Football career

Palumbis was a highly-recruited quarterback from Lakeridge High School

Lakeridge High School

Lakeridge High School is a public high school located in Lake Oswego, Oregon and opened in 1971.-Academics:In 1987, Lakeridge High School was honored in the Blue Ribbon Schools Program, the highest honor a school can receive in the United States....

 in Lake Oswego, Oregon

Lake Oswego, Oregon

Lake Oswego is a city located primarily in Clackamas County in the U.S. state of Oregon. Small portions of the city are also located in neighboring Multnomah and Washington counties. Located south of Portland surrounding the Oswego Lake, the town was founded in 1847 and incorporated as Oswego in...

 who played 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 Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

. The 6' 3", 200 lb. Palumbis was Stanford's primary starting

Starting lineup

A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...

 quarterback from 1988 to 1990. In 1990, he set Stanford's single-season completion percentage record (.686 on 234 completions out of 341 attempts), a record that still stands. After a slow start in the 1991 season, Palumbis lost the starting role to Steve Stenstrom

Steve Stenstrom

Steve Stenstrom is a former professional American football quarterback.-College career:Stenstrom was the starting quarterback at Stanford University from 1991 to 1994, and still holds most of Stanford's passing records:*Total yards, career: 9,825*Passing yards gained, career: 10,531*Passing yards...

.

1990 Big Game

Palumbis was Stanford's quarterback during one of Stanford's most dramatic comeback victories: the 93rd Big Game

Big Game (football)

The Big Game is an American college football rivalry game played by the California Golden Bears football team of the University of California, Berkeley and the Stanford Cardinal football team of Stanford University. It is typically played in late November or early December...

, played on November 17, 1990. In the game, which many Stanford fans consider to be the revenge for "The Play

The Play

The Play refers to a last-second kickoff return during a college football game between the and the Stanford University Cardinal on Saturday, November 20, 1982...

" eight years earlier, Stanford trailed 25-18 late in the game. With 12 seconds left, Palumbis threw a 19 yard touchdown pass to Ed McCaffrey

Ed McCaffrey

Edward Thomas McCaffrey is a former American football wide receiver who played for the New York Giants , San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos of the National Football League...

 to make the score 25-24. Stanford failed to convert the two-point conversion

Two-point conversion

In American and Canadian football, a two-point conversion is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point convert immediately after it scores a touchdown...

, and the Cal

California Golden Bears

The California Golden Bears is the nickname used for 29 varsity athletic programs and various club teams of the University of California, Berkeley...

 fans rushed the field, thinking the game to be all but over. Cal was penalized 15 yards for delay of the game while the field had to be cleared, and Stanford's Dan Byers recovered the ensuing onside kick

Onside kick

In American and Canadian football, an onside kick is a type of kick used at a kickoff or other free kick, or scrimmage kick or other kick during play, in which the ball is kicked favorably for the kicking team to avoid giving away the ball...

. As Palumbis tried to get Stanford in field goal range, his pass to McCaffrey fell short, but a Cal defender was called for roughing Palumbis. Stanford kicker John Hopkins

John Hopkins (football)

John Hopkins is a former college football placekicker who played for Stanford University from 1987 to 1990.Hopkins' biggest game at Stanford was also his last: the 93rd Big Game, played on November 17, 1990. In the game, Stanford scored with twelve seconds left but still trailed Cal 25-24. Hopkins...

 connected on a 39-yard field goal as time expired, giving Stanford the 27-25 victory.

After football

Palumbis played briefly for the San Antonio Force

San Antonio Force

The San Antonio Force was an Arena Football League team that competed in the 1992 season only. They played their home games at HemisFair Arena, then the home of the San Antonio Spurs...

 in the Arena Football League before retiring from football. He lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon

Lake Oswego, Oregon

Lake Oswego is a city located primarily in Clackamas County in the U.S. state of Oregon. Small portions of the city are also located in neighboring Multnomah and Washington counties. Located south of Portland surrounding the Oswego Lake, the town was founded in 1847 and incorporated as Oswego in...

.