Top 10 NFL Players of the 40s
Slingin' Sammy Baugh, one of football's all-time greatest passers and certainly the first pure passer in National Football League history. His records, honors, and awards are only one half of what made him a legend. Hall of Fame great Bill Dudley once said, "The best, as far as I'm concerned. He could not only throw the ball, he could play defense, he could punt the football, he ran it when he had to. He and I roomed together, and he was a football man. He knew football, played it, and everybody had a lot of confidence in him."
Its Joeysworld
It's a debate whether he or Chuck Bednarik was the greatest Philadelphia Eagle of all time, but there's no doubt he's the greatest Eagle running back of all time. Here are the facts to prove it. He was the first NFL player to score 10 rushing touchdowns in a season (15 in 1945). He did that feat two more times and was also the first NFL player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season more than once (1,146 in 1949 was his second. His first, 1,008, was in 1947).
A true Eagle Hall of Fame great.
Its Joeysworld
Easily the greatest Bears quarterback of all time, and for four years (1940-43), he was the greatest four-year quarterback in the history of the National Football League. It began with a 73-0 laugher against the Washington Redskins in the 1940 NFL Championship. His T-formation would soon in the years to come be copied by all NFL teams.
1941 was more of the same, another NFL championship. Then 1943 was his best, as he completed 110 passes for 2,194 yards and 28 touchdowns. And yet another NFL crown for this legend.
Its Joeysworld
Now you see him, now you don't. He was just one of the NFL's most elusive runners of this decade. This man could become a game breaker at any time. In his NFL debut, he had a 93-yard kickoff return, a touchdown run, and a TD pass. His first two years were filled with big plays: stirring punt and kickoff returns, interceptions, runbacks, dramatic runs.
McAfee scored touchdowns in each of the Bears' championship game wins. Then he was gone to serve his nation in battle during World War II. But what a thrill to see him run.
Its Joeysworld
As of 2021, he's the oldest living Pro Football Hall of Fame star. Back in the 40s, he was the tonic that the Chicago Cardinals needed to end years of bad seasons and form a contender. He was part of the dream backfield that included Paul Christman, Pat Harder, Marshall Goldberg, and later Elmer Angsman.
As a rookie, he was a multi-talented player: a punter, runner, wide receiver, kickoff returner, and in one game on defense, he returned an interception 59 yards for a TD. In the Championship game, he was the player of the game with a combined 206 yards in the Cardinals' only NFL Championship win.
Its Joeysworld
When Don Hutson retired at the top of his game after the 1945 NFL season, the search was on to see who would be the next great wide receiver in pro football. Enter Dante Lavelli. Now, he didn't play in the NFL until 1950, but before that, he DID play pro football in the All-America Football Conference for all four years with one dominant team, the Cleveland Browns.
With him as Otto Graham's go-to guy, the Browns were the class of the AAFC. Lavelli put up big numbers there, including his big year of 1947, when he caught 49 receptions for 799 yards and nine touchdowns. Truly a football immortal.
Its Joeysworld
In the battlefield on the gridiron, he was an iron man and played on two great teams, the Detroit Lions and the Philadelphia Eagles. Normally, offensive linemen don't get the credit they deserve for their hard work, but Alex was different. He was a 60-minute man who played offense and defense.
As an Eagle in 1944, he intercepted seven passes. In nine seasons with the Lions, he played 86 games, 61 as a starter. The Pro Football Hall of Fame said, "On the field...he was all business, one of the last of the 'iron men' of football, a center on offense, and a sure-tackling linebacker with unusually good range on defense."
Its Joeysworld
He and Norm Van Brocklin created pro football's first-ever quarterback duo for the Los Angeles Rams. Two championships would do it in 1945 and 1951. He and Brocklin also created pro football's first-ever QB controversy, but Waterfield held his own as a great leader.
Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch said, "He was the greatest footballer I ever saw. Not only was he mechanically the best, but when he walked into the huddle and called a play, he gave you the sureness that this was it. This would work."
Its Joeysworld
The Newcomers
