On Jan. 31, 1988, Doug Williams led the Washington Redskins—now known as the Washington Commanders—to the team’s first championship, scoring four of the team’s five touchdowns.  In the process, he became the NFL’s first African-American quarterback to start in a Super Bowl, setting multiple postseason records and leaving behind a legacy still reflected in the game’s top signal callers of today.

Williams reached the Super Bowl following a career that began at Grambling State University, a Louisiana HBCU. He was selected in the first round of the 1978 draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the recommendation of Joe Gibbs, the team’s offensive coordinator at the time. Nine seasons later, Williams was playing for Gibbs, who was then head coach in Washington, when he earned the starting nod for Super Bowl XXII.

The Broncos took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, fueled by a 56-yard touchdown pass from John Elway to Ricky Nattiel. During the opening period, Williams sustained a knee injury that required him to leave the field for two plays, but he came back to direct an offense that scored a Super Bowl record 35 points in one quarter.

The scoring surge included an 80-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Sanders, tying the record for the longest pass in a Super Bowl at that time. Williams followed with touchdown passes to Gary Clark, a second to Sanders for 50 yards, and an eight-yard throw to Clint Didier. He also handed off to Timmy Smith for a 58-yard touchdown run. By halftime, Williams had recorded 306 passing yards, coming within 25 yards of the full-game record.

By the end of the contest, Williams had thrown four touchdowns, tying the record for the most in a single Super Bowl game. He also surpassed the total passing yardage record of 331 yards previously set by Joe Montana. Sanders and Smith also set individual records during the game, with 193 receiving yards and 204 rushing yards, respectively.

The achievement in 1988 served as a point of reference for the inclusion of Black athletes at the quarterback position. Three other Black quarterbacks have since won Super Bowls as starters: the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, and Russell Wilson, who played last season with the New York Giants but won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks.