.jpg) Baugh with theWashington Redskins in 1937 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 33 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Positions | Quarterback Punter Safety | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1914-03-17)March 17, 1914 Temple, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | December 17, 2008(2008-12-17) (aged 94) Rotan, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 182 lb (83 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Sweetwater (Sweetwater, Texas) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College | TCU (1934–1936) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1937: 1st round, 6th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Career | AFL: 18–24 (.429) College: 23–28 (.451) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference | |||||||||||||||||||||
Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professionalfootballquarterback who played 16 seasons with theWashington Redskins of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theTCU Horned Frogs, where he was a two timeAll-American prior to being selected by the Redskins in the first round of the1937 NFL draft. With the Redskins, Baugh wonNFL Championships in1937 and1942 and led the NFL in completion percentage eight times, passing yards four times, and passing touchdowns twice.
Baugh also played as apunter andsafety, leading the NFL in punting average five times and in defensive interceptions with 11 in 1943. After his playing career, he served as a college coach for theHardin–Simmons Cowboys before coaching professionally for theNew York Titans andHouston Oilers. Baugh was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1963 and was named to the NFL's75th and100th Anniversary All-Time teams.
Baugh was born on March 17, 1914, inTemple, Texas,[1] the second son of James, a worker on theSanta Fe Railroad,[2] and Lucy Baugh. His parents later divorced and his mother raised the three children.[2] When he was 16, the family then moved toSweetwater, Texas,[1] and he attendedSweetwater High School.[3] As thequarterback[4] of hishigh school football team (Sweetwater Mustangs), he practiced for hours throwing a football through a swinging automobile tire, often on the run.[1] Baugh practicedpunting more than throwing.[5]
However, he really wanted to become a professionalbaseball player and almost received ascholarship to play atWashington State University.[5] About a month before he started at Washington State, however, Baugh hurt his knee while sliding into second base during a game, and the scholarship fell through.[5]
After coachDutch Meyer told him he could play three sports (football,baseball, andbasketball),[6] Baugh attendedTexas Christian University. While at TCU, he threw 587 passes in his three varsity seasons for 39 touchdowns.[7] Baugh was named anAll-American in 1935 and 1936.[7] He also led theHorned Frogs to twobowl game wins, a 3–2 victory overLSU in the1936 Sugar Bowl, and a 16–6 victory overMarquette in thefirst annual Cotton Bowl Classic in 1937[7] after which he was namedMVP.[1] He finished fourth in voting for theHeisman Trophy in 1936.[8]
In early 1936,Washington Redskins ownerGeorge Preston Marshall offered Baugh $4,000 to play for them.[6] Originally unsure about playing professional football, he did not agree to the contract until after theCollege All-Star Game, where the team beat theGreen Bay Packers 6–0.[2][6]
| Year | Passing | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | TD | |
| 1934 | 69 | 171 | 40.4 | 883 | 10 |
| 1935 | 97 | 210 | 46.2 | 1,241 | 18 |
| 1936 | 104 | 206 | 50.5 | 1,196 | 12 |
| Career | 270 | 587 | 46.0 | 3,320 | 40 |
Baugh was also a baseball player at TCU, where he playedthird base.[1][9] It was during his time as a baseball player that he earned the nickname "Slinging Sammy",[9] which he got from a Texas sportswriter.[1] After college, Baugh signed a contract with theSt. Louis Cardinals and was sent to theminor leagues to play with the American AssociationColumbus Red Birds, after being converted toshortstop. He was then sent to the International League'sRochester, New York Red Wings, St. Louis's other top farm club.[1] While there he received little playing time behind starting shortstopMarty Marion[1] and was unhappy with his prospects. He then turned to professional football.[9]
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As expected, Baugh was selected in the first round (sixth overall) of the1937 NFL draft by theWashington Redskins, the same year the team moved fromBoston.[10][11] He signed a one-year contract with the Redskins and received $8,000, making him the highest-paid player on the team.[1]
During his rookie season in 1937, Baugh played quarterback (although in Washington's formation he was officially lined up as a tailback or halfback until 1944), safety, and punter, set an NFL record for completions with 91 in 218 attempts and threw for a league-high 1,127 yards.[9] He led the Redskins to theNFL Championship game against theChicago Bears, where he finished 17 of 33 for 335 yards and his second-half touchdown passes of 55, 78 and 33 yards gave Washington a 28–21 victory.[1] His 335 passing yards remained the most ever in a playoff game by any rookie quarterback in NFL history untilRussell Wilson broke the record in2012. The Redskins and Bears met three times in championship games between 1940 and 1943. In the1940 Championship game, the Bears recorded the most one-sided victory in NFL history, beating Washington 73–0.[1] After the game, Baugh was asked what would have happened if the Redskins' first drive had resulted in a touchdown. He shrugged and replied: "What? The score would have been 73–7".
Baugh's heyday came duringWorld War II. In 1942, Baugh and theRedskins won the East Conference with a 10–1 record.[1] In the1942 Championship game, Baugh threw a touchdown pass and kept theBears in their own territory with some strong punts, including an 85-yard quick kick, and Washington won 14–6.[1]
"I didn't know how much pro players were making, but I thought they were
making pretty good money. So I askedMr. Marshall for $8,000, and I finally
got it. Later I felt like a robber when I found out whatCliff Battles and some
of those other good players were making. I'll tell you what the highest-priced
boy in Washington was getting the year before—not half as much as $8,000!
Three of them—Cliff Battles,Turk Edwards andWayne Millner—got peanuts,
and all of 'em in theHall of Fame now. If I had known what they were getting
I'd have never asked for $8,000."
Baugh had what many consider to be the greatest single season performance by a pro football player during 1943 in which he led the league in pass completions,punting (45.9-yard average) andinterceptions (11).[1][10] One of Baugh's more memorable single-game performances during the season was when he threw four touchdown passes and intercepted four passes in a 42–20 victory over theLions.[1] He was selected as an All-Pro tailback that year. The Redskins again made it to thechampionship game, but lost to theBears 41–21. During the game, Baugh suffered aconcussion while tackling Bears quarterbackSid Luckman and had to leave.[1]
During the 1945 season, Baugh completed 128 of 182 passes for a 70.33 completion percentage, which was an NFL record that lasted until being broken byKen Anderson in 1982.[1] He threw 11 touchdown passes and only four interceptions. The Redskins again won the East Conference but lost 15–14 in the1945 Championship game against theCleveland Rams. The one-point margin of victory came under scrutiny because of asafety that occurred early in the game. In the first quarter, the Redskins had the ball at their own 5-yard line. Dropping back into theend zone, Baugh threw to an open receiver, but the ball hit the goal post (which at the time was on the goal line instead of at the back of the end zone) and bounced back to the ground in the end zone. Under the rules at the time, this was ruled as a safety and thus gave the Rams a 2–0 lead. It was that safety that proved to be the margin of victory. Owner Marshall was so angry at the outcome that he became a major force in passing the following major rule change after the season: A forward pass that strikes the goal posts is automatically ruled incomplete. This later became known as the "Baugh/Marshall Rule".[12]
"The best, as far as I'm concerned. He could not only throw the ball, he
could play defense, he could punt the football, he ran it when he had to.
He and I roomed together, and he was a football man. He knew football,
played it, and everybody had a lot of confidence in him."
One of Baugh's more memorable single performances came on "Sammy Baugh Day" on November 23, 1947. That day, theWashington D.C. Touchdown Club honored him atGriffith Stadium and gave him astation wagon.[1] Against theChicago Cardinals he passed for 355 yards and six touchdowns.[1][10] That season, the Redskins finished 4–8, but Baugh had career highs in completions (210), attempts (354), yards (2,938) and touchdown passes (25), leading the league in all four categories.[1]
Baugh played for five more years leading the league in completion percentage for the sixth and seventh times in 1948 and 1949. He then retired after the 1952 season.[1] In his final game, a 27–21 win overPhiladelphia atGriffith Stadium, he played for several minutes before retiring to a prolonged standing ovation from the crowd.[2] Baugh won numerous NFL passing titles and earned first-team All-NFL honors four times in his career. He completed 1,693 of 2,995 passes for 21,886 yards.[1][10]
By the time he retired, Baugh set 13 NFL records in three player positions: quarterback, punter, and safety. He is considered one of the all-time great football players.[13] He gave birth to the fanaticism of Redskins fans. AsMichael Wilbon ofThe Washington Post says: "He brought not just victories but thrills and ignited Washington with a passion even the worst Redskins periods can barely diminish".[13] He was the first to play the position of quarterback as it is played today, the first to make of the forward pass an effective weapon rather than an "act of desperation".[13]
Two of his records as quarterback still stand: most seasons leading the league in passing (six; tied withSteve Young) and most seasons leading the league with the lowest interception percentage (five).[9] He is also top 20 all-time in highest single-season completion percentage (70.33), he has the most seasons leading the league in yards gained (four) and most seasons leading the league in completion percentage (seven).[9]
As a punter, Baugh retired with the NFL record for highest punting average in a career (45.1 yards), and is still second all-time (onlyShane Lechler has passed him with 46.5 yards), and has the second-best (51.4 in 1940) and fifth-best (48.7 in 1941) season marks.[1][9] He led the league in punting from 1940 through 1943.[10] His single-season record of 51.4 average yards per punt during the 1940 season was held for 82 seasons until Titans rookie punterRyan Stonehouse broke it with a 53.1 average in the 2022 season.[14]
As a safety, he was the first player in league history to intercept four passes in a game (in 1943; a record that has since been tied but not surpassed), and he is the only player to lead the league in passing, punting, and interceptions in the same season (also 1943).[1][9]
As one of the best-known of the early NFL quarterbacks, Baugh is likely to be compared to more recent great players. As noted byMichael Wilbon inThe Washington Post, the football of Baugh's era was rounder at the ends and fatter in the middle than the one used today, making it far more difficult to pass well (or even to create a proper spiral).[13] Additionally, it is important to point out that the rules for both pass-interference and for protecting quarterbacks have intensified dramatically, resulting in inflating modern quarterbacks' statistics.[15]
While playing for the Redskins, Baugh and teammateWayne Millner were assistant coaches for theCatholic University Cardinals, and went with them to the1940 Sun Bowl.[16] Baugh left Washington, D.C. in 1952. He chose not to return for Redskins team functions, despite repeated organization invitations.[2] After his playing career, he became head football coach for theHardin–Simmons Cowboys, where he compiled a 23–28 record between 1955 and 1959.[1][2]
Baugh was the first coach of theNew York Titans of theAmerican Football League (AFL) in 1960 and 1961 compiling a record of 14–14. He was an assistant for theTulsa Golden Hurricane in 1963 under head coachGlenn Dobbs. At Tulsa, he coachedAll-American quarterbackJerry Rhome.[17] In 1964, Baugh coached theHouston Oilers and went 4–10.[1][2]
Baugh also took up acting. In 1941, he made $6,400 for starring in a 12-weekserial as a dark-haired Texas Ranger named Tom King. The serial, calledKing of the Texas Rangers, was released byRepublic Studios. The episodes ran in theaters as Saturday matinees; it also starredDuncan Renaldo, later famous as TV'sCisco Kid.[2][18]
Robert Duvall patterned the role of Gus McCrae in the television seriesLonesome Dove after Baugh, particularly his arm movements, after visiting him at his home in Texas in 1988.[13]
After retiring from football, Baugh and his wife Edmonia Smith Baugh moved to his Double Mountain ranch west ofAspermont, Texas, where they had four boys and a girl.[2] Edmonia died in 1990, after 52 years of marriage to Baugh, who was her high school sweetheart.[2] According to his son, Baugh derived far more pleasure from ranching than he ever had from football, saying that he enjoyed the game, but if he could live his life over again, he probably wouldn't play sports at all.
Similar to the nicknaming of fellow football greatByron "Whizzer" White of Colorado, sportswriters had tagged "Slinging Sammy". However, Sam was his preferred name for most of his life. He always introduced himself as Sam Baugh and signed his papers and autographs that way. TCU named its football practice facility the Sam Baugh Football Center with that perspective in mind.
Baugh's health began to decline after the death of his wife. During his last years, he lived in a nursing home in a little West Texas town calledJayton, not far fromDouble Mountain Ranch. The ranch is now in the hands of Baugh's son David and is still acow-calf operation, on 20,000 acres (81 km2).[2]
TheAssociated Press quoted Baugh's son on December 17, 2008, saying Baugh had died after numerous health issues, includingAlzheimer's disease, at Fisher County Hospital inRotan, Texas.[19] He is interred at Belvieu Cemetery in Rotan.
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| Legend | |
|---|---|
| NFL Player of the Year | |
| Won theNFL championship | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Underline | Incomplete data |
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Punting | Interceptions | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | Lng | TD | Int | TD% | Int% | Rtg | Pnt | Yds | Y/P | Lng | Blck | Int | Yds | Y/I | Lng | TD | ||
| 1937 | WAS | 11 | 5 | 81 | 171 | 47.4 | 1,127 | 6.6 | 59 | 8 | 14 | 4.7 | 8.2 | 50.5 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 1938 | WAS | 9 | 3 | 63 | 128 | 49.2 | 853 | 6.7 | 60 | 5 | 11 | 3.9 | 8.6 | 48.1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 1939 | WAS | 9 | 1 | 53 | 96 | 55.2 | 518 | 5.4 | 44 | 6 | 9 | 6.3 | 9.4 | 52.3 | 26 | 998 | 38.4 | 69 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 1940 | WAS | 11 | 11 | 111 | 177 | 62.7 | 1,367 | 7.7 | 81 | 12 | 10 | 6.8 | 5.6 | 85.6 | 35 | 1,799 | 51.4 | 85 | 1 | 3 | 84 | 28.0 | 44 | 0 |
| 1941 | WAS | 11 | 1 | 106 | 193 | 54.9 | 1,236 | 6.4 | 55 | 10 | 19 | 5.2 | 9.8 | 52.2 | 30 | 1,462 | 48.7 | 75 | 0 | 4 | 83 | 20.8 | 35 | 0 |
| 1942 | WAS | 11 | 8 | 132 | 225 | 58.7 | 1,524 | 6.8 | 53 | 16 | 11 | 7.1 | 4.9 | 82.5 | 37 | 1,785 | 48.2 | 74 | 0 | 5 | 77 | 15.4 | 29 | 0 |
| 1943 | WAS | 10 | 7 | 133 | 239 | 55.6 | 1,754 | 7.3 | 72 | 23 | 19 | 9.6 | 7.9 | 78.0 | 50 | 2,295 | 45.9 | 81 | 3 | 11 | 112 | 10.2 | 23 | 0 |
| 1944 | WAS | 8 | 4 | 82 | 146 | 56.2 | 849 | 5.8 | 71 | 4 | 8 | 2.7 | 5.5 | 59.4 | 44 | 1,787 | 40.6 | 76 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 5.3 | 18 | 0 |
| 1945 | WAS | 8 | 8 | 128 | 182 | 70.3 | 1,669 | 9.2 | 70 | 11 | 4 | 6.0 | 2.2 | 109.9 | 33 | 1,429 | 43.3 | 57 | 0 | 4 | 114 | 28.5 | 74 | 0 |
| 1946 | WAS | 11 | 2 | 87 | 161 | 54.0 | 1,163 | 7.2 | 51 | 8 | 17 | 5.0 | 10.6 | 54.2 | 33 | 1,488 | 45.1 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 1947 | WAS | 12 | 1 | 210 | 354 | 59.3 | 2,938 | 8.3 | 74 | 25 | 15 | 7.1 | 4.2 | 92.0 | 35 | 1,528 | 43.7 | 67 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 1948 | WAS | 12 | 3 | 185 | 315 | 58.7 | 2,599 | 8.3 | 86 | 22 | 23 | 7.0 | 7.3 | 78.3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 1949 | WAS | 12 | 9 | 145 | 255 | 56.9 | 1,903 | 7.5 | 76 | 18 | 14 | 7.1 | 5.5 | 81.2 | 1 | 53 | 53.0 | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 1950 | WAS | 11 | 7 | 90 | 166 | 54.2 | 1,130 | 6.8 | 56 | 10 | 11 | 6.0 | 6.6 | 68.1 | 9 | 352 | 39.1 | 58 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 1951 | WAS | 12 | 9 | 67 | 154 | 43.5 | 1,104 | 7.2 | 53 | 7 | 17 | 4.5 | 11.0 | 43.8 | 4 | 221 | 55.3 | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 1952 | WAS | 7 | 5 | 20 | 33 | 60.6 | 152 | 4.6 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 6.1 | 3.0 | 79.4 | 1 | 48 | 48.0 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 165 | 84 | 1,693 | 2,995 | 56.5 | 21,886 | 7.3 | 86 | 187 | 203 | 6.2 | 6.8 | 72.2 | 338 | 15,245 | 45.1 | 85 | 9 | 31 | 491 | 15.8 | 74 | 0 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Punting | Interceptions | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | Lng | TD | Int | TD% | Int% | Rtg | Pnt | Yds | Y/P | Lng | Blck | Int | Yds | Y/I | Lng | TD | ||
| 1937 | WAS | 1 | 1 | 18 | 33 | 54.5 | 335 | 10.2 | 78 | 3 | 1 | 9.1 | 3.0 | 107.5 | 5 | 132 | 26.4 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 1940 | WAS | 1 | 1 | 10 | 17 | 58.8 | 102 | 6.0 | 50 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | 11.8 | 36.5 | 1 | 29 | 29.0 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 1942 | WAS | 1 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 38.5 | 65 | 5.0 | 38 | 1 | 2 | 7.7 | 15.4 | 41.0 | 6 | 315 | 52.5 | 61 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1943 | WAS | 2 | 0 | 24 | 33 | 72.7 | 322 | 9.8 | 31 | 3 | 3 | 9.1 | 9.1 | 95.8 | 6 | 243 | 40.5 | 66 | 0 | 2 | 48 | 24.0 | 28 | 0 |
| 1945 | WAS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 16.7 | 7 | 1.2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 39.6 | 2 | 65 | 32.5 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 6 | 3 | 58 | 102 | 56.9 | 831 | 8.1 | 78 | 7 | 8 | 6.9 | 7.8 | 73.6 | 20 | 784 | 39.2 | 66 | 0 | 3 | 48 | 16.0 | 28 | 0 | |
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardin–Simmons Cowboys(Border Conference)(1955–1959) | |||||||||
| 1955 | Hardin–Simmons | 5–5 | 3–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1956 | Hardin–Simmons | 4–6 | 1–3 | 5th | |||||
| 1957 | Hardin–Simmons | 5–5 | 3–2 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1958 | Hardin–Simmons | 6–5 | 4–0 | 1st | LSun | ||||
| 1959 | Hardin–Simmons | 3–7 | 2–2 | T–3rd | |||||
| Hardin–Simmons: | 23–28 | 13–9 | |||||||
| Total: | 23–28 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| NYT | 1960 | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 2nd in AFL East | - | - | - | |
| NYT | 1961 | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 3rd in AFL East | - | - | - | |
| HOU | 1964 | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 4th in AFL East | - | - | - | |
| NY Total | 14 | 14 | 0 | .500 | ||||||
| HOU Total | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | ||||||
| Total | 18 | 24 | 0 | .429 | ||||||
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