Obscure sports trivia

And Mattingly has six GSs for his career. Shot his load in one season.

 

Yeah, I figured that would be a good hint. BTW, O.J.'s average of 143.1 yards per game is still the record for a season, and no one is even close. Brown is second with 133.1 in his 1,863-yard season in '63.

BTW, Jim Nance also got close to 1,500 in '67.

The answer to the first question is Spec Sanders of the AAFC's New York Yankees.

Van Buren did hold the NFL season rushing record before Brown, with 1,146 in 1949. Van Buren was the second NFL rusher to reach 1,000 yards, breaking Beattie Feathers' 1934 record of 1,004 yards with 1,008 in 1947.

But that same season in '47, Spec Sanders ran wild, rushing for 1,432 yards and 18 touchdowns (that record stood until Jim Taylor scored 19 in 1962). The one asterisk, as it were, to that is the AAFC played 14-game seasons while the NFL was still playing 12 games (it went to 14 in 1961). BTW, Brown scored 17 TDs in 12 games in '58.

Sanders is a great story. He was technically a backup to Jack Crain in college at Texas but was impressive enough to be drafted by Washington in the first round of the 1942 NFL draft (sixth overall). Instead of playing, though, he enlisted in the Navy and served through 1945.

He joined the Yankees in 1946 as a single-wing tailback and led the AAFC in rushing with 709 yards -- he added 259 receiving, and scored TDs on punt, kickoff and interception returns. The next year he not only had the record-setting rushing totals, he also passed for 1,442 yards and 14 TDs (with 17 ints.), intercepted three passes in limited playing time on defense, scored on a kickoff return and averaged 42.1 yards as the punter.

He ran for 759 yards and nine TDs and threw for 918 yards and five TDs in '48, but injured his knee late in the season. When it wasn't getting any better heading into the '49 season, he decided to retire and get into the sporting goods business in his native Oklahoma.

In 1950, his old coach called, trying to talk him out of retirement to play for the NFL's NY Yanks. Sanders agreed on the condition that he only play on defense. All he did was tie a then-NFL record with 13 interceptions in 12 games (he's still tied for second with Lester Hayes and Dan Sandifer, one behind Night Train Lane's 14). He also recovered two fumbles and made the Pro Bowl. Then he went back to Oklahoma and his sporting goods store for good.

 

Crap! I was certain it was either Warren Moon or Doug Flutie, since those were the only two guys I could think of who spent significant time in both leagues.

 

Gizmo was a teammate of White’s in Memphis and then extremely briefly with the Eagles for a half season.

 

Swear to God, i grabbed a Dr. Z memoir of the shelf to read while waiting for my kids about 30 minutes ago and picked a random page. It was a story about sanders setting the rushing record and the NFL folks not recognizing it.

 

Since 1950, only four nhl defensemen have finished in the top five in scoring for a season. Who are they?

 

Doug Harvey, Bobby Orr, Brian Leetch and Paul Coffey?

 

Pete Rozelle played high school basketball on the same team with this future baseball Hall of Fame outfielder. Who was Pete's teammate?

 

Duke Snider?

 

Orr and Coffey are correct. Ketch’s best finish was ninth. Harvey has a couple of top 20 finishes.

 

Bingo.

 

I didn't know they played together but knew they each grew up in Compton. Yes, that Compton.