Cecil Frank Isbell (July 11, 1915 – June 23, 1985) was anAmerican football quarterback and coach. He played 5 seasons in theNational Football League (NFL) with theGreen Bay Packers, leading them to theNFL Championship in1939. He retired after the 1942 season to become an assistant coach at his alma mater, Purdue University, and the following year became its head coach for three seasons.^[1][2]

Cecil Isbell

circa 1937
No. 17
Position:	Tailback
Personal information
Born:	(1915-07-11)July 11, 1915 Houston, Texas, U.S.
Died:	June 23, 1985(1985-06-23) (aged 69) Hammond, Indiana, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
College:	Purdue
NFL draft:	1938: 1st round, 7th pick
Career history
As a player:
Green Bay Packers (1938–1942)
As a coach:
Purdue (1943) Assistant coach Purdue (1944–1946) Head coach Baltimore Colts (1947–1949) Head coach Chicago Cardinals (1950–1951) Offensive coordinator, quarterbacks & running backs coach Chicago Cardinals (1951) Interim head coach Dallas Texans (1952) Backfield coach LSU (1953) Backfield coach
Career highlights and awards
NFL champion (1939) First-teamAll-Pro (1941) 4× Second-teamAll-Pro (1938–1941,1942) 4×Pro Bowl (1938, 1939, 1941, 1942) 2×NFL passing touchdowns leader (1941, 1942) 2×NFL passing yards leader (1941, 1942) NFL 1930s All-Decade Team Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Second-teamAll-American (1936) Third-team All-American (1937) 2× First-teamAll-Big Ten (1936,1937)
Career NFL statistics
TD–INT: 61–52 Passing yards: 5,945 Passer rating: 72.6 Rushing yards: 1,522 Rushing average: 3.6 Rushing touchdowns: 10 Stats atPro Football Reference
Head coaching record
Regular season:	10–23–1 (.309)
Postseason:	0–1 (.000)
Career:	NCAA: 14–14–1 (.500) NFL: 10–24–1 (.300)
Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference
College Football Hall of Fame

Isbell was the head coach of theBaltimore Colts of theAll-America Football Conference from1947 to1949, resigning after four winless games.^[3] He then became an assistant under former head coachCurly Lambeau, now with theChicago Cardinals. When Lambeau resigned late in the1951 season, Isbell was the interim head coach for the final two games, which they split. Isbell's pro head coaching record was 10–23–1. He was hired as an assistant coach with theDallas Texans of the NFL in1952. Isbell was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1967.

Born inHouston,Texas, Isbell was the second son of Adger and Sarah Isbell. His older brother Cody was also a football player for Purdue and his two younger brothers also played college football: William Adger "Dub" Isbell Jr. atRice Institute andLarry Isbell atBaylor University.

Isbell attendedSam Houston High School in Houston, then went to Purdue, where played from1935 through1937. He was voted theBoilermakers' most valuable player for the 1937 season. In the summer of 1938, he led theCollege All-Stars to victory over the defending NFL championWashington Redskins atSoldier Field inChicago. Isbell was named the game's MVP as the All-Stars prevailed, 28–16.^[4]

Isbell was selected in the first round of the1938 NFL draft by theGreen Bay Packers, the seventh overall pick.^[5] When he arrived in Green Bay, the Packers already had an All-Pro tailback,Arnie Herber. who had led the Packers to theNFL championship in1936. CoachCurly Lambeau alternated Isbell and Herber and occasionally used them in the same backfield, with Isbell at halfback. This "platooning" allowed Isbell to learn Lambeau's offense, theNotre Dame Box. Isbell was a very accurate passer and a good runner and he led the Packers in rushing and passing in his rookie year.

The Packers came in first in the West and faced theNew York Giants in thechampionship game at thePolo Grounds. Isbell rushed 11 times for 20 yards and was 3 of 5 passing for 91 yards, but the Giants prevailed, 23–17. In1939, the Packers used the same attack and again Isbell led the team in rushing while catching 9 passes as well. The Packers again won the Western division and faced New York in a rematch from the year before. This time the game was played in Milwaukee and Green Bay crushed the Giants, 27–0, with Isbell throwing a 27-yard touchdown pass.

From1940 to1942, the Packers finished second in the West to theChicago Bears each year. Isbell became a more accomplished passer during this time, connecting regularly withDon Hutson in record-setting frequency. In1941, Isbell set an NFL record for yards passing with 1,479 and led the league in completion percentage (56.8%) and touchdown passes with 15 (10 to Hutson).^[6] The Packers finished the season tied with Chicago, but lost to the Bears in a divisional tiebreaker playoff, 33–14. In 1942, Isbell surpassed his own record with 2,021 yards passing and set a new record with 24 touchdown passes. Hutson also set NFL records with 74 receptions, 1,211 yards receiving and 17 touchdowns (Hutson's touchdown mark was matched byElroy Hirsch in 1951 and stood until 1984). Still, the Packers finished second toChicago, who were 11–0 in the regular season.

After the 1942 season, Isbell quit the NFL after just 5 years.^[7] He finished with 5,945 yards passing, 61 touchdowns, and 52 interceptions. According to Isbell, he retired because he'd been offered a coaching job and he thought it was too good an offer to pass up. He later admitted that accepting the coaching job was a mistake, saying, "If it means anything to anyone, I should've kept playing."

Former NFL & Green Bay Packers record

• Held the NFL record formost consecutive games with a touchdown pass with 23 games from 1940 to 1942. (These were the last 23 games of Isbell's career.) The record was later surpassed byJohnny Unitas in 1957 beforeDrew Brees eclipsed it in 2012.^[8][9] He held the Green Bay Packer record until it was later surpassed byBrett Favre in 2003.^[10]
• First player to pass for 2,000 yards in a season in 1942.^[11]

TheProfessional Football Researchers Association named Isbell to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2008.^[12] Isbell is one of ten players that were named to theNational Football League 1930s All-Decade Team that have not been inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame. He was inducted into theGreen Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1972.^[13]

Isbell started out at Purdue as an assistant coach in 1943 and took over as head coach in 1944. He coached there for three years with a 14–14–1 record. In 1947, he became a pro coach for theBaltimore Colts in theAll-America Football Conference.^[14] He lasted for2+2⁄3 seasons, resigning prior to the fifth game in 1949.^[3] His one claim to fame from those years in the AAFC was he was the first coach ofY. A. Tittle, who went on to great success in the NFL. After a few more years as an assistant coach in the NFL coaching theChicago Cardinals under head coachCurly Lambeau, and later the Dallas Texans, Isbell quit football for business in the mid-1950s.

Isbell was elected to theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 1967. On June 23, 1985, Isbell died inHammond, Indiana. His tombstone gives his name as Cecil Fay Isbell.