Highlighted Year: Sammy Baugh, 1937

Tailback/Defensive Back, Washington Redskins

Age: 23

1^st season in pro football

College: Texas Christian

Height: 6’2”   Weight: 185

Prelude:

The multi-talented Baugh was a two-time All-American at TCU, where he passed for 3439 yards and 39 touchdowns and was also an outstanding punter. While a baseball prospect as well, “Slingin’ Sammy” signed with the Redskins, newly relocated from Boston to Washington, who chose him in the first round of the 1937 NFL draft (sixth overall). A passing tailback in the single-wing offense, he improved as the season progressed and impressed with his poise as well as precision throwing ability.

1937 Season Summary

Appeared in all 11 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Passing

Attempts – 171 [1]

Completions – 81 [1]

Yards – 1127 [1]

Completion percentage – 47.4 [2]

Yards per attempt – 6.6 [2]

TD passes – 8 [2, tied with Bob Monnett & Ed Danowski]

Most TD passes, game – 2 vs. Chi. Cardinals 9/24

Interceptions – 14 [1, tied with Dave Smukler]

Passer rating – 50.5 [2]

Rushing

Attempts – 86 [19]

Yards – 240

Yards per attempt – 2.8

TDs – 1 [17, tied with many others]

Scoring

TDs – 1

Points – 6

Postseason: 1 G (NFL Championship at Chicago Bears)

Pass attempts – 33

Pass completions – 18

Passing yardage – 335

TD passes – 3

Interceptions – 1

Rushing attempts – 4

Rushing yards – 6

Average gain rushing – 1.5

Rushing TDs – 0

Punts – 5

Punting yards – 132

Punting average – 26.4

Longest punt – 43 yards

Awards & Honors:

1^st team All-NFL: League, INS, UPI, NY Daily News

Redskins went 8-3 to finish first in the NFL Eastern Division. Won NFL Championship over Chicago Bears (28-21).

Aftermath:

Baugh went on to play 16 seasons in the NFL, all with the Redskins. Along the way, utilizing his sidearm passing motion to excellent effect he led the league in numerous statistical categories, including passing yards four times, touchdown passes twice, and overall passing on six occasions. Baugh also excelled on defense and as a punter and in 1943 led the NFL in passing, punting (45.9 avg.), and interceptions (11). The Redskins benefited from his wide-open style and won five Eastern Division titles and two league championships in Baugh’s first nine seasons. After a difficult year of transition to the T-formation in 1944, Baugh came back to set a completion percentage record of 70.3 (that lasted until 1982) as the Redskins topped the Eastern Division, and he continued to excel even as the team went into decline thereafter, up until his retirement in 1952. Overall, he passed for 21,886 yards and 187 TDs with a 56.5 percent completion percentage on 1693 completions in 2995 attempts, all of which were NFL records at the time. Baugh, masterful at the art of the quick-kick, also set league records with a 51.4-yard average in 1940 and a career average of 45.1 yards, leading the league five times. On defense, he intercepted 31 passes. Baugh received first-team All-NFL recognition after seven seasons and second-team honors following two other years. His #33 was retired by the Redskins (the only retired number thus far in franchise history) and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a Charter Member in 1963. He went on to become a head coach in the AFL with the New York Titans and Houston Oilers.

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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

1937: Sammy Baugh Debuts as Redskins Defeat Giants

The Redskins were in a new location, and had a highly-touted rookie passing tailback debuting as well, as they hosted the New York Giants for their season-opening game on September 16, 1937. After five years in Boston, owner George Preston Marshall had shifted the franchise to Washington in the offseason. Coached by Ray Flaherty, the Redskins topped the Eastern Division the previous year and retained some outstanding talent in FB Cliff Battles, ends Wayne Millner and Charley Malone, and tackle Turk Edwards. To the mix was being added tailback Sammy Baugh (pictured at right).

Baugh was a consensus All-American at Texas Christian and the Redskins made him their first draft choice for the ’37 season. He had agreed to a contract a week before taking the field against the Giants. Ever the promoter, owner Marshall had the Texas native arrive in Washington wearing a ten gallon hat and cowboy boots, which were not his usual attire. But the 6’2”, 180-pound Baugh brought a strong and accurate throwing arm, something the club had been lacking, plus a variety of other skills.

The Giants were coming off of a 5-6-1 record in 1936, their first losing season after winning three consecutive Eastern Division titles and one NFL Championship. Head Coach Steve Owen’s team was rebuilding with many rookies on the roster but also had established stars such as C/LB Mel Hein, QB Ed Danowski, and FB Tuffy Leemans.

There were 24,942 fans in attendance for the Thursday night game at Griffith Stadium. In the first quarter, Baugh excited the crowd with a hard-thrown pass to wingback Ernie Pinckert. The Redskins, who were without the injured Cliff Battles, put together the first scoring drive of the contest, advancing 70 yards to a 19-yard field goal by Riley Smith.

New York twice drove into scoring territory in the second quarter, but the Giants were stopped at the Washington 12 the first time and then at the one foot line. Taldon “Tilly” Manton missed a field goal try from 30 yards but was successful on another from 13 yards that tied the score.

That was it until the fourth quarter, when Smith intercepted a Jim Neill pass and returned it 58 yards for a touchdown. He also added the extra point.  Shortly thereafter, Baugh passed the Redskins into New York territory and, when the drive stalled, Smith kicked an 18-yard field goal to seal the 13-3 win.

The Giants outgained Washington by 311 yards to 221 and also had more first downs (17 to 15). Each team turned the ball over twice, although one of New York’s led directly to a score.

Sammy Baugh, who played a full sixty minutes, completed 11 of 16 passes for 115 yards, with completions to Charlie Malone, Ernie Pinckert, and end Bob McChesney. Riley Smith (pictured below) accounted for all of Washington’s points with his interception return touchdown, two field goals, and extra point. For the Giants, Ed Danowski was successful on 6 of 11 throws for 69 yards. Tuffy Leemans injured his ankle in the second quarter, but still gained a total of 72 yards to lead both teams.

Following a 2-2 start, the Redskins went on to lose only one more game and demolished the Giants in New York in the final week to win the Eastern Division with an 8-3 record. They defeated the Bears for the NFL Championship. New York placed second in the division at 6-3-2.

Sammy Baugh set a NFL record with 81 pass completions and led the league by throwing for 1127 yards. To cap his outstanding first season, he passed for 335 yards and three touchdowns in the title game against Chicago. He would go on to play 16 seasons in the NFL, switching from single-wing tailback to T-formation quarterback at mid-career, and owned most of the league’s passing records by the end while also excelling as a safety on defense and punter. Baugh would ultimately be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a charter member in 1963.

1937: Hugo Bezdek Becomes Only MLB Manager to Coach NFL Team

The Cleveland Rams franchise that joined the National Football League in 1937 had been significantly transformed from the team that played in the second American Football League in 1936. Only four players were retained from the ’36 club, and the ownership and management had been completely overhauled. Homer Marshman headed the new ownership group, and as the new head coach they signed Hugo Bezdek to a three-year contract. When the Rams hosted the Detroit Lions at League Park in their season-opening game on September 10, Bezdek became the only person to have both managed a major league baseball club and coached a team in the NFL.

The 53-year-old Bezdek, who had been born in Prague of what was then part of Austria-Hungary, had played football at the University of Chicago before beginning his college coaching career at the University of Oregon. After a year, he moved on to the University of Arkansas where he was head coach for five seasons and inspired the nickname that the school’s athletic teams use to this day when, at a rally following an undefeated season, he referred to the team as “a wild band of razorback hogs”.

From Arkansas it was back to Oregon for Bezdek, and while there he also worked as a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates of major league baseball’s National League. When Nixey Callahan was dismissed as the team’s manager during the 1917 season, Pittsburgh owner Barney Dreyfuss hired Bezdek. The new manager worked no miracles during the remainder of the ’17 season, as the Pirates finished at the bottom of the NL with a 51-103 record (30-59 under Bezdek). The results were better in 1918 (65-60) and ’19 (71-68), for an overall major league managing record of 166-187.

In the meantime, Bezdek had continued to coach football at Oregon before moving on to Penn State, where he was head coach and athletic director. Bezdek quit the Pirates when Penn State expanded his duties (he also coached the baseball team) and he stayed there as head football coach through 1929 and AD until 1937.

Bezdek had been a successful college coach, putting together winning records at every school – his tally as football coach at Penn State had been 65-30-11. Unfortunately for him, the move to the NFL did not work out so well.

Before a crowd of 24,800 on a drizzly Friday night, the Rams lost badly in the opener to the Lions by a score of 28-0. The Rams committed five turnovers, including a pass interception that was returned 45 yards for a touchdown by Detroit lineman Tom Hupke.

It was the beginning of a season in which Cleveland ended up at the bottom of the Western Division with an NFL-worst 1-11 record. After defeating the Eagles in their second game at Philadelphia by a score of 21-3, the Rams not only lost their remaining games but only scored in double figures one more time during the season (in a 35-10 loss to Green Bay).

The offense was conservative, to the annoyance of the team owners who wanted a more wide-open attack that would appeal to the fans, but Bezdek insisted that the team had to establish a consistent running game before it could pass effectively. The Rams ranked next-to-last in both rushing (930 yards) and passing (839), and were at the bottom in overall offense (1769). They also scored the fewest points, with a grand total of 75 for the year.

The owners pressured Bezdek to resign following the disappointing season, but he refused (the three-year contract was no doubt a consideration on both sides). As a result, life was made miserable for him in his second year, with the ownership interfering in personnel decisions and undermining his authority. After the club started off 0-3 in 1938, Bezdek was fired. His overall NFL coaching record was 1-13.

The pro stint effectively marked the end of Bezdek’s coaching career, although he did lead Delaware Valley College to a 2-5 record in 1949. Although an unsuccessful head coach in the pro ranks, his 127-58-16 tally as a college coach gained him election to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954, two years after his death.

As for the Rams, Art Lewis took over as head coach for the remainder of the ’38 season and went 4-4 for an overall 4-7 record. Dutch Clark, Hall of Fame tailback for the Lions who had played against Bezdek and the Rams in that first contest in 1937, became the head coach in 1939 and the team broke even at .500 (5-5-1).