Sammy Baugh’s nickname was Slingin Sammy When Baugh was in high school in Texas he tied a rope to a tire and hung it from a tree He practiced throwing his football through the middle of the tire He threw from 10 yards away then moved out to 15 and 20 yards He tried throwing while he ran He did this for hours He became very accurate SAMMY BAUGH POPULARIZES THE FORWARD PASS 1 4 Sammy Baugh’s unique style led the Washington Redskins to two NFL championships
Baugh joined the Washington Redskins of the National Football League NFL in 1937 Before then quarterbacks rarely passed the ball Running plays were far more common Baugh is known for making the forward pass a bigger part of pro football He showed that passing forward was the fastest way to move the ball and score touchdowns When Baugh retired after the 1952 season he held 13 NFL records These included most passing yards and most touchdown passes Baugh was a defensive back and a punter too He was famous as a triple threat In 1943 Baugh led the NFL in pass completions pass attempts and completion percentage The same season he ranked first in punting average and led all defensive players with 11 interceptions Baugh guided the Redskins to NFL championships in 1937 and 1942 They also reached three more title games with Baugh calling the shots 6 Pro Bowls Sammy Baugh was selected for from 1938 to 1951 Baugh led NFL in passing yards four times 1937 1940 1947 1948 Baugh led the NFL in punting average for four straight years 1940 43 and again in 1945 5 Baugh in 1937
Otto Graham played just 10 years of pro football Yet Automatic Otto led the Cleveland Browns to the league championship game in each of those 10 seasons In all Graham and the Browns won seven of those games OTTO GRAHAM LEADS BROWNS TO 10 TITLE GAMES Otto Graham drives through the offensive line for a touchdown Graham’s score helped the Cleveland Browns beat the Los Angeles Rams in the 1955 NFL title game 2 6
Graham played before the Super Bowl existed He even played for the Browns before they joined the NFL From 1946 49 he led Cleveland to the All America Football Conference title The Browns joined the NFL after that And they immediately captured that league’s title too The Browns appeared in the next five NFL Championship Games as well They won it in 1954 and 1955 Graham was the first pro quarterback to win 100 games He averaged 9 0 yards per pass attempt over his career This is still the best in NFL history After the 1954 season Graham announced he was retiring from football at age 33 But the Browns struggled to find a quarterback in training camp in 1955 Their coach Paul Brown asked Graham to return to the team Graham agreed and the Browns won the title again Graham ran for two touchdowns against the Los Angeles Rams in the championship game Graham soon announced that he was retiring again And this time he meant it A MULTISPORT ATHLETE Otto Graham was more than simply a great quarterback In addition to pro football he also played pro basketball Graham played with the Rochester Royals during the 1945 46 season He helped them win the National Basketball League title 810 Career NFL winning percentage for Otto Graham It was still the highest ever for a quarterback through the 2014 season Graham had a career NFL record of 57 13 1 Graham made the Pro Bowl every year from 1950 54 7
