![]() He joined Philadelphia in 1958, where his three seasons all saw him receive further Pro Bowl selections, bringing his total to nine. After Waterfield retired, Van Brocklin served as the Rams' primary starter from 1952 to 1957, concluding his tenure with six consecutive Pro Bowl selections and a passing-yards leading season in 1954. During his first three seasons, he and teammate Bob Waterfield alternated as the starting quarterback, culminating with them leading Los Angeles to victory in the 1951 championship. Van Brocklin received All-American honors at Oregon, but was not selected by the Rams until the fourth round of the 1949 NFL Draft due to concerns over his professional availability. Following his playing career, he was the inaugural head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 1961 to 1966 and the second head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 1968 to 1974. He played quarterback, spending his first nine seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and his final three with the Philadelphia Eagles. Norman Mack Van Brocklin (Ma– May 2, 1983), nicknamed "the Dutchman", was an American professional football player and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. NFL completion percentage leader (1952).One last nugget of information about the game: The Yanks’ starting quarterback in that game was John Rauch, who also was head coach of the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl II. The New York Yanks folded after the season was over. The Rams won the 1951 NFL Championship Game. 1951 Los Angeles Rams Won the NFL Championship Van Brocklin’s record, incredibly, turns 70 years old at the start of the 2021 NFL season. Waterfield missed the first game due to an injury, but he was already back playing at quarterback the next week. The reason for Van Brocklin comparatively low season total is that he split time at quarterback with another Hall of Famer, Bob Waterfield. He threw for 162 yards in a rematch against the New York Yanks that season. The most yards he had in a game the rest of the season was 167 yards against San Francisco. You might wonder how many passing yards Norm Van Brocklin had that year. All the other games that week were played that Sunday. But all of that happened in the NFL’s season opener on a Friday. The Rams also set a record for most first downs in a game with 34 that has since been broken. The total stood as an all-time record for any game until the Eagles and Patriots combined to break that record in Super Bowl 52. ![]() (NOTE: some stat books state the Rams gained 722 yards, still a record.) The two teams combined for a league record of 1,133 yards, which still stands as a regular season record. ![]() As a team, the Rams racked up 735 yards and that is a single-game record that still stands going into the 2021 season. Norm Van Brocklin’s passing record wasn’t the only record set during the game. The Rams tried a trick play with end Tom Keane throwing the ball. He also assisted on one of the Yanks’ two touchdowns when he tossed a pitch out that was nabbed by a defender and ran back for a touchdown.Īnother interesting fact is that Norm Van Brocklin wasn’t the only Rams player to throw the ball that day. Van Brocklin was far from perfect that night, however. Note the white football often used for televised night games. Record-Setting Game Not Quite Perfect Embed from Getty Images Another interesting note is that Van Brocklin also added a rushing touchdown in the game. His receiver was pulled down at the one-yard line. Although Van Brocklin threw five touchdowns, he almost had six. There are a lot of interesting facts about that particular NFL season opener. Van Brocklin threw five touchdowns in that game, four of them to Elroy Hirsch. That record still stands going into the 2021 NFL season. Norm Van Brocklin threw his way into the NFL record book by throwing for a record 554 yards that game. The Los Angeles Rams easily beat the New York Yanks, 54-14, but the game’s remembered for a long-standing NFL passing record. The game was played on a Friday night, in late September. In 1951, one of the most famous records in pro football history was set in Week 1 of the NFL season. In 1951, Rams QB Norm Van Brocklin broke the record held by Johnny Lujack.
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