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The Great Sammy Baugh

By Lew
September 12, 2007

This week marks the annual celebration that is the Sammy Baugh Classic. The Sweetwater Mustangs will be playing Decatur at 1:00 PM Saturday.

What an interesting story Sammy Baugh is. I thought I would post this as a tribute to a great athlete and man who certainly brought pride to Sweetwater.

High School Career:
Sweetwater’s Newman High School, 1931-33 (junior and senior years)

No. 21

Position: Halfback

Born: March 17, 1914, in Temple, TX (family moved to Sweetwater when he was 16)

Until 1939, games were played at Newman Park (since 1939, the Mustang Bowl)
In early 1930s, Sweetwater utilized the halfback run-pass option, and Sammy was an elusive
runner and a proficient passer
During his senior season, Sammy threw only one touchdown pass, yet received a scholarship to
play collegiate football at Texas Christian University.
No. 21 became the only jersey ever retired by Sweetwater, 2006

College Career:

Texas Christian University, 1933-37

No. 45

Position: Quarterback

All-Southwest Conference twice, 1935-36

All-American twice (1935 first team, 1936 consensus)

Finished fourth in balloting for 1936 Heisman Trophy

Led 1935 TCU to 3-2 Sugar Bowl win (in the mud) over LSU and TCU’s first national title

(SMU went 12-0 that year to win the AP national title)

Led 1936 TCU to 16-6 inaugural Cotton Bowl win over Marquette and was named MVP

Recipient of Rogers Trophy (TCU’s MVP award), 1936

Inducted into College Football Hall of Fame, 1951

Inducted into Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame, 1999

No. 45 jersey (one of only two TCU numbers ever) retired, 1993

Coached Hardin-Simmons University football, 1955-59 (23-28 record)

Professional Career:

Washington Redskins, 1937-52

No. 33

Positions: Quarterback, Punter, Defensive Back

Height: 6’2�

Weight: 182

High School: Sweetwater, TX

College: Texas Christian University

NFL Draft: No. 1 by Washington (sixth pick overall)

NFL Career: 16 seasons

All-NFL seven times

NFL passing leader six times

NFL passing, punting AND interception champion, 1943

Only player to lead NFL in an offensive, defensive and special teams category

Top punter in NFL history

Career records: 21,886 passing yds., 187 passing TDs, 45.1-yard punting avg., 31 interceptions

Only player in Redskins history to have his jersey (No. 33) retired

Charter member of Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1963 (as of 2006, only surviving member)

Led Redskins to NFL championship as a rookie, 1937

Named All-75th Anniversary QB (along with Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas and Otto Graham)
Named All-75th Anniversary Two-Way Team (as quarterback, defensive back and punter)

Named All-1940s Quarterback

Coached New York Titans (now New York Jets), 1960-61 (14-14 record), succeeded by

Sweetwater-born Clyde “Bulldog� Turner

Coached Houston Oilers (now Tennessee Titans), 1964 (4-10 record)

NFL Records

Quarterback

10/31/43 Highest average passing gain, Game 18.58 yds 24 comp. for 446 yds

vs. Boston

1945 Sixth highest passing rating, Season 109.9 128-182 for 1,699 yds,

11 TDs, 4 INTs

1937-52 Career TD-to-attempt ratio, Career 6.24% 187 TDs on 2,995 att.

1937-52 Most seasons leading league in passing 6 1937-40-43-45-47-49

1937-52 2nd most seasons leading league in attempts 4 1937-43-47-48

1937-52 2nd most seasons leading league in completions 5 1937-43-45-47-48

1937-52 2nd most seasons leading league in comp pct 7 1940-42-43-45-47-48-49

1937-52 3rd most consecutive seasons leading comp pct 3 1947-48-49

1945 2nd highest completion percentage, Season 73.3% 128 comp on 182 att

1937-52 2nd most seasons leading league passing yards 4 1937-40-47-48

1937-52 Most seasons with fewest INT-per-attempt 5 1940-42-44-45-47

1937-52 Most career TD passes for Redskins 187

10/31/43 Most passing yards for Redskins, Game 446

1943, 47 Most passing TDs for Redskins, Game 6 10/31/43 and 11/23/47

Defensive Back

11/14/43 Most interceptions, Game 4 Washington vs. Detroit

Punting

1940 Highest punting average, Season 51.4 yds 1,799 yards on 35 punts

1941 3rd highest punting average, Season 48.73 yds 1,462 yards on 30 punts

1937-52 Most seasons leading league in punting 4 1940-41-42-43

1937-52 Most consecutive seasons leading in punting 4 1940-41-42-43

11/51/39 3rd most punts, Game 14 Wash. vs. Philadelphia

1937-52 2nd highest punting average, Career 45.1 yds 15,245 yds on 338 punts

1942 2nd highest punting avg., Post-season game 52.5 yds Wash. vs. Chicago (6-315)

1937-52 Highest career punting average for Redskins 45.1 yds

1940 Highest season punting average for Redskins 51.4 yds

1943 Led NFL in punting (45.9 avg.), passing (133-239-1,754) and interceptions (11)

Notable Achievements

Passed for six touchdowns in a single game twice (10/31/43 and 11/23/47)

Has a street named after him in his current hometown of Rotan, TX

Named to the 50th Anniversary Team by the NFL, 1969

Named to the 75th Anniversary Team by the NFL, 1994

Named 3rd Greatest College Football Player by College Football News, 2003

Named 4th Greatest College Football Player by Sport Magazine, 1999

Named 3rd Greatest NFL Player of the 20th Century by the Associated Press

Named 11th Greatest NFL Player of the 20th Century by The Sporting News, 1999

Named 36th Greatest Athlete of the 20th Century by Burt Randolph Sugar, 1995

Named 43rd Greatest Athlete of the 20th Century by the Associated Press, 1999

Named 64th Greatest Athlete of the 20th Century by ESPN, 1999

Sammy Baugh: The Best Ever?

By Scott Hurrey

Many pundits around the NFL will argue that the conversation to decide the best NFL quarterback ever should include names like Dan Marino, Johnny Unitas or Joe Montana. But where does Sammy Baugh rank among these names? Furthermore, where does Baugh rank amongst the greatest players of all-time?

Baugh should be in consideration for the greatest quarterback ever. He is considered one of the founding fathers of the modern-day NFL passing game. Baugh was a key cog in the machine that began transforming the National Football League from a regionalized sport known for the violence and brutality that purveyed the game in the 1930s. Certainly, this distinction alone should add Baugh to the “Greatest Quarterback Ever� conversation.

“Slingin’ Sammy� Baugh, a nickname a Texas sportswriter bestowed upon Sammy for his ability to throw the baseball, brings more to the table in this conversation than just the way he changed the game forever. From 1937-1952, the 6’2� Texan was the face of the Washington Redskins – and the undoing of many unsuspecting opponents.

Many things were changing for the Washington Redskins in 1937. The owner, George Preston Marshall, moved the team from Boston to Washington before that season. In the midst of all of the turmoil associated with moving the franchise, the team’s first-round pick decided that baseball was the way to go, and Sammy Baugh chose the St. Louis Cardinals. It did not take Sammy long, however, to figure out that his inability to hit a curve ball and the prospect of being stuck behind Marty Marion in the organization was a sign that Baugh should be playing football. After signing an $8,000 contract with a whopping $500 signing bonus, Baugh wasted no time making a name for himself in the nation’s capital.

As a tailback in the single-wing and double-wing formations, Baugh was responsible for passing and punting, while wingback Riley Smith handled the play calling duties. Baugh easily made the transition to the NFL as a tailback, having spent 1934-36 leading the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs to prominence in the college ranks from the same position. In his first season with the Redskins, Baugh not only led the league in passing, but also lead the franchise to its first NFL championship, victimizing the Chicago Bears defense for 335 yards and three touchdown passes, en route to a 28-21 victory. Baugh set the tone early – on the first play from scrimmage, as a matter of fact – when he dropped back into his own end zone and connected on a 42-yard strike to Cliff Battles.

In 1940, the Washington Redskins introduced the T-formation. In this new formation, the quarterback combined the play-calling responsibilities of the wingback, with the passing duties of the tailback. From this new position, Baugh was entrusted with full control of the offense, and Sammy took full advantage.

From 1940-49, Sammy Baugh led the league in passing an astonishing five times. These five combined with his passing championship from his rookie campaign, brought his career total to six, a feat only equaled many years later by Steve Young. In 162 games, Sammy Baugh went 1,693 for 2,995 (56.5%) for 21,886 yards and 187 touchdowns. At the time of Baugh’s retirement, he held numerous records, some of which still stand to this day.

Baugh holds the highest yard-per-catch average for a single game, posting an 18.58 yards-per-catch average (446 yards on 24 completions) against the Boston Patriots on October 31 1948. In 1945, Baugh assembled the sixth best season ever by a quarterback, finishing with a 109.9-passer rating, including a phenomenal 73.3% completion percentage (a mark that went unchallenged until 1982). His five seasons with the lowest interception-per-pass-attempt percentage is still the most among NFL quarterbacks.

Baugh brought the forward pass from its reputation as a desperation play to a bona fide weapon during his 16 years of professional football. His accuracy was uncanny, as was illustrated in his first practice in 1937. As the story goes, Coach Ray Flaherty told the rookie tailback that passing in the NFL required accuracy. Coach Flaherty told Baugh that he must “hit ‘em in the eye.� The TCU grad replied, “Which eye?�

This story was widely believed to be a myth, an urban legend created to accentuate the great passing skills that Baugh possessed. It turned out to be true, with Baugh himself confirming the validity of the story to Shirley Povich of the Washington Post in the 1990s.

Certainly these accomplishments put Sammy Baugh in the conversation of greatest quarterbacks, but why should that put him in consideration as the greatest football player? Well, “Slingin’ Sammy� is to this day one of the greatest punters to ever step onto the field. His 51.4 yard average in 1940 is still the highest yards-per-punt average for a season in the history of the NFL – and by the way, the 48.73 yards-per-punt in 1941 is still good for third all-time. Baugh led the league in punting from 1940-1943, the most seasons any one punter has ever led the league, and his career 45.1-yard average is second all-time.

Aside from passing and punting, Baugh was also one of the greatest defensive backs of his day, still tied for the most interceptions in a single game with 4, albeit with 18 other players. In 1943, Baugh etched his name in stone with an accomplishment unheard of in today’s specialized game of professional football: Baugh led the league in passing (133-239, 1,754 yards and 23 touchdowns), punting (50 for 2,295 yards; a 45.9-yard average) and interceptions (11 for 112 yards).

Baugh also still holds six records in Washington Redskins lore, including most career touchdown passes (187), highest season punting average (51.4) and most interceptions in a game (4). His famous number 33 is the only number officially retired by the Redskins, and his name has become synonymous with excellence and success around Washington.

Was Sammy Baugh the greatest football player ever? A case can be made for other players, but no one can deny that the only living member of the 1963 charter class of the Hall of Fame has to be considered.

The Pony Express!

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