ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Frank Tripucka was the first quarterback for the Broncos and the original No. 18 in Denver. His number was retired until 2012 when he gladly and graciously allowed Peyton Manning to wear it. Tripucka died Thursday at his home in Woodland Park, N.J., at age 85. His son, Kelly Tripucka, a former Notre Dame basketball standout, said his father died of congestive heart failure. "He is proudly remembered as one of professional footballs first great drop-back quarterbacks," the Broncos said in a statement. "Frank will always hold a very special place in Broncos history for what he meant to this organization and community." A former standout at Notre Dame, Tripucka joined the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1953 and stayed with the team until he was dealt to the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1959. He rejoined Saskatchewan in a coaching capacity later that year. Tripucka also played for the Detroit Lions, Chicago Cardinals and Dallas Texans. He was brought in as a coach before the 1960 season, but it became obvious he was Denvers best option at QB. Tripucka threw for 3,038 yards and 24 touchdowns that season. Hes also credited with tossing the first touchdown pass in American Football League history, a 59-yard connection to Al Carmichael. His number was one of three retired by the Broncos, but Tripucka graciously gave Manning permission to wear it when he joined the team two years ago. At the time, Tripucka said: "If Peyton wants the number, they should give it to him. They definitely should." Manning threw for seven touchdowns in a season-opening win over Baltimore last week, breaking Tripuckas team record of five set against Buffalo on Oct. 28, 1962, and later tied by John Elway and Gus Frerotte. Manning also threw for 462 yards against the Ravens, moving him past Tripucka and into a third-place tie for most in a game in franchise history. Tripucka threw for 447 in that Buffalo game. Tripucka spent four seasons with the Broncos and played in the 62 AFL All-Star Game. He returned to Saskatchewan in 1963 for a final season as a player with the Riders. In 96 CFL regular-season games over eight seasons, Tripucka threw for 15,506 yards and 87 touchdowns. He was inducted into the Broncos Ring of Fame in 1986. At Notre Dame, Tripucka led the Irish to a 9-0-1 record and a No. 2 ranking in 1948. Before becoming the starter, Tripucka was a backup to Heisman Trophy winner John Lujack, who led the Irish to back-to-back national championships. As a senior, Tripucka threw for 660 yards and 11 touchdowns as the Irish won all their games except for a tie with USC. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles with the ninth overall selection in 1949. Funeral arrangements were pending. He is survived by his wife, Randy, and seven children. Mitchell Marner Jersey .com) - Troy Brouwer scored the game-winning goal with just 12. Tiger Williams Jersey . Notes on P.K. Subban, Dale Weise, Erik Haula, Mikael Granlund, Ilya Bryzgalov and more. http://www.officialmapleleafspro.com/Mike-palmateer-maple-leafs-jersey/ .C. - The housecleaning continues for the B. Mats Sundin Jersey . Olsen, who is 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds, can play either centre or guard. The 25-year-old Olsen played 16 games and made four starts in 2012 with the New Orleans Saints. Felix Potvin Jersey . -- The Chicago Bears have agreed to terms with safety Brock Vereen and QB David Fales on four-year contracts.LAS VEGAS -- Nick Johnson scored 16 points, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 12 and Arizona ran away from tired Colorado in a dominating second half to rout the Buffaloes 63-43 in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals Friday night Unlike its last win over Colorado, Arizona (30-3) started slow, allowing the Buffaloes to keep it close at halftime. Playing its third game in as many days, Colorado had no chance at stopping the Wildcats once they got rolling, succumbing to Arizonas defensive pressure and string of highlight-reel plays. Arizona shot 60 per cent in the second half and held Colorado (23-11) to 5-of-22 shooting in the final 20 minutes to earn a spot Saturdays championship game against UCLA or Stanford. T.J. McConnell added 12 points, five assists and four rebounds for the Wildcats in front of a pro-Arizona crowd at MGM Grand Garden Arena that made it feel like McKale Center West. Askia Booker had 20 points to lead Colorado, which has a two-day wait to see if the NCAA tournament selection committee deems them worthy of the bracket. Arizona put on a show in its tournament opener, flexing its defensive muscles for everyone to see with an overwhelming quarterfinal victory over Utah. The Wildcats held the Utes to 13 first-half points, 39 overall, 12 field goals and 25 per cent shooting -- all tournament records. The 32-point margin also matched the largest in tournament history. Arizona pulled a similar smothering act on Colorado in the teams last meeting. After a 12-point loss in Tucson, Colorados Xavier Johnson proclaimed Arizona wasnt that good and that the Buffaloes would beat the Wildcats bby 20, even with leading scorer Spencer Dinwiddie out for the season.dddddddddddd. The Wildcats turned the slight into a fury, holding Colorado without a field goal for the opening 10 minutes and shooting 84 per cent in the second half an 88-61 win -- their first in Boulder since 1973. The Buffaloes got off to a better start this time, scoring 8 1/2 minutes sooner. Colorado still had trouble with Arizonas amoebic defence, though, going 10 of 29 from the floor in the first half. But the Buffaloes had something up their sleeve: A little defence of their own. Contesting shots and digging down on the post for steals, Colorado made life much more difficult than it had back in Boulder, allowing them to stay in the game. The Buffaloes held Arizona to 11-of-29 shooting and forced eight turnovers -- five by centre Kaleb Tarczewski -- that led to 11 points. Colorado held Arizona scoreless for over 4 minutes during a 10-2 run that helped the Buffaloes trim Arizonas nine-point lead to 27-24 at halftime. The second half looked more like the game in Boulder. Arizona picked up the defensive intensity even more and started pouring out the highlights to extend the lead. Johnson had one, flying in for a reverse alley-oop dunk and Hollis-Jefferson matched him with a tomahawk dunk over Josh Scott. Gordon provided one on the defensive end not long after that, soaring up for a clean swat on Johnsons one-handed dunk attempt that sent Arizonas fans bursting out of their seats. In just a couple of minutes, the Wildcats were up 51-32 thanks to a 13-0 run, well on their way to the Pac-12 title game. Wholesale USA Soccer Jerseysdiscount uswnt jerseyWholesale AC Milan JerseysWholesale Arsenal JerseysWholesale A.S. Roma JerseysWholesale Atletico Madrid JerseysWholesale Chelsea JerseysCheap Barcelona JerseysBayern Munich Jerseys For SaleCheap Borussia Dortmund JerseysCheap Inter Milan JerseysJuventus Jerseys From ChinaLeicester City Jerseys For SaleDiscount Liverpool JerseysWholesale Manchester City JerseysManchester United Jerseys For SaleWholesale Paris Saint-Germain JerseysReal Madrid Jerseys From ChinaCheap Sevilla JerseysAuthentic Tottenham Hotspur Jerseys ' ' '