Age: 31
8th
season in pro football, 7th in APFA/NFL & 1st with Bears
College: Northwestern
Height: 5’11” Weight: 160
Prelude:
Driscoll
played football and baseball in college, briefly spending time with the Chicago
Cubs in 1917. While in the military during World War I, he was with the Great
Lakes Naval Station team that won the 1919 Rose Bowl. Driscoll joined the Hammond
Pros in 1919 and moved on to the Chicago Cardinals of the new American
Professional Football Association (later renamed NFL) in ’20. Deceptively
mild-mannered and small in stature, he was an outstanding all-around player who
was an elusive halfback and kick returner, precision punter, and outstanding
drop-kicker. In six seasons with the Cardinals (three of which he was also the
coach), Driscoll scored 17 touchdowns and kicked 37 field goals, leading the
league three times, and 31 PATs for a total of 244 points, topping the NFL with
78 in 1923. He received first-team All-NFL recognition after four of those
seasons. Following the 1925 season, in which the team won the NFL title, the
financially-strapped Cardinals sold Driscoll’s contract to the Bears.
1926 Season Summary
Appeared in all
16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
TDs – 6 [1,
tied with Eddie Scharer]
Scoring
Rushing TDs –
4 [8, tied with Hap Moran, Tony Latone & Cully Lidberg]
Receiving TDs
– 1 [12, tied with many others]
Other TDs – 1
Total TDs – 6
[7, tied with Hinkey Haines]
Field Goals –
12 [1]
Extra Points
– 14 [3, tied with Pid Purdy]
Points – 86 [1]
Awards & Honors:
1st
team All-NFL: Collyers Eye, Chicago Tribune, Green Bay Press-Gazette
Bears went 12-1-3
to finish second in the NFL while leading the league in rushing touchdowns (17,
tied with Frankford Yellow Jackets), pass receiving TDs (8, tied with Green Bay
Packers), and scoring (216 points).
Aftermath:
Driscoll
spent three more seasons with the Bears, scoring 43 points and again receiving
consensus first-team All-NFL honors in 1927. Overall for his career, he scored 31
touchdowns and kicked 63 extra points and 51 field goals for a total of 402
points. Driscoll’s scoring total was the NFL record until 1942 and his field
goal total the league standard until 1952, with his single-season record of 12
in 1926 not exceeded until 1950. Driscoll received at least some first-team
All-NFL recognition after seven seasons and was inducted into the Pro Football
Hall of Fame, Class of 1965. He later became a long-time assistant coach for
the Bears and was head coach in 1956 and ’57.
--
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
