Highlighted Year: Ed Brown, 1956

Quarterback, Chicago Bears

Age:  28 (Oct. 26)

3^rd season in pro football & with Bears

College: San Francisco

Height: 6’2”   Weight: 205

Prelude:

Brown was the starting quarterback for the undefeated 1951 Univ. of San Francisco team and then went into the Marines for two years. He was chosen by the Bears in the sixth round of the ’52 NFL draft and joined them in 1954 as backup to George Blanda and Zeke Bratkowski. With Bratkowski leaving for military duty, Brown took over the starting job in 1955 as well as handling the punting. He threw for 1307 yards and nine touchdowns and was chosen to the Pro Bowl. With a strong arm, he quickly established himself as the best deep passer in the league.

1956 Season Summary

Appeared and started in all 12 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Passing

Attempts – 168 [8]
Most attempts, game - 19 vs. LA Rams 11/18

Completions – 96 [6]
Most completions, game - 13 vs. LA Rams 11/18

Yards – 1667 [3]
Most yards, game - 271 vs. LA Rams 11/18

Completion percentage – 57.1 [1]

Yards per attempt – 9.9 [1]

TD passes – 11 [3]

Most TD passes, game – 2 at Baltimore 9/30, at Green Bay 10/7, vs. Baltimore 10/21

Interceptions – 12 [6, tied with Norm Van Brocklin & Y.A. Tittle]

Passer rating – 83.1 [1]
200-yard  passing games - 1

Rushing

Attempts – 40

Yards – 164

Yards per attempt – 4.1

TDs – 1

Punting

Punts – 42 [7, tied with Yale Lary]

Yards – 1644 [8]

Average – 39.1 [9]

Punts blocked – 1

Longest punt – 53 yards

Scoring

TDs – 2

Points - 12

Postseason: 1 G (NFL Championship at NY Giants)

Pass attempts – 20

Pass completions – 8

Passing yardage – 97

TD passes – 0

Interceptions – 1

Rushing attempts – 5

Rushing yards – -3

Average gain rushing – -0.6

Rushing TDs – 0

Punts – 6

Punt yards – 255

Punt avg. – 42.5

Awards & Honors:

Pro Bowl

Bears went 9-2-1 to finish first in the NFL Western Conference while leading the league in total yards (4537), rushing yards (2468), touchdowns (47), and scoring (363 points). Lost NFL Championship to New York Giants (47-7).

Aftermath:

Brown split time, primarily with Bratkowski, over the next few years and his performance suffered. He achieved highs for his career with the Bears with 1881 yards and 13 TD passes in 1959, and completed 50.6 percent of his passes, the only time he completed more than half of his passes between 1956 and ‘62. Brown lost the starting job to newcomer Bill Wade in 1961 and was traded to Pittsburgh, where he backed up Bobby Layne for a year before taking over the starting job in ’63. The Steelers contended and Brown passed for 2982 yards and 21 TDs but came up short in the climactic battle for the Eastern Conference crown against the Giants. He lasted two more seasons, with diminishing returns, finishing up with the Colts in 1965 who obtained him after injuries depleted the quarterback corps and HB Tom Matte was pressed into service behind center. Overall, Brown passed for 15,600 yards and 102 TDs, and while he averaged 7.9 yards per attempt and 16.4 yards per catch, he also completed just 47.8 percent of his passes and gave up 138 interceptions. He rushed for 960 yards, mostly early in his career with the Bears before his mobility diminished. As a punter, he averaged 40.6 yards on 493 kicks. Brown was named to the Pro Bowl twice.

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating

Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)

All-Purpose: Total Yards

Defense: Interceptions, Sacks

Kickoff Returns: Average

Punt Returns: Average

Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970

[Updated 2/21/17]