Age: 24
3rd
season in pro football & with Spartans/Lions
College: Stanford
Height: 6’2” Weight: 198
Prelude:
Caddel went
to Stanford on a baseball scholarship but was recruited to the football team by
legendary Head Coach Glenn “Pop” Warner. Noted for his spectacular running
ability, he pioneered in the use of playing while wearing a flak jacket after
suffering two broken ribs. Caddel signed with the Portsmouth Spartans in 1933
and “The Blond Antelope” gained 393 yards from scrimmage (282 rushing, 107
receiving) and followed up with 655 total yards in 1934, the franchise’s first season
as the Detroit Lions. His 528 rushing yards ranked fifth in the NFL.
1935 Season Summary
Appeared in all
12 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 87
[12]
Yards – 450 [2]
Yards per
attempt – 5.2 [1]
TDs – 6 [1]
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 10
[11, tied with Wayland Becker & Flavio Tosi]
Yards – 171 [12]
Yards per
catch – 17.1 [5]
TDs – 0
Passing
Attempts – 6
Completions –
4
Yards – 169
[16, tied with Doug Nott]
TD passes – 2
[6, tied with eleven others]
Interceptions
– 1
All-Purpose
yards – 621 [1]
Scoring
TDs – 6 [2,
tied with Dutch Clark, Dale Burnett & Bill Karr]
Points – 36 [3,
tied with Dale Burnett & Bill Karr]
Postseason: 1
G (NFL Championship vs. NY Giants)
Rushing
attempts – 16
Rushing yards
– 62
Average gain
rushing – 3.9
Rushing TDs –
1
Kickoff
returns – 2
Kickoff
return yards – 25
Average yards
per reception – 12.5
Kickoff
return TDs – 0
Longest
return – 25 yards
Awards & Honors:
1st
team All-NFL: League, Chicago Daily News
2nd
team All-NFL: UPI
Lions went 7-3-2
to finish first in the NFL Western Division while ranking second in the league
in rushing yards (1773), touchdowns (25), and scoring (191 points). Won NFL
Championship over New York Giants (26-7).
Aftermath:
Caddel
achieved career highs for rushing (580 yards), pass receptions (19), and total
yards (730) in 1936. He also led the league in yards per carry (6.4) for the
second straight season. Caddel received second-team All-NFL recognition from
the league and the Chicago Daily News in both 1936 and ’37, a year in which he
again had the NFL’s best yards per carry average (5.6) while rushing for 429
yards. He retired following an injury-plagued season in 1938. Overall, Caddel
rushed for 2311 yards on 443 carries (5.2 avg.) and caught 54 passes for 641
yards (11.9 avg.), totaling 2952 combined yards and scoring 26 touchdowns.
--
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
