It took a while, but Plunkett won the big one — twice

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Jim Plunkett traveled a long, hard road to Super Bowl glory — and now he’s paying the price.

Plunkett led the Raiders to two championships, but only after he endured seven years of punishment on bad Patriots and 49ers teams. He spent eight more seasons with the Raiders, enjoying long-sought success but still absorbing countless crunching hits.

This explains the lingering pain he feels today, at age 67. Plunkett has had 18 surgeries, including two knee replacements, one shoulder replacement and several operations on his back and neck.

Every time he attends an NFL game — and he seldom misses a Raiders home game — he realizes again why he hurts all the time.

“I stand on the sideline sometimes and watch them hit each other, and you can almost feel the vibration,” Plunkett said. “I think, ‘I used to do that?’ If I got hit like that now, I’d literally break, like a stick figure.”

Plunkett made a point of saying he’s not complaining about his health. He always understood football’s violent nature, he has many friends in worse shape, and he merely was answering questions about the physical toll the game took on him.

Also, in retrospect, youthful bravado probably played a role in his various injuries.

Los Angeles Raiders vs Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII .. Jim Plunkett hands off to Marcus Allen in first quarter action Marcus Allen would set rushing records for the longest touchdown run in Super Bowl history, and most yards gained in a Super Bowl game AP photo Photo ran1/23/1984, P. 45 less Los Angeles Raiders vs Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII .. Jim Plunkett hands off to Marcus Allen in first quarter action Marcus Allen would set rushing records for the longest touchdown run in Super ... more Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close It took a while, but Plunkett won the big one — twice 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

“It was my style of play,” Plunkett said. “When I first got in the league, I took on linebackers — you couldn’t slide in the old days. I learned my lesson, because they were knocking the crap out of me.”

The poundings subsided a bit when Raiders owner Al Davis plucked Plunkett off the scrap heap (a signature Davis move) in 1979. The next season, he replaced Dan Pastorini at quarterback during an early-October loss to Kansas City, which dropped the Raiders to 2-3.

Plunkett started the final 11 regular-season games — and the Raiders went 9-2.

They also dispatched the Oilers, Browns and Chargers in the playoffs, on their way to Super Bowl XV. That’s where the Raiders faced the Eagles, who had sacked Plunkett eight times in grinding out a 10-7 win over Oakland two months earlier.

Plunkett, naturally, worried about pass protection heading into the Super Bowl. He also savored his chance to win a title, so he joined his teammates out on the town their first night in New Orleans — and then sequestered himself in his hotel room.

Plunkett taped a sheet of plays to the wall each night — this was long before laptops and iPads — and studied as if he were taking a final exam at Stanford. It worked: He threw three touchdown passes and earned MVP honors as the Raiders won 27-10.

“I wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to let anybody down,” Plunkett said. “I worked my butt off. I wasn’t going to be the cause if we came up short.

“All that work and concentration paid off. I got a lot of validation, because a lot of people counted me out years earlier.”

Three years later, after the Raiders moved to Los Angeles, Plunkett took them back to the Super Bowl. He considered that team much better than the ’80 edition, with Marcus Allen running for more than 1,000 yards, tight end Todd Christensen catching 92 passes and Howie Long, Reggie Kinlaw and Lester Hayes anchoring the defense.

The Raiders romped again, this time 38-9 over Washington.

That completed a remarkable career renaissance for the quarterback who grew up in San Jose and won the Heisman Trophy at Stanford. Plunkett finished his career at 72-72 as a starter, divided neatly between his time with the Patriots and 49ers (34-53) and his days with the Raiders (38-19).

“I obviously appreciate both Super Bowl wins very much,” he said. “I always felt I could play in the NFL. You get knocked down, just keep getting up.”

That’s what Plunkett did, more times than he cares to remember. He would do it all over again, too, even with the constant pain he endures in his 60s.

“I loved playing and loved to compete,” Plunkett said. “There’s nothing like running onto the field with 100,000 people cheering for you or against you. It’s a great stage.”

Ron Kroichick is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: rkroichick@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ronkroichick

Editor’s note: In the weeks running up to Super Bowl 50, to be played Feb. 7 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, The Chronicle recounts the memorable players, games and venues that make up the event’s storied history.