http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/sports/football/18baugh.html?hp Sammy Baugh, the Washington Redskins quarterback who was one of football’s greatest passers and a pivotal figure in transforming the National Football League from a plodding affair into a high-scoring spectacle, died Wednesday in Rotan, Tex. He was 94. . . . coached the New York Titans, forerunners of the Jets, to 7-7 records in their first two seasons in the new American Football League.
I knew Slinging Sammy was good - but not this good: "He led the N.F.L. in average passing yards per game six times, and he threw 187 career touchdown passes and for 21,886 yards. He completed 70.33 percent of his passes in 1945, ranking second only to Ken Anderson’s 70.55 percent, with the 1982 Cincinnati Bengals."
Sammy might have been the greatest QB of all time! Sam, Jim Brown (the Browns RB, greatest football player of all time) and Otto Graham get no respect. I am tired of hearing about Montana, Marino, Bradshaw etc. THEY WERE THE GREATEST! And while the NFL often do a great job of promoting former players? They do a piss poor job of promoting early legends... These guys were the Babe Ruth, the Ty Cobb and the Satchel Paige of the NFL.
Thanks for your feedback. Dude, I hear you! I agree 1000% with you, except that Otto Graham might have had even ore insane stats to say that he was even greater than Baugh. Whatever--I was alive when Jim Brown played football, and he was for sure the greatest football player who ever lived. You had to see him to believe him!
It's hard to rank them as they all have an argument. But Johnny Unitas, Sammy Baugh, Otto Graham, Joe Montana all could be considered the greatest of all-time.
Yes, there is absolutely no doubt that Slingin' Sammy was "that good." There was some "rank the greatest QB of all time" nonsense a year or two ago, and while (as you might expect) most people's lists only had modern era QBs like Montana, Aikman, Manning, Moon, Marino,Young, Elway, Favre, etc. -- maybe going back to Bart Starr at most -- I picked Sammy to be one of mine. Among the giants of his era such as Sid Luckman, Don Hutson, Otto Graham, Bobby Layne, he may stand above them all. Rest in peace. I hope he had a happy and relatively healthy life after football. LOL, his connection to the Jets is relatively minor. It's the Redskins that can say that, not us.
Let's not forget he played three ways. One of the articles talks about the game he threw 4 tds and also intercepted 4 passes. He STILL hold the all time punting record of over 51 yards per in a single season.
He was the franchise's first coach, and with a .500 record, one of its most successful. I say the Jets don the Titans blue and gold for the finale and put a SB patch on the shoulder...SB, might bring a little karma as well, huh?
The article says 15 -29 while the stat line says 17-34, not sure what that is about. Either way, a great game for him.
