Sammy Baugh Biography

1914-

American football player

Sammy Baugh

The first superstar passer in college football, Sammy Baugh held every National Football League (NFL) passing record and was chosen for the charter classes of both the college (1951) and professional (1963) football halls of fame. Many of his records stood for fifty years and others will never be broken. The college All-American became a six-time NFL All-Pro. He coached college football and was the first head coach of the American Football League's (AFL) New York Titans (now the New York Jets).

Samuel Adrian Baugh was born March 17, 1914 on a farm outside Temple, Texas, a town of 10,000 people halfway between Austin and Waco. Recruited to play baseball at Texas Christian University (TCU), his coaches saw raw athletic talent when he tried out for football in the off-season. Nicknamed "Slinging Sammy" because of his rifle accuracy passing skills, he went on to break every record in Southwest Conference football (1934-1936) and play professional football for the Washington Redskins (1937-1952).