Age: 22
1st
season in pro football
College: West
Virginia Wesleyan
Height: 6’1” Weight: 198
Prelude:
A multi-sport
star in college who was also a Phi Beta Kappa student, Battles put up significant
numbers playing football for a small school. In 1930, he rushed for 354 yards,
totaled 469 all-purpose yards, and scored seven touchdowns in a game against
Salem College, and in another contest had three scoring runs of over 80 yards. While
the team didn’t do so well when taking on stronger competition, Battles drew
interest from several NFL teams and signed with the first-year Braves.
1932 Season Summary
Appeared in 8
of 10 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 148
[1]
Yards – 576 [1]
Yards per
attempt – 3.9 [5]
TDs – 3 [2,
tied with five others]
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 4
Yards – 60
Yards per
catch – 15.0
TDs – 1 [10,
tied with fourteen others]
Passing
Attempts – 20
[16, tied with Bob Campiglio & Hap Moran]
Completions –
2
Yards – 42
Completion
percentage – 10.0
TD passes – 0
Interceptions
– 2 [13, tied with eight others]
All-Purpose
yards – 636 [1]
Scoring
TDs – 4 [5,
tied with five others]
Points – 24 [6,
tied with four others]
Awards & Honors:
1st
team All-NFL: Collyers Eye
Braves went 4-4-2
to finish fourth in the NFL.
Aftermath:
Battles
ranked second in rushing to teammate FB Jim Musick with the re-named Redskins
in 1933, gaining 737 yards that included 215 in a single game, making him the
first NFL player to reach the 200-yard rushing threshold in a single contest.
He was a consensus first-team All-NFL selection for his efforts. Running with a
long stride, Battles had excellent cutting ability as well as speed, and was
adept at returning kicks. He received primarily second-team All-NFL honors in
1934 and ’35 but was a consensus first-team selection in 1936 as he rushed for
614 yards and the Redskins finished first in the Eastern Division, although he
was injured early in the NFL Championship loss to Green Bay. The franchise was
shifted to Washington for 1937 and Battles set a league rushing record with 874
yards. The Redskins won the NFL title but, when owner George Preston Marshall
refused to give his star runner a raise, Battles retired. Overall, he rushed
for 3511 yards on 839 carries (4.2 avg.), caught 38 passes for 546 yards (14.4
avg.), and scored a total of 31 touchdowns. He received consensus first-team
All-NFL honors three times and at least some first-team or second-team
recognition after three other seasons. Battles, who initially became an
assistant coach at Columbia, was later head coach of the AAFC’s Brooklyn
Dodgers. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 1968.
--
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
