at the Meadowlands

The Miracle at the Meadowlands is the term used by sportscasters and Philadelphia Eagles fans for a fumble recovery by cornerback Herman Edwards that he returned for a touchdown at the end of a November 19, 1978 NFL game against the New York Giants in Giants Stadium...

" by Eagles fans. Pisarcik signed with the Eagles in 1980 after the Giants had released him, where he played until retiring after the end of the 1984 season

1984 NFL season

The 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana....

.

He remains in the New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

area, where he works as a broker for ICAP Securities. He has five children: Kristin, Lindsey, Jake, Joseph and Katie.