Cliff Battles
| Cliff Battles | |
|---|---|
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Position (s): Halfback |
Jersey number (s): 20 |
| born May 1, 1910 in Akron , Ohio | |
| died on April 28, 1981 in Clearwater , Florida | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1932 - 1937 | |
| College : West Virginia Wesleyan College | |
| Teams | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Games | 60 |
| as a starter | 54 |
| TD through run | 23 |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Coaching stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
| College Football Hall of Fame | |
Clifford "Cliff" Franklin Battles (* 1. May 1910 in Akron , Ohio ; † 28. April 1981 in Clearwater , Florida ) Nickname : "Gip" was an American Football player and - coaches in the National Football League (NFL). He was the first running back in NFL history to gain more than 200 yards of space in one game.
Player career
college
Battles attended high school in his hometown and played American football there. After graduating from school, he studied from 1928 to 1931 at West Virginia Wesleyan College . In addition to football, he played basketball , baseball and tennis. He was also active as a track and field athlete . For his college football team , he usually ran as a halfback , but also played in other positions. In 1930 he was able to achieve seven touchdowns for his team . In 1931 he was able to increase this number to 15, seven of which he scored alone in one game. Battles never achieved All-Star status in college , despite receiving multiple awards from his college in all sports. Battles was courted by the scouts of various football professional teams.
Professional football player
In 1932, Battles received contract offers from the Portsmouth Spartans and the New York Giants . Both teams offered him a salary of 150 dollars on each game. Since the Boston Braves offered him $ 25 more, he signed with the newly formed team from Boston . In 1933 he was able to increase his income to 2750 US dollars, which was an average of 230 US dollars per game. Battles was a teammate in Boston by the later member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Turk Edwards , who should block him as an offensive tackle the way into the opposing end zone . Battles was an exceptionally fast player who was difficult to control from the opposing defense . If his teammates had blocked his way through the opposing defensive line , he could no longer be overtaken.
The Braves were renamed Redskins a year later and were forced to move to Washington, DC prior to the 1937 season as their annual loss was $ 100,000. In 1936 the team was supplemented with the end Wayne Millner , who acted as another blocker of Battles and was later also inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In the same year the Redskins were able to move into the NFL championship game for the first time , but had to admit defeat to the Green Bay Packers 21: 6. Battles injured himself early in the game and could therefore not prevent the defeat of his team.
After the team moved to Washington, the Redskins succeeded in signing Sammy Baugh , who would henceforth lead the team as quarterback and, like many of his teammates, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Baugh and Battles were an excellent match. They managed to move into the final with the team in 1937. The championship title could finally be won with a 28:21 win against the Chicago Bears . Battles scored a touchdown in the game.
Battles set numerous season records. As a rookie he gained 576 yards of space in one season, and in 1937 he achieved this season record again - this time with 874 yards. In 1933 he was able to achieve an average of 5.4 yards per run. In 1933 he was able to gain 215 yards of space in a game against the Giants by running play, making him the first NFL player to exceed the 200 yard mark in one game.
Immediately after the 1937 season, a controversial discussion broke out between the team's owners and Cliff Battles over his future pay. As his teammate Sammy Baugh said in an interview years after his retirement, Battles demanded a payment of $ 3,000 per season. That would have increased his income by $ 250. Baugh went on to say that the Redskins were unwilling to pay the "ridiculous" premium of $ 250 to the league's best running back. Battles retired as a player and became an assistant coach at Columbia University on an annual income of $ 4,000 .
Coaching career
Battles was at Columbia University until 1943, the last two years as a basketball team coach. After serving in the United States Marine Corps , he was head coach of the Brooklyn Dodgers , a team that was part of the All-America Football Conference , for two years .
According to the NFL
Battles was a General Electric distributor until he retired . He retired in 1979 and died of heart failure. Battles was buried in Rockville . He was married and had two daughters and six grandchildren.
Honors
Battles was voted All-Pro six times . He is a member of the 1930s NFL All-Decade Team , the College Football Hall of Fame , the West Virginia Hall of Fame , his College Hall of Fame , and the Pro Football Hall of Fame . His hometown named a street after him.
Web links
- Cliff Battles at the Washington Redskins
- Biography (PDF; 51 kB)
- Battles trainer statistics
- Battles at college
Individual evidence
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Redskins 1936
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Redskins 1937
- Jump up ↑ Battles' Tomb
- ^ Obituary in the NY Times New York Times
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Battles, Cliff |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Battles, Clifford Franklin |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player and coach |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 1, 1910 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Akron , Ohio |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 28, 1981 |
| Place of death | Clearwater , Florida |