His father, known as "Buddy", was interested in Archie's sports activities, but the nature of his job left him little if any time for attending games.

Instead, Archie III drew his inspiration from a local high school sports star, James Hobson.

[3] Manning was selected in the Major League Baseball draft four times, first in 1967 by the Braves, twice by the White Sox, and finally by the Royals in 1971.

[4] In the summer of 1969, his father Buddy Manning, facing financial struggles and having suffered a stroke, died by suicide.

Manning attended the University of Mississippi in Oxford and was the starting quarterback at Ole Miss for three years under legendary head coach Johnny Vaught.

[14][failed verification] Manning was the second overall pick in the 1971 NFL draft and played for the New Orleans Saints for ten full seasons.

For example, although Manning was sacked 337 times during his Saints career,[18] Sports Illustrated senior writer Paul Zimmerman wrote in 2007 that the number should have been even higher than that.

Zimmerman wrote that opposing defensive linemen, "Jack Youngblood in particular" as well as most of the division rival Rams, were known to take it easy on the poorly protected Manning and not hit him as hard as they could.

[19][20] For his part, Manning seemed to appreciate Youngblood's kindness, telling the Los Angeles Times on September 23, 1974, "The Rams front four is the best I ever faced ...

He even stated that Youngblood should have let him be his presenter when he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001, saying, "He wouldn't have gotten in without having me to sack.

Manning continues to make his home in New Orleans, though he also owns a condo in Oxford, Mississippi, to which he relocated following Hurricane Katrina.

Working with his three sons, Cooper, Peyton, and Eli, Archie hosts the Manning Passing Academy each summer.

Cooper was diagnosed with spinal stenosis prior to his freshman year of college, which ended his football career.

Eli, who played 16 years in the NFL, won two Super Bowls in 2008 and 2012, earning the MVP award for both games.

Cooper's son, Arch, the top-rated high school quarterback in the class of 2023, is a member of the University of Texas football squad.