Fullback, New
York Jets
Age: 23
College: Ohio
State
Height: 6’2” Weight: 220
Prelude:
Snell started
out primarily as a blocking back in his sophomore year at Ohio State, with
All-American FB Bob Ferguson and HB Paul Warfield getting most of the carries.
He moved to defensive end as a junior, where he was effective, before starting
at fullback in his senior season. Both New York teams drafted him for 1964 –
the Jets of the AFL in the first round (third overall) and the NFL Giants in
the fourth round. In a major coup for the new ownership group led by Sonny
Werblin, the Jets won the bidding war for Snell’s services. There was
speculation as to whether he would play on offense or defense as a pro, but he
moved directly into the lineup at fullback.
1964 Season Summary
Appeared in all
14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 215
[2]
Most
attempts, game - 31 (for 180 yds.) vs. Houston 10/17
Yards – 948 [2]
Most yards,
game – 180 yards (on 31 carries) vs. Houston 10/17
Average gain
– 4.4 [5]
TDs – 5 [4,
tied with Jack Kemp & Charley Mitchell]
100-yard
rushing games – 3
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 56
[7, tied with Sid Blanks]
Most
receptions, game – 8 (for 79 yds.) vs. San Diego 10/3
Yards – 393
Most yards,
game - 79 (on 8 catches) vs. San Diego 10/3
Average gain
– 7.0
TDs – 1
Kickoff
Returns
Returns – 7
Yards – 158
Average per
return – 22.6
TDs – 0
Longest
return – 31 yards
All-Purpose
yards – 1499 [5]
Passing
Attempts – 1
Completions –
0
Yards – 0
TDs – 0
INT – 1
Scoring
TDs – 6 [18,
tied with seven others]
Points – 36
Awards & Honors:
AFL Rookie of
the Year: UPI
2nd-team
All-AFL: AP, UPI, NEA, NY Daily News
AFL All-Star
Game
Jets went 5-8-1
to finish third in the AFL Eastern Division.
Aftermath:
Although
bothered by a leg injury, Snell rushed for 763 yards and caught 38 passes in
1965. He was a second-team All-AFL selection of the AP and New York Daily News.
A fine blocker as well as ball carrier, Snell was an AFL All-Star in ’66,
rushing for 644 yards and catching 48 passes for another 346 yards. A knee
injury suffered in the opening game limited him to seven games and 207 yards in
1967, but he bounced back in ’68 to rush for 747 yards as the Jets won the AFL
Championship, and he had a 121-yard rushing performance in the Super Bowl upset
of the Colts. Snell ran for 695 yards in 1969 and was a consensus first-team
All-AFL selection, but a torn Achilles tendon suffered in the third game of the
’70 season effectively marked the end of his career. While he held on for
another two seasons, through 1972, further injuries kept him off the field.
Overall, Snell rushed for 4285 yards on 1057 carries (4.1 avg.) and caught 193
passes for 1375 yards, scoring a total of 31 touchdowns. He was a first-team
All-AFL selection once, received at least some second-team honors after three
other seasons, and was named to three AFL All-Star Games.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were named Rookie
of the Year in the NFL, AFL (1960-69), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized
organization (Associated Press – Offense or Defense, Newspaper Enterprise
Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, or the league
itself – Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year).
