I'm at least 10, maybe 15 years out of date on MAME, and I won't even try to talk about frontends.

I don't know anything about this game, but look for a controller that's a good match to the arcade hardware you care most about replicating. Are you saying you need analog? Most arcade games use digital joysticks. If digital, did this game uses microswitch joysticks/buttons or were they leaf switches?
You can open a lot of options by using an adapter that lets you use joysticks intended for game consoles.

Ever since the 1v1 fighting game craze, there have been premium joysticks made for consoles that use arcade quality microswitch parts. Not the mainstream ones from Sega/Nintendo/etc - the arcade quality joysticks were made by small obscure companies and were expensive, so their population is low. As such it's hard to predict what you might find 2nd hand at a low cost. If you don't mind the high price for buying new, there's probably still arcade sticks being made for PS5 or whatever, and maybe even for PC.

For example, I have an "Arcadian" microswitch stick intended for the Sega Genesis which I sometimes connect to PC using an adapter. There were similar joysticks made for SNES and newer systems, continuing to the present day, but joysticks of that quality have always been a niche item.

I think the premium joysticks almost always use microswitches because that's what 1v1 fighting fans like. However, I think most arcade games of other genres used leaf switches. Those might be hard to find as a ready-made product. If you want leaf switches you might have to modify an existing joystick or build your own. Or if you're buying new, maybe leaf switches are available as an option.

In the controller I mentioned above, I've thought about trying to convert/replace my joystick with leaf switches, but I've never looked deeply into the feasibility of that.

I think most non-analog arcade sticks were microswitched due to robustness (these things were abused almost daily) and ease of replacement (in many cases operators were responsible for maintence and repair... especially due to ware and tare). Also note the buttons used the same microswitchs as the sticks so no need to keep different parts.

Not familiar with John Elway's Team Quarterback, but most US arcade cabinets in late 80's used Happ (now known as Suzo Happ) controls (sticks and buttons) as opposed to Japanese Seimitsu/Sanwa and since LeLand is US based I would say Suzo Happ controls would give the most authemtic feel. Controls certainly look Happ.

For tactile autheticity, aside from getting a cabinet, you can pick up a (pandora) panel (or make your own from MDF or something) and use actual arcade buttons and sticks wired up with a 'Zero-Delay' pcb. Lots of reproduction layouts these days, Zero-delay can be had for next to nothing from China (avoid Chinese sticks and buttons though... they are shite), and the arcade buttons/sticks can easily be had for cheap locally in the US.

Failing that, as mentioned, an arcade stick for consoles can be used, but you need to either get a converter (converters can be expensive depending on the console) or rewire with a Zero Delay (which is USB). HORI is always a good bet and the HORI sticks from PSOne (or earlier) era are great. Might have trouble replacing the stick (depth issues), but they tend to be good anyway and most buttons are standard 30mm dia (although HAPP buttons are deep so won't fit most...if any). Done this with many sticks (SEGA/NeoGeo/HORI I like Seimitsu sticks and Sanwa buttons), very easy to do, don't even need soldering in many cases. Newer consoles use USB anyway, however there are a lot of cheap sticks (feeling and quality) and the quality ones tend to be very expensive (later Hori stuff for example).

John Elway's Team Quarterback seems to have an interesting control configuration (8-way and Analog?) so maybe a custom control panel using two Zero-delays may be the best option? If this is the case then you might be able to connect both these sticks via a single Zero-Delay (can take 16 buttons and 8 directions... so usual analog and then 8 of the 16 buttons for the 8 way stick?) or each player would require 2 input devices, unsure how many Windows/MAME will take at any one time (never tried more than 2 😉).

Appreciate the comments and ideas. Went to a local Micro Center and they had an arcade joystick assembly but it's seemed to be suited for a
standalone cabinet not simply plugging into a pc.

Came across this site: https://shop.xgaming.com/

X-arcade's products might work except they're so darn huge and expensive, as the saying goes "you have pay to play".

Been playing around with Mame for 20ish years, never built a cab or anything but used quite a few front ends with it as well.
Ive just always used a Hori Ps3 stick that Ive had years, have a couple of other sticks like the namco ps1 stick and an official ps1 stick as well, the namco is easily the best one. Most of the time I used mameui but thats been officially put to pasture, theres now IV Play that is sort of the replacement for it.

I began playing arcade games in the late seventies, and spent every spare quarter I could scrounge at the local arcade. Asteroids, Galaga, Defender, Missile Command, Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man - but I never really mastered any of those. My obsession began when I discovered Gravitar in late 1982. That became my game, and I became one of those guys who would play for an hour (or longer) on one quarter. But by 1984 I grew tired of it, and the fad had passed. I didn't play any computer games again until 2001, when I had a computer that could play Jane's WW-2 fighters.

Repo Man11 wrote on 2023-10-04, 18:54:

I began playing arcade games in the late seventies, and spent every spare quarter I could scrounge at the local arcade. Asteroids, Galaga, Defender, Missile Command, Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man - but I never really mastered any of those. My obsession began when I discovered Gravitar in late 1982. That became my game, and I became one of those guys who would play for an hour (or longer) on one quarter. But by 1984 I grew tired of it, and the fad had passed. I didn't play any computer games again until 2001, when I had a computer that could play Jane's WW-2 fighters.

Emulation isn't the same as Realisation (Real or Native hardware). You want that smell of burnt plastic from the caps and batteries and screen burn-in to make it authentic

sneeker wrote on 2023-10-04, 16:06:

Most of the time I used mameui but thats been officially put to pasture...

Unofficially, it continues. You can get the latest one at https://messui.1emulation.com

Never play "John Elway's Team Quarterback" but research a little. Many games is not easy to play on MAME well because they have a special controls. This game have a Joystick, and something name "stick" ? Pictures about cabinet is bad, but this "stick" look like small stick 😉 Black and white stick and it is analogue.
For this game you don`t need only classic digital joystick but some analogue too who will be acting like original "stick".
Think that any joystick with classic "mushroom" analogue will be O.K.

Milew wrote on 2023-11-10, 22:31:

Never play "John Elway's Team Quarterback" but research a little. Many games is not easy to play on MAME well because they have a special controls. This game have a Joystick, and something name "stick" ? Pictures about cabinet is bad, but this "stick" look like small stick 😉 Black and white stick and it is analogue.
For this game you don`t need only classic digital joystick but some analogue too who will be acting like original "stick".
Think that any joystick with classic "mushroom" analogue will be O.K.

i love the euphemisms.

I stand by my purchase of this Mayflash Universal Arcade Stick F500 Elite. Currently in the market for a second unit. This thing is fantastic. I feel like Hank Hill and his old pickup truck: "I can't push her by myself, she's too solidly manufactured.."

mame, now acade emulators are nice wouldnt you like the real one working from 1992?

There's maintenance upkeep to those things, you know. Good luck replacing burn-in'd tubes