Highlighted Year: Dan Edwards, 1950

Offensive End, New York Yanks

Age: 24

3^rd season in pro football, 1^st in NFL & with Yanks

College: Georgia

Height: 6’1”   Weight: 195

Prelude:

Edwards caught 59 passes for 904 yards (15.3 avg.) and 10 touchdowns in college, including 44 for 565 yards and four TDs as a senior in 1947. He was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 1948 NFL draft (ninth overall) but signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers of the AAFC and had a quiet rookie year with a poor team, catching 23 passes for 176 yards. With the dissolution of the Dodgers in the offseason, Edwards joined the Chicago Hornets and was more productive with 42 pass receptions for 573 yards and three TDs in 1949. The AAFC folded after the season and Edwards moved on to the Yanks of the NFL for 1950, where he started at right end in a potent passing offense.

1950 Season Summary

Appeared in all 12 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Pass Receiving

Receptions – 52 [2] 
Most receptions, game - 7 (for 165 yds.) at LA Rams 9/22

Yards – 775 [5]
Most yards, game - 165 (on 7 catches at LA Rams 9/22 

Average gain – 14.9 [17]

TDs – 6 [6, tied with five others]

Scoring

TDs – 6 [18, tied with eight others]

Points – 36

Awards & Honors:

1^st team All-NFL: AP

Pro Bowl

Yanks went 7-5 to finish third in the NFL National Conference while placing second in the league in passing yards (2653), total yards (4485), TDs (51), and scoring (366 points).

Aftermath:

With the loss of starting QB George Ratterman in 1951, the Yanks dropped to last place and Edwards had a lesser season, catching 39 passes for 509 yards (13.1 avg.) and three touchdowns. The club folded and once again Edwards was forced to move as a result. He joined the replacement franchise, the Dallas Texans, for 1952, but appeared in only one game with the ill-fated club. Edwards spent the next two seasons with the Baltimore Colts and caught a total of 75 passes for 843 yards (11.2 avg.) and four touchdowns. He left for the CFL in 1955 and was with the British Columbia Lions for the last three years of his career, catching a total of 105 passes for 1710 yards (16.3 avg.) and six TDs. He was a first-team All-WIFU selection in 1956. Overall in the AAFC Edwards accounted for 65 pass receptions for 749 yards (11.5 avg.) and three TDs and in the NFL caught 169 passes for 2149 yards (12.7 avg.) and 13 touchdowns. The 1950 season remained the only one in which he received All-NFL and Pro Bowl honors. Edwards went into coaching in Canada, including a stint as head coach with British Columbia in 1958.

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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

[Updated 2/21/17]

1950: Ratterman Passes Yanks to Win Over Lions

The NFL had a new look in 1950, following the merger with the All-America Football Conference that brought three new clubs into the league. There were now 13 teams and there was realignment as the Eastern and Western Divisions were renamed American and National Conferences, respectively. Two National Conference teams that had showed promise in the early going met on September 29 in New York.

The host New York Yanks were owned by Ted Collins, who had operated the unsuccessful Boston Yanks from 1944 to ’48 and then started a new franchise called the New York Bulldogs in 1949. The Bulldogs, sharing the Polo Grounds with the Giants, went a dismal 1-10-1, but had undergone a significant transformation for ’50. Collins purchased the assets of the AAFC’s New York Yankees, and while the Giants were given first choice on the team’s best players, it still meant a significant improvement in personnel. Only three players from the ’49 Bulldogs remained on the roster of the team that was now called the Yanks, having moved into Yankee Stadium. The club also got a new head coach in Red Strader, who had guided the AAFC club to an 8-4 record in 1949.

The visiting Detroit Lions were far better established in the NFL, but were also undergoing a transformation. Under Head Coach Bo McMillan, the team had a new quarterback, Bobby Layne, who played for the Bulldogs the previous year. HB Bob “Hunchy” Hoernschemeyer was added from the AAFC and the rookie crop included HB Doak Walker, end Leon Hart, and linemen Lou Creekmur and Thurman McGraw.

The Lions had won their first two games while the Yanks split their first two contests on the road.

There were 12,482 fans at the Polo Grounds on a Friday night, where the game was shifted in order to not disturb the Yankee Stadium turf for the forthcoming World Series. In the first quarter, QB George Ratterman (pictured above), another ex-AAFC star, threw to end Dan Edwards for a 45-yard gain that set up a 21-yard touchdown pass to HB George Taliaferro. However, the Lions evened the score when DHB Bob Smith returned an intercepted pass 35 yards for a TD.


In the second quarter, Ratterman twice connected with FB Sherman Howard for scores of 36 and 31 yards to give New York a 21-7 halftime lead. The Yanks poured it on in the third quarter as Layne was tackled in his end zone by DB Duke Iverson for a safety and then Ratterman tossed his fourth touchdown pass, of six yards to end Jack Russell. It was 30-7 entering the final period.

In the fourth quarter, Detroit finally got on the board again when Walker went in from a yard out and added the extra point. However, Howard promptly returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a TD and the Yanks maintained a commanding lead of 37-14.

New York’s last touchdown was set up when DHB Spec Sanders, yet another former AAFC star, intercepted a Layne pass at the Detroit 24 and returned it to the five. Taliaferro went the rest of the way on a pitch-out. The Lions scored one last, meaningless TD as HB Lindy Pearson ran in from two yards out, and the final tally was a convincing 44-21 win for the Yanks.

New York outgained the Lions (359 yards to 267) and had the edge in first downs (16 to 14). Both teams turned the ball over three times and were penalized on five occasions.

George Ratterman completed 15 of 29 passes for 264 yards and four touchdowns, with three intercepted. For Detroit, Bobby Layne was successful on just 10 of 30 throws for 118 yards.

The Yanks continued to put points on the board and win games, peaking at 6-1 before losing four straight. They ended up at 7-5 and in third place in the National Conference. The Lions were right behind in fourth with a 6-6 record.

George Ratterman led the NFL with 22 touchdown passes, but also 24 interceptions (tied with Jim Hardy of the Cardinals and Green Bay’s Tobin Rote). He finished second in passing yards (2251) to Bobby Layne (2323).

Sherman Howard, the second-year back who scored three touchdowns, ended up with 9 TDs for the year. He ran for 362 yards on 71 attempts (5.1 avg.) and three touchdowns, caught 12 passes for 278 yards (23.2 avg.) and five TDs, and had the score on the kickoff return (the only kick return for a touchdown by any of the Yanks).

While the Yanks were the better team on this day, and ended up with the better record (although the Lions won handily in the rematch in Detroit), the fate of the two franchises sharply diverged. By 1952, the Lions were on their way to the NFL Championship, while the Yanks no longer existed. Ratterman and several other players jumped to the Canadian League, and the team suffered on the field accordingly in ‘51. While Ratterman eventually rejoined the club, the final record was a dismal 1-9-2. Never a good draw even when the team played well, Ted Collins pulled the plug on the Yanks and sold the franchise back to the league.

Past Venue: Yankee Stadium

New York, NY (Bronx)



Year opened: 1923
Capacity: 67,000

Names:
Yankee Stadium, 1923-2010

Pro football tenants:
New York Yankees (AFL/NFL), 1926-28
New York Yankees (AFL), 1936-37
New York Yankees/Americans (AFL), 1940-41
New York Yankees (AAFC), 1946-49
New York Yanks (NFL), 1950-51
New York Giants (NFL), 1956-73

Postseason games hosted:
AAFC Championship, Browns 14 Yankees 3, Dec. 14, 1947
NFL Championship, Giants 47 Bears 7, Dec. 30, 1956
NFL Eastern Conf. playoff, Giants 10 Browns 0, Dec. 21, 1958
NFL Championship, Colts 23 Giants 17, Dec. 28, 1958
NFL Championship, Packers 16 Giants 7, Dec. 30, 1962

Other tenants of note:
New York Yankees (MLB – AL), 1923-73, 1976-2008
New York Generals (NPSL/NASL), 1967-68
New York Cosmos (NASL), 1971, 76

Notes: Both the Yankees and Yankees/Americans of the second and third AFL split their home games between Yankee Stadium and the then-Randall’s Island Stadium (aka Downing Stadium). Also hosted one home game of NFL Boston Yanks in 1945. NFL Giants played one home game at the stadium in 1973 before it was closed for major renovations. Underwent significant renovation between 1973 and ’76. Built and originally owned by baseball’s Yankees after they were evicted from the Polo Grounds by the Giants. Hosted many college football games, most notably Army vs. Notre Dame in 1946, and including NYU, Army, Notre Dame, and Fordham Univ. First football game played at the stadium was a college contest between Syracuse and Pittsburgh on Oct. 20, 1923. Last was also a college game involving Central State of Ohio and Grambling on Sept. 12, 1987.

Fate: Demolished in 2010, the site is to be used as a park.

1951: Norm Van Brocklin Passes for 554 Yards vs. NY Yanks

The high-powered Los Angeles Rams offense of the early 1950s was capable of big performances. In 1950, they scored over 50 points in three games that included a 70-27 thrashing of the Baltimore Colts, newly arrived from the AAFC, and 65-24 pounding of the Detroit Lions a week later. Not surprisingly, they ran up a record 466 points in ’50 and nearly won the NFL championship. While at it, they set another standard with 5420 total yards.

As one would expect, Head Coach Joe Stydahar’s offense was loaded with outstanding players. The quarterbacking was split between two future Hall of Famers, Bob Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin. The stable of running backs included power-running fullbacks Dick Hoerner and Dan Towler and speedy halfbacks Glenn Davis, the former Heisman Trophy winner out of Army, and Verda “Vitamin” Smith. Ends Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch and Tom Fears provided a Hall of Fame tandem for the Canton-bound passers to throw to.

On September 28, 1951 the Rams opened a new season against the New York Yanks at the Memorial Coliseum. With Waterfield sidelined by a knee injury, Van Brocklin had an opportunity to play the entire game and made the most of it.

The Yanks, a third-year franchise coached by Jimmy Phelan that played at Yankee Stadium (and paid a $25,000 annual fee for the right to play in the Giants’ territory), had been a respectable 7-5 in 1950. However, QB George Ratterman left the club to play in Canada and the suspect defense of ’50 had further degraded.

There were 30,316 fans on hand for the Friday night game, and they saw a record-setting offensive display. LA was up 21-0 after the first quarter as Van Brocklin threw touchdown passes of 41 yards to Hirsch and 67 yards to Smith. In between, Hoerner ran for a 22-yard TD. The Dutchman connected with Hirsch for a 47-yard touchdown in the second quarter, after he had already scored on a quarterback sneak, and the Rams were comfortably in front at halftime by a 34-7 margin.

The final score was 54-14. The Rams set new team single-game marks with 735 yards and 34 first downs. By contrast, the Yanks managed just 111 yards and 13 first downs, with only 8 net passing yards as a result of losing 55 yards on six sacks by the Rams defense.


The Dutchman completed 27 of 41 passes for 554 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. Four of Van Brocklin’s touchdown passes were to Hirsch (pictured at left), who had a total of 9 receptions for 173 yards. Tom Fears had 7 receptions for 162 yards and Vitamin Smith gained 103 yards on just two catches that included a 67-yard TD. The 554 yards broke the record set by Johnny Lujack of the Bears with 468 yards in a 1949 contest.

Most of New York’s offense came from punt returns by halfbacks Buddy Young and George Taliaferro, with Young returning one in the second quarter for a 79-yard touchdown. The only other score the Yanks managed was on a 30-yard interception return by DE Art Tait in the fourth quarter. Any chance for the offense to make something happen ended when QB John Rauch was ejected for fighting late in the second quarter. They ended up punting 14 times.

The Rams again went on to place first in the National Conference, this time with an 8-4 tally, and succeeded in defeating the Browns for the NFL title. While they didn’t reach their record scoring total of 1950, their 392 points still ranked at the top of the league and they did exceed their total yardage mark with 5506. The Yanks suffered through a 1-9-2 season to finish at the bottom of the National Conference and folded (remnants of the club, including Buddy Young and George Taliaferro, became part of the Dallas Texans franchise in 1952).

Van Brocklin’s single-game passing record continues to hold up, despite the development of the passing game in the years since. Warren Moon’s 527 yards for Houston against Kansas City in a 1990 contest has, to date, been the closest that any quarterback has come to The Dutchman’s performance.

For the 1951 season, Van Brocklin finished behind his teammate Waterfield in the passing statistics (based on yards per attempt, the edge was a very narrow 8.898 to 8.892. By the modern rating system, Waterfield’s edge was 81.8 to 80.8). As a team, the Rams topped the NFL in passing yards (3199) with Van Brocklin throwing for 1725 and Waterfield 1566.

“Crazylegs” Hirsch built upon his outstanding performance in the opening game to lead the league with 66 pass receptions and set then-NFL records in receiving yards (1495 – a full 669 yards more than runner-up Gordie Soltau of the 49ers) and touchdown receptions (17). The yardage record lasted ten years and the touchdown record for 33.