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    Slingin’ Sammy Baugh, 1914-2008

    By Jamie Mottram | December 17, 2008

    He’s arguably the greatest Redskin ever, lived an extraordinarily long time and undeniably kicked some ass. His demise this evening marks the passing of a football pioneer, a three-way star who tossed his leather helmet aside in 1952 and was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame’s inaugural class. If you saw him play, you’re older than dirt, but we can all catch a glimpse:

    Wikipedia has a measure of the man’s life, and the AP sums up his impact:

    “When Baugh entered the NFL, the forward pass was so rare that it was unveiled mostly in desperate situations. But Baugh passed any time.”

    Despite Mark Brunell’s best efforts, the league hasn’t been the same since.

    May he rest in peace.

    Bonus: Shirley Povich’s ‘37 championship game story (via Redskins Insider)

    Update: Thomas Boswell remembers Baugh as the Babe Ruth of football, and NBC4 shares the Sonny and Sammy interview from 1994.

    Topics: Redskins | 7 Comments »

    7 Responses to “Slingin’ Sammy Baugh, 1914-2008”

    1. puttsfromtherough Says:
      December 18th, 2008 at 10:04 AM

      I don’t think there is much doubt that he was the greatest Redskin of all time. He is probably on of the 10 greatest players in the history of the game. He played QB, S and P throughout his career. The man threw 4 TD and had 4 INT in one game. He also had a single season punt average of 51 yards. The list could go on forever.

    2. Chris Mottram Says:
      December 18th, 2008 at 10:18 AM

      He also played with a bunch of slow, white people.

    3. Bill Fitzgerald Says:
      December 18th, 2008 at 10:30 AM

      Jamie, nice touch of class to the site. Chris, they just look slower in black and white. ESPN needs to colorize that film.

    4. Chris Mottram Says:
      December 18th, 2008 at 10:40 AM

      Are you suggesting this site lacked class? How dare you!

      /farts

    5. WFY Says:
      December 18th, 2008 at 10:40 AM

      I think Baugh is greatest athlete in D.C. history. Who else can make the claim, Walter Johnson? Maybe.

    6. StetSportsBlog Says:
      December 18th, 2008 at 11:11 AM

      1. To be a fast white dude among a bunch of slow white dudes was incredible at that time.

      2. Nice touch with the Shirley Povich article.

    7. puttsfromtherough Says:
      December 18th, 2008 at 1:32 PM

      So no sports figures before about 1960 could ever be considered the greatest?

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