Sammy Baugh
| Sammy Baugh | |
|---|---|
 |
|
|
Positions: Quarterback , Defensive Back , Punter |
Jersey number (s): 33 |
| born March 17, 1914 in Temple , Texas | |
| died on December 17, 2008 in Rotan , Texas | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1937 - 1952 | |
| NFL Draft : 1937 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6 | |
| College : Texas Christian University | |
| Teams | |
|
|
| Career statistics | |
| Games | 165 |
| TD - INT | 187-203 |
| Thrown yards | 21,886 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
| College Football Hall of Fame | |
Samuel Adrian "Sammy" Baugh (* 17th March 1914 in Temple , Texas ; † 17th December 2008 in Rotan , Texas) Nickname : Slingin 'Sammy was a US American football player and trainer. Among other things, he played as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins . Baugh was one of the first players in professional football to permanently and systematically establish the passing game as an offensive play in his team's game system.
origin
Sammy Baugh was born into a poor family on a farm in Temple, Texas. At the age of 16, he and his family moved to Sweetwater , where his father found a job with the railroad . His father was an alcoholic and a gambler, after leaving his family, his mother divorced and raised Sammy and his two siblings alone. Even as a child, Baugh tried to improve his throwing technique by throwing the ball from different distances through a suspended car tire. Baugh first attended high school in Temple and after the family moved to Sweetwater , where he played alongside American football, baseball and basketball .
Player career
College career
Samuel Baugh received a baseball scholarship from Washington State University . Due to a knee injury, however, he was unable to compete. Baugh studied from 1934 to 1936 at the Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth . Also at this college , Baugh was both a football player and a baseball and basketball player.
College football player
As was customary for the time, he played in various positions in American football. He was an excellent punter , halfback, and defensive back . The position of a quarterback was not yet defined. Only players like Sammy Baugh, who were able to throw a ball precisely and who saw the passing game not only as an "emergency play", turned a running back throwing the ball into the now known quarterback. While previously 10 passes per game were the norm, Baugh threw the ball 40 times per game. In total, he threw 587 passes during his student days and was able to achieve 39 touchdowns . In 1936 he led his team to the Sugar Bowl , where the Louisiana State University team were beaten 3-2. In 1937 Baugh played in the Cotton Bowl Classic against Marquette University . The TCU Horned Frogs won 16-6 and Baugh was named the game's Most Valuable Player (MVP). In both 1935 and 1936, Sammy Baugh was voted All American . In his senior year he played as a selection player in the College All-Star Game against the Green Bay Packers , who could be beaten 6-0.
College baseball player
Baugh was nicknamed Slingin 'Sammy as a baseball player by a Texas sports journalist. For the TCU college baseball team, he played as a third baseman . After completing his studies, he received a professional contract with the St. Louis Cardinals but was immediately sent to a lower class team, who passed him on to a third class team. He received little time and therefore decided to end his baseball career.
Professional career
Sammy Baugh was drafted sixth in the first round by the Washington Redskins in 1937 . In his senior year of college, the Redskins had made him an offer for a one-year contract with an income of $ 4,000 (according to other sources, $ 5,000). Baugh claimed an income of $ 8,000. He received this amount and became the highest paid professional player in the NFL. The Redskins shouldn't regret this commitment. Head coach of the Redskins was Ray Flaherty , who initially used Baugh as a tailback . For his passes Baugh had several outstanding players such as the End Wayne Millner or the Halfback Cliff Battles available. The Redskins won eight of eleven games in the 1937 regular season and were able to qualify for the NFL championship game against the Chicago Bears trained by George Halas . Baugh threw 17 passes in the final for a space gain of 335 yards . He succeeded several times in staging Wayne Millner, who was able to use two of Baugh's three touchdown passes to points for the Redskins. The Redskins won 28:21.
Slingin 'Sammy was also involved in the Redskins' biggest defeat. In 1940, the Washington, DC team qualified again for the NFL final and the Bears retaliated for the 1937 defeat. Sid Luckman , quarterback for the Bears, led his team to a safe 73-0 win and Baugh contributed two interceptions to his team's defeat. The defeat left its mark. 1941 was not a good year for either the Redskins or Baugh personally. His ten touchdown passes were 19 interceptions and the Redskins had nothing to do with the outcome of the championship. In 1942, the team was clearly recovered and won ten of eleven games. Opponents in the NFL championship game were again the Bears. Baugh managed a touchdown pass to win his team 14: 6. In the 1943 season, the Dutch Bergman- trained Redskins won a play-off game against the New York Giants 28-0. Baugh threw another touchdown pass and moved with his team for the fourth time in the NFL final. As usual, you met the team from Chicago , where Hunk Anderson had taken over the coaching office. Baugh threw two touchdowns, but his counterpart at the Bears, Sid Luckman, had an excellent day - five of his passes could be used for touchdowns. During the game Baugh was also eliminated, he had sustained an injury in a tackle against Luckman. The Bears won by 41:21.
1944 Dudley DeGroot took over the coaching position with the Redskins. He led the team into the final against the Cleveland Rams a year later . The Rams had strengthened themselves in the same year with the new quarterback hope Bob Waterfield and could narrowly defeat the Redskins in the final with 15:14. Baugh made a game of critical mistakes. When trying to pass, he ran into his own end zone and threw the ball against the crossbar of his own goal. According to the rules of the time, this represented a safety and the Rams took a 2-0 lead. DeGroot had to give up his coaching post after the game and was replaced by Turk Edwards . By the end of his career in 1952, Baugh was not to move into any final, but on November 23, 1947, in a game against the eventual champions Chicago Cardinals , he showed his great ability again. Baugh threw 33 passes in the 45:21 win, 25 of which were caught, gaining 355 yards and six touchdowns. This game day would go down in US sports history as "Sammy Baugh Day". Local sponsors honored Baugh and gave him a car after the game.
Baugh was an outstanding player who was also used as a professional player in various positions. As a playmaker, he set up numerous best performances of the year. In 1945, his quarterback rating was 109.9. 1947 was his best year statistically. Although his team was only mediocre, 59.3% of his passes were caught by his own players. He achieved a space gain of 2938 yards, 25 touchdowns with 15 interceptions and a quarterback rating of 92. He also performed well as a defensive back. In 1943 he was able to intercept eleven passports, which was also an annual high. As in college, Sammy Baugh was also used as a punter with the Redskins. As with his stats as a quarterback, as a punter he is still at the top of the NFL record books.
Coaching career
Sammy Baugh's coaching career was less successful. From 1955 to 1959 he was head coach at Hardin-Simmons University . But his team could only win 23 of 51 games. In 1960 he took over the coaching position with the New York Titans in the newly formed American Football League (AFL). After two even playing years, he was released after the 1961 season and replaced by Bulldog Turner . After a stint as an assistant coach at the University of Tulsa , he returned to the AFL and coached the Houston Oilers for a year in 1964, without success .
Honors
Samuel Baugh played in a Pro Bowl and was voted All-Pro nine times . Baugh is a member of the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team , the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team , the College Football Hall of Fame , the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame , and the Cotton Bowl Hall of fame . His shirt number 33 is no longer given by the Redskins. His college also banned his number 45 shirt. The Sporting News magazine named him one of the top 100 football players of all time. The Western Texas College in Snyder named his golf course Sammy Baugh.
Off the NFL
Sammy Baugh played a Texas Ranger in a twelve-part film series in 1941 . He was paid a salary of $ 4,500 for this. After his career, he bought a ranch in Texas . Baugh had been married since 1938 and had five children. His wife died in 1990 and he himself last lived in a retirement home near his ranch, which one of his sons continued to run. Sammy Baugh is buried in Belvieu Cemetery in Rotan.
Web links
- Biography / obituary in The Washington Post
- Biography in The Washington Post
- Sammy Baugh on the Texas State Historical Association website
- Biography II (German) ( Memento from January 17, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- Biography / obituary in the New York Times
- Biography on the website of ESPN
- Sammy Baugh with the Washington Redskins ( March 7, 2011 memento in the Internet Archive )
- Sammy Baugh of the Washington Redskins II
- Sammy Baugh at thehogs.net
- Coach statistics
- Sammy Baugh in the Texas Sports Hall of Fame
- Sammy Baugh in the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame
- Sammy Baugh in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Redskins 1937
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Redskins 1940
- ↑ NFL final 1940 statistics
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Redskins 1941
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Redskins 1942
- ^ NFL final 1942 statistics
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Redskins 1943
- ↑ Play-Off Game 1943 - Statistics
- ^ NFL final 1943 statistics
- ^ Annual statistics of the Redskins 1945
- ^ NFL final 1945 - statistics
- ↑ Statistics of the best NFL quarterbacks
- ↑ Statistics of the best NFL punters
- ↑ Sammy Baugh on the list of the 100 best football players of all time ( September 12, 2009 memento in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Web site Sammy Baugh Golf Course
- ↑ Sammy Baugh's Tomb in the Find a Grave database
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Baugh, Sammy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Baugh, Samuel Adrian; Slingin 'Sammy |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player and coach |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 17, 1914 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Temple , Texas |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 17, 2008 |
| Place of death | Rotan , Texas |