Unfathomable ; Others Have Redefined Professional Football, but Baugh's Impact On the Game's Evolution Is Something Very Few Fans Can Appreciate
The Washington Times › December 20, 2008
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Summary
Unless you're old enough to have owned Redskins season tickets in 1937, you can only begin to imagine the splash Sammy Baugh made when he came into the NFL that year. Pro football at the time was still in a primitive state - three yards and a glob of mud. And then Slingin' Sammy came along ... and everything began to change
Picture this, if you will: In his first season, as the tailback in the team's single wing, he leads the Redskins to the NFL Championship game. Then, on a frigid day at Wrigley Field, he passes for 335 yards and three long touchdowns to defeat the mighty - and mighty ornery - Bears 28-21.See the full content of this document
Extract
Unfathomable ; Others Have Redefined Professional Football, but Baugh's Impact On the Game's Evolution Is Something Very Few Fans Can Appreciate
Quarterbacks just didn't throw for 335 yards and touchdowns of 78, 55 and 35 yards back in 1937. They were much more likely to throw for 78, 55 or 35 yards - and no touchdowns. In fact, nobody had ever thrown for 335 yards in an NFL game before, and here was Baugh doing it in the title game. Imagine a rookie QB doing that today. Imagine the Falcons' Matt Ryan throwing for, oh, 575 yards in the Super Bowl. Unfathomable. That's what Sammy Baugh's impact on pro football was like.
You've been hearing a lot of hype lately - thanks to ESPN's documentary about the 1958 sudden death game between the Colts and the Giants - about Johnny Unitas and Raymond B...See the full content of this document
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