October 3, 2016

Highlighted Year: Irv Comp, 1944

Tailback/Defensive Back, Green Bay Packers


Age: 25
2nd season in pro football & with Packers
College: St. Benedict’s (now Benedictine)
Height: 6’2”   Weight: 214

Prelude:
Comp was a fine all-around athlete who lettered in four sports at little St. Benedict’s College and was chosen by the Packers in the third round of the 1943 NFL draft. With the void left at tailback due to the retirement of Cecil Isbell, Comp split time with Tony Canadeo and proved to be a capable passer, completing 46 of 92 attempts for 662 yards and seven touchdowns while giving up four interceptions. He also ran for 182 yards and three TDs and was impressive in the defensive backfield, intercepting a club-record 10 passes, one of which he returned for a score.

1944 Season Summary
Appeared in all 10 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Passing
Attempts – 177 [1]
Completions – 80 [3]
Yards – 1159 [1]
Completion percentage – 45.2 [4]
Yards per attempt – 6.5 [6]
TD passes – 12 [2, tied with Frank Sinkwich]
Most TD passes, game – 2 vs. Chi. Bears 9/24, vs. Chi. Cards 10/8, at Cleveland 11/12, at Chi. Cards 11/26
Interceptions – 21 [1, tied with John Grigas]
Passer rating – 50.0 [6]

Rushing
Attempts – 52
Yards – 134
Yards per attempt – 2.6
TDs – 2 [19, tied with ten others]

Pass Receiving
Receptions – 2
Yards – 16
Yards per catch – 8.0
TDs – 1

Interceptions
Interceptions – 6 [3, tied with Ted Fritsch & Ernie Steele]
Return yards – 54 [13, tied with Ted Williams]
TDs – 0

Kickoff Returns
Returns – 2
Yards – 35
Average per return – 17.5
TDs – 0
Longest return – 18 yards

Punt Returns
Returns – 2
Yards – 32
Average per return – 16.0
TDs – 0
Longest return – 18 yards

Scoring
TDs – 3         
Points – 18

Postseason: 1 G (NFL Championship at NY Giants)
Pass attempts – 10
Pass completions – 3
Passing yardage – 73
TD passes – 1
Interceptions – 3

Rushing attempts – 10
Rushing yards – 21
Average gain rushing – 2.1
Rushing TDs – 0

Punt returns – 4
Punt return yards – 55
Average per return – 13.8
Punt return TDs – 0

Packers went 8-2 to finish first in the NFL Western Division. Won NFL Championship over New York Giants (14-7).

Aftermath:
Comp followed up in 1945 by passing for 865 yards and 7 touchdowns with 11 interceptions for the 6-4 Packers, but with star end Don Hutson’s retirement, his performance dropped off significantly in ‘46. He spent three more seasons with Green Bay, through 1949, and was largely fazed out of the offense as it transitioned to the T-formation. Comp did continue to play well on defense, however, and accounted for 14 of his 34 career interceptions from 1947 to ’49. Overall on offense, he passed for 3354 yards and 28 touchdowns and rushed for 519 yards and seven TDs. Adding in two pass receiving touchdowns and two more returning interceptions, he scored a total of 11 TDs.

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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

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting about by grandfather Irv!

    In his rookie season (1943), Irv set the record for most interceptions in a season (10) sthat still stands to this day. He set this mark in only 9 games as he didn't play in one of the 10 games that season. In the 1944 World Championship game he threw the second touchdown to Ted Fritch in the 14-7 win over the Giants. Of special note is that Irv was legally blind in his left eye during his playing days because of a cataract he developed as a teenager!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for adding the additional details. Prior to writing this, I had only been aware of his contributions on offense but am impressed by his performance on defense. Your grandfather was a terrific player, I'm glad to get the opportunity to post about him!

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