Norm Van Brocklin

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Norman Mack "Norm" Van Brocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983). Born in Eagle Butte, South Dakota to Mack and Ethel Van Brocklin, Norm became a career American football player and coach. Among his fans and fellow players, Norm was often called The Dutchman. As a quarterback he was known for brilliant field generalship and superb passing prowess. Although too slow to scramble outside the pocket, Van Brocklin was by some accounts the greatest long passer of all time. He was also a first rate punter in college and in the NFL. In 1971, ten years after retirement as a player, the Dutchman was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

[edit] High school career

At Acalanes High School in Lafayette, California, Van Brocklin was a star quarterback.

[edit] Military Service

He served in the United States Navy from 1943 through 1945.

[edit] College career

Van Brocklin led the Oregon Ducks to a 16-5 record as a starter, including tying with Cal for the 1948 title of the Pacific Coast Conference, forerunner of the Pac-10. Oregon did not go to the Rose Bowl, however, since Cal was voted by the other schools to represent the PCC in the game. Van Brocklin was also an All-American selection in 1948, the year he finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Van Brocklin left Oregon for the NFL with another year of college eligibility. This was allowed under the rules of the time because of his previous Navy service and because his "college class" had graduated.

[edit] National Football League Playing Career

Van Brocklin was selected in the fourth round (37th overall) of the 1949 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. He joined a team that already had a star quarterback, Bob Waterfield. Beginning in 1950, new Rams coach Joe Stydahar solved his problem by platooning Waterfield and Van Brocklin. The 1950 Rams scored an NFL record 466 points (38.8 per game -- still a record) with a high octane passing attack featuring Tom Fears and Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch. Fears led the league and set a new NFL record with 84 receptions. Van Brocklin and Waterfield finished 1-2 in passer rating as well. They were defeated by the Cleveland Browns in the 1950 title game, 30-28.

In 1951, Van Brocklin and Waterfield again split quarterbacking duties and the Rams again won the West. That year, Hirsch set an NFL record with 1,495 receiving yards and tied Don Hutson's record of 17 TD receptions. This time, the Rams won the title rematch against Cleveland, 24-17. Waterfield (9-24, 125 yards) took most of the snaps, but Van Brocklin (4-6, 128 yards) threw the game winner of 73 yards to Fears. This was the last Rams championship until 1999. Also in 1951, on September 28, he threw for 554 yards, breaking Johnny Lujack's single-game record of 468, a mark that still stands more than a half-century later.

From 1952 - 1957, Van Brocklin continued to quarterback the Rams, leading them to the title game again in 1955. In that game, the Browns drubbed the Rams 38-14 while Van Brocklin threw 6 interceptions.

In 1958, Van Brocklin joined the Philadelphia Eagles under famed head coach, Buck Shaw. Shaw gave his new QB total control of the Philly offense. Steadily, Van Brocklin improved the Eagles attack. In the 1960 NFL championship game, throwing to his favorite receiver, 5' 9", 176 pound Tommy McDonald, Van Brocklin quarterbacked the Eagles to victory against the Green Bay Packers. In a game dominated by defense, Van Brocklin led a fourth quarter Eagle come back resulting in a final score of 17-13. This was Philadelphia's third, and to date last, NFL championship.

During his 12-year career, he played on two championship teams in the National Football League: the 1951 Los Angeles Rams and the 1960 Philadelphia Eagles. Following the latter triumph, he retired. As it turned out, his Eagles team would be the only team to defeat the Packers in a championship game during Vince Lombardi's tenure as Green Bay's head coach. Van Brocklin led the NFL in passing three times and in punting twice. On nine occasions, he was selected to the Pro Bowl.

[edit] National Football League Coaching Career

Van Brocklin cut his ties with the Eagles after his belief that the team had reneged on an agreement to name him head coach to replace the retiring Buck Shaw. On January 18, 1961, he accepted the head coaching position for the expansion Minnesota Vikings and over the next six years, Van Brocklin compiled a record of 29-51-4. The tenure was highlighted by his contentious relationship with quarterback Fran Tarkenton, a feud that culminated with Van Brocklin's resignation on February 11, 1967. Tarkenton was traded shortly after Van Brocklin's departure to the New York Giants, but reacquired by Van Brocklin's successor, Bud Grant, in 1972.

During his first year off the field in over two decades, Van Brocklin served as a commentator on 1967 NFL broadcasts for CBS.

On October 1, 1968, he took over as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, replacing Norb Hecker, who had started the season with three defeats, extending the team losing streak to 10 games. Over the next seven seasons, Van Brocklin had mixed results, putting together a 37-49-3 mark. He led the team to its first winning season in 1971 with a 7-6-1 record, then challenged for a playoff spot two years later with a 9-5 mark. However, after winning just two of his first eight games in 1974, he was fired.

[edit] Final Years

Following his dismissal, he returned to his pecan farm in Social Circle, Georgia. His only connections to football during this era were as a running backs coach for Georgia Tech in 1979, and as a college football broadcaster.

He suffered a number of illnesses, including a brain tumor. After it was removed, he told the press, "It was a brain transplant. They gave me a sportswriter's brain, to make sure I got one that hadn't been used." He died on May 3, 1983, the day after suffering a stroke.

[edit] External links

• Pro Football Hall of Fame: member biography
• ESPN article on Van Brocklin record game
• Gallery of Norm Van Brocklin football cards