Age: 31 (Nov.
15)
7th
season in pro football, 1st in AFL & with Titans
College: Michigan
State
Height: 6’0” Weight: 195
Prelude:
Originally a
halfback in college, Dorow shifted to quarterback as a sophomore and guided
Michigan State to a 9-0 record as a senior in 1951. He was chosen by the
Washington Redskins in the third round of the ’52 NFL draft but first had to
fulfill a military commitment before joining the Redskins in 1954. Starting QB
Eddie LeBaron having departed for the CFL, Dorow saw considerable action and
threw for 997 yards and 8 touchdowns, although giving up 17 interceptions. With
the return of LeBaron in ’55, Dorow saw scant action as a reserve but when
LeBaron suffered a knee injury in 1956 he started seven games and played well
enough to earn Pro Bowl recognition. However, an offseason contract dispute
caused Dorow to be traded to Philadelphia where he was little used in ’57 and
he moved on to Canada with Saskatchewan and British Columbia in 1958 and
Toronto in ‘59. Overall in the CFL, Dorow passed for 2363 yards and 17 TDs,
with 35 INTs, and, highly mobile, rushed for 214 yards. With the formation of
the AFL in 1960, Dorow joined the New York Titans and proved to be a good fit
in Head Coach Sammy Baugh’s pass-oriented offense, where he had outstanding
receivers in flanker Don Maynard and split end Art Powell. While not having great arm strength, he was a daring play caller and possessed excellent leadership qualities.
1960 Season Summary
Appeared in
all 14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 396
[3]
Most
attempts, game – 48 at Oakland 12/11
Completions –
201 [3]
Most
completions, game – 29 at Oakland 12/11
Yards – 2748
[3]
Most yards,
game – 375 at Oakland 12/11
Completion
percentage – 50.8 [4]
Yards per
attempt – 6.9 [3]
TD passes – 26
[1]
Most TD
passes, game – 4 at Dallas 10/2
Interceptions
– 26 [2]
Most
interceptions, game – 4 vs. Houston 10/23
Passer rating
– 67.8 [3]
300-yard
passing games – 2
200-yard
passing games – 7
Rushing
Attempts – 90
[17]
Most
attempts, game – 18 (for 72 yds.) at Buffalo 10/16
Yards – 453
[11]
Most yards,
game – 72 yards (on 18 carries) at Buffalo 10/16
Average gain
– 5.0 [4]
TDs – 7 [4,
tied with Wray Carlton]
Punting
Punts – 6 [12,
tied with Ken Hall]
Yards – 264 [12]
Average – 44.0
Punts blocked
– 0
Longest punt
– 56 yards
Scoring
TDs – 7 [13,
tied with Billy Cannon, Al Carmichael & Dave Smith]
Points – 42
Awards &
Honors:
2nd
team All-AFL: League
Titans went 7-7
to finish second in the AFL Eastern Division while leading the league in
touchdowns (51) and scoring (380 points).
Aftermath:
Dorow
followed up in 1961 by leading the AFL in pass attempts (438) and completions
(197), as well as rushing yards by a quarterback (317) for the second straight
year, but also interceptions thrown (30) as the Titans again went 7-7. He was
selected for the first AFL All-Star Game. Suffering from a sore shoulder, Dorow
was traded to Buffalo and started four games before further damage to his arm ended
his career. Overall in the AFL, Dorow passed for 5732 yards and 47 TDs while
giving up 63 interceptions and rushed for 827 yards and 11 touchdowns. In four
NFL seasons, he threw for 1976 yards and 17 TDs with 39 INTs and ran for 323 yards and 5 scores. Dorow was
selected to one Pro Bowl and one AFL All-Star Game. He went into coaching and
was head coach of the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1971.
--
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
