SAMMY BAUGH 1914-2008

Sammy Baugh, the Washington Redskins quarterback who was one of football's greatest passers and a pivotal figure in transforming the NFL from a plodding affair into a high-scoring spectacle, died Wednesday in Rotan, Texas. He was 94.

Mr. Baugh, who had numerous health issues, died at Fisher County Hospital, his son David Baugh told the Associated Press. He said his father had battled Alzheimer's disease and dementia for several years and recently had been ill with kidney problems, low blood pressure and double pneumonia.

In the fall of 1937, Mr. Baugh joined the Redskins, who were newly arrived in Washington from their former home in Boston. NFL players of that era butted leather helmets in largely dull encounters, the single- and double-wing offenses almost always running the ball.

Mr. Baugh had displayed his passing prowess as an all-American at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. In his first season with the Redskins, Slingin' Sammy, as he would be known, provided a preview of football's modern era with his brilliant passing at tailback.

As a rookie, he took Washington to the NFL title by throwing for three touchdowns in a 28-21 victory over the Chicago Bears on frozen turf at Wrigley Field.

Mr. Baugh played for 16 seasons with the Redskins, leading them to another NFL championship - again over the Bears - in 1942, and five division titles. When he retired, he held all the major NFL passing records. He was also a spectacular punter, one of the game's greatest, and an outstanding safety.

In 1994, the NFL named Mr. Baugh as one of four quarterbacks on its 75th-anniversary team - with Otto Graham, Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana. Mr. Baugh was among 17 inductees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame's inaugural class of 1963. He was the last survivor of that group.

The Redskins promoted Mr. Baugh, a lean 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, as a rough-hewn rustic, insisting he wear a Stetson and cowboy boots when he met the news media. Mr. Baugh obliged, and he was given to chomping on cigars, chewing tobacco and using salty language. But the foremost image he projected was that of a passing wizard, No. 33 thrilling the fans at Washington's Griffith Stadium.

Samuel Adrian Baugh was born March 17, 1914, in Temple, Texas, but he completed high school in Sweetwater, Texas, where his father worked for the Santa Fe Railroad. With Mr. Baugh, TCU won the 1936 Sugar Bowl and the inaugural Cotton Bowl in 1937.

He was also a strong-armed third baseman for TCU, prompting Flem Hall, sports editor of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, to call him Slingin' Sammy, a takeoff on a radio performer, Singin' Sam. Mr. Baugh later played in the St. Louis Cardinals' minor-league system.

The Redskins' owner, George Preston Marshall, picked Mr. Baugh sixth overall in the 1937 draft, and Mr. Baugh became one of the biggest names in pro football history. He led the NFL 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.

Mr. Baugh had a brief career on the sidelines, as the head coach for Hardin-Simmons University (1955-59), the AFL's New York Titans (1960-61) and the AFL's Houston Oilers (1964). He then retired to his cattle ranch in Rotan. He and his wife, Edmonia, who died in 1990, raised five children.

In addition to his son David, Mr. Baugh is survived by sons Todd Baugh, of Billings, Mont., and Stephen Baugh, of Midland, Texas; daughter Frances Baugh, of Lubbock, Texas; sister Nell Kindrick, of Garland, Texas; 12 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.


Source: sfgate.com